The present invention provides B cell receptor associated proteins (BCRP) and polynucleotides which identify and encode BCRP. The invention also provides expression vectors, host cells, agonists, antibodies, and antagonists. The invention also provides methods for treating disorders associated with expression of BCRP.

This invention relates to nucleic acid and amino acid sequences of B cell receptor associated proteins and to the use of these sequences in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of immunological disorders and cancer.
The B-cell response to antigens, which is modulated through receptors, is an essential component of the normal immune system. Immature B cells undergo a selection process based on antigen binding prior to leaving the bone marrow. Mature B cells recognize foreign antigens through B cell receptors (BCR) and produce specific antibodies which bind the foreign antigens. To generate an efficient response to complex antigens, the BCR, BCR associated proteins, and T cell assistance are required. The antigen/receptor complex is internalized, and the antigen is proteolytically processed. A small part of the antigen remains complexed with major histocompatability complex-II (MHCII) molecules on the surface of the B cells where the complex can be recognized by T cells. T cells activated by antigen presentation secrete a variety of lymphokines that induce B cell maturation.
Signaling through the BCR plays an important role in both the generation of antibody and in the establishment of immunological tolerance. Immature B cells that bind self-antigens while still in the bone marrow are eliminated by apoptosis. In contrast, antigen binding on mature B cells results in activation, proliferation, anergy, or apoptosis. The particular functional response depends on whether the B cell receives co-stimulatory signals through other surface receptors and which signal transduction pathways are activated. A mature B cell co-expresses two classes of membrane-bound immunoglobin, IgM and IgD, which have identical cytoplasmic domains and identical antigen binding specificity. In order to be expressed on the B cell surface, the BCR, whether it is of the IgM or IgD class, must be associated with two other polypeptides, Ig-xcex1 and Ig-xcex2. The cytoplasmic portions of the IgM/Ig-Ig-xcex1/Ig-xcex2 and the IgD/Ig-Ig-xcex1/Ig-xcex2 complex should therefore be identical to each other.
Both Ig-xcex1 and Ig-xcex2 contain a sequence, ITAM (SEQ ID NO:9), that can cause activation of protein tyrosine kinases. In addition, the cytoplasmic tails of Ig-xcex1 and Ig-xcex2 are sufficient for the internalization of the surface proteins and their targeting to endosomal compartments for processing. Early biochemical events in signal transduction, such as protein kinase activation and release of calcium ions, are similar for the two receptors (IgM and IgD); however their subsequent biological effects, however, are different. Antigen binding or cross-linking of the IgM receptor leads to apoptosis, while binding of IgM and IgD, or IgD alone, does not. Binding to IgD alone induces cell proliferation. Analysis of IgD-deficient mice shows that the absence of IgD reduces the efficacy of B cell participation in immune responses. Further in vitro differences in antibody responses, immunological memory, and tolerance have also been described (Carsetti, R. et al. (1993) Eur. J. Immunol. 23: 168-178; Roes, J. et al. (1 993) J. Expt. Med. 177: 45-55; and Kim, K. M. et al. (1992) J. Immunol. 148: 29-34).
Additional analysis of the receptor complex shows that at least five more proteins are associated with the mouse BCR. B cell associated proteins (BAPs) with a mass of 31, 37, and 41 kDa are specifically associated with IgM, while 29 and 31 kDa BAPs are preferentially associated with IgD. BAP 41 has not been characterized, but BAP 32 and BAP 37 are related to prohibitin, a protein which has been implicated in the control of cell proliferation and may have tumor suppressor activity. Both BAP 32 and 37 interact with IgM via its transmembrane domain and contain a C-terminal NPXY (SEQ ID NO:10) motif associated with internalization of proteins. The IgD-associated BAP 29 and BAP 31 show structural features suggesting that they co-localize with the membrane IgM BCR in the plasma membrane. Northern analysis shows that BAP 29, BAP 31, BAP 32, and BAP 37 are expressed in all tissue types examined, and that BAP 32 and BAP 37 are expressed more strongly in transformed cell lines than in normal tissues (Kim, K.-M., et al. (1994) EMBO J.13: 3793-3800; and Terashima, M., et al. (1994) EMBO J.13: 3782-3792).
The discovery of new B-cell receptor associated proteins and the polynucleotides encoding them satisfies a need in the art by providing new compositions which are useful in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cancer and immunological disorders.
The present invention features a B-cell receptor-associated protein hereinafter designated BCRP1 and characterized as having similarity to mouse BAP 29.
Accordingly, the invention features a substantially purified BCRP1 having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:1.
One aspect of the invention features isolated and substantially purified polynucleotides that encode BCRP1. In a particular aspect, the polynucleotide is the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:2.
The invention also relates to a polynucleotide sequence comprising the complement of SEQ ID NO:2 or variants thereof. In addition, the invention features polynucleotide sequences which hybridize under stringent conditions to SEQ ID NO:2.
The present invention additionally features a B-cell receptor-associated protein hereinafter designated BCRP2 and characterized as having similarity to mouse BAP 37.
Accordingly, the invention features a substantially purified BCRP2 having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:3. The invention also features a polypeptide variant of BCRP2, SEQ ID NO:5, where F91 and F96 are replaced by S, and V126 is replaced by L.
One aspect of the invention features isolated and substantially purified polynucleotides that encode BCRP2 and the BCRP2 variant (SEQ ID NO:4 and SEQ ID NO:6).
The invention also features polynucleotide sequences comprising the complement of SEQ ID NO:4, SEQ ID NO:6, or variants thereof. In addition, the invention features polynucleotide sequences which hybridize under stringent conditions to SEQ ID NO:4 and SEQ ID NO:6.
The invention additionally features fragments or portions of the nucleic acid sequences encoding the claimed polypeptides, and expression vectors and host cells comprising polynucleotides that encode BCRP. The present invention also features antibodies which bind specifically to BCRP, and pharmaceutical compositions comprising substantially purified BCRP. The invention also features the use of agonists and antagonists of BCRP. The invention also features a method for treating cancer using antagonists of BCRP1, BCRP2, and agonists of BCRP2; for treating immunological disorders using antagonists of BCRP1; and for treating disorders associated with cell growth and differentiation using BCRP 1.


Representative embodiments provide for a data handling system including a remote entity and a local entity coupled in data communication with the remote entity. The local entity is configured to wait for a predefined interval of time, retrieve a quantity of data from the remote entity after the predefined interval of time, and redefine the interval of time in accordance with a predefined function. A method of retrieving data includes waiting for a predefined interval of time, retrieving a quantity of data from a remote entity after the predefined interval of time, and redefining the interval of time in accordance with a predefined function.

Various types of data handling systems are known in the related arts. One type of data handling system generally includes one or more remotely located data generation entities (i.e., field offices having file servers, user computers, etc.) that are coupled in data communication with a local data retrieval and storage entity (i.e., main office having large storage facilities, mainframe computers, etc.).
Under such a system, the local entity typically retrieves (i.e., gathers) data files from the remote entity or entities at fixed intervals of time for storage, processing, or other tasks. Upon (or shortly after) retrieval of the data files, each remote entity generally deletes their copies of the retrieved files so that storage space within the remote entity can be reclaimed for future data files or other usage.
However, the rate at which new data files are generated (i.e., drafted or created) typically varies within each remote entity due, for example, to present workload, holiday or special periods, phase of business cycle, etc. As a result, the rate at which data file storage space is consumed within the remote entity varies correspondingly. This can lead to insufficient data file storage space within the remote entity if the fixed interval between data file retrievals by the local entity is too great for the present rate of data file generation.
Thus, it is desirable to provide methods and apparatus for use with data handling systems that address the problems described above.

Methods and apparatus for data retrieval

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A visualized indicator is applied to a slot-in optical reproducing apparatus. By providing a display window on the housing of the apparatus and a visualized indicator inside the housing, a first portion or a second portion of the visualized indicator can be alternatively shown through the display window to tell if a disk is inside the apparatus or not.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slot-in optical reproducing apparatus. In particularly, the present invention relates to a slot-in optical reproducing apparatus having a visualized indicator, which shows the disk-loading status inside the apparatus.
2. Prior Art
Due to the popularity of the optical storage medium, such as compact disks, the optical reproducing apparatus for accessing the optical storage medium become much popular. In order to meet the requirements from different optical storage medium specifications and different users, various kinds of optical reproducing apparatus with various kinds of loading mechanism, such as tray-loading, top-loading, etc. have been developed in the market.
Among those optical reproducing apparatus, the slot-in optical reproducing apparatus is a good choice to meet the user who wants to quickly load/eject the disk into/out of the optical reproducing apparatus and meet the light-weight and compact-size requirement. For the above reasons, the slot-in optical reproducing apparatus is widely applied to the auto audio and notebook for accessing the optical storage medium.
Refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional slot-in optical reproducing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the interior of a conventional slot-in optical reproducing apparatus anchoring a disk. The slot-in optical reproducing apparatus 2 has no tray for holding the disk. As shown, the slot-in optical reproducing apparatus 2 includes a roller 6 powered by a roller motor 10 to move the disk 4 into/out of the slot-in optical reproducing apparatus 2.
The slot-in optical reproducing apparatus 2 provides an disk entrance-and-exit slot 12 for the user to insert/retrieve the disk 4. Before the disk 4 is sent into the slot-in optical reproducing apparatus 2, a block end 8a of the disk block arm 8 in the slot-in optical reproducing apparatus 2 can pose at a state not to close the disk entrance-and-exit slot 12. However, after the disk 4 is put into the slot-in optical reproducing apparatus 2 as shown in FIG. 2, the block end 8a can move up to block the space between the disk 4 and the disk entrance-and-exit slot 12.
Although the user can judge whether the disk 4 is in the slot-in optical reproducing apparatus 2 or not by checking the location of the block end 8a, yet it is still very inconvenient to inspect the element 8a inside the apparatus. In the case that the user needs to move the slot-in optical reproducing apparatus 2 for any reason such as repairing, testing, or shipping, the user usually forgets to remove the disk 4 that has already nested inside the slot-in optical reproducing apparatus 2. Therefore the disk might disappear and precious data on the disk might lose its confidentiality.
For this reason, a new design of the slot-in optical reproducing apparatus is needed to solve the aforesaid disadvantages.

Slot-in optical reproducing apparatus with a visualized indicator


A wearable multi Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) device is disclosed. The wearable multi RFID device includes a container that includes an inner housing that further includes a plurality of fixed slots configured to receive a plurality of RFID tags. The container further includes an outer casing that at least partially encloses the inner housing circumferentially and is configured to slide around the inner housing in the container. The outer casing includes a layer of electromagnetic shielding material. The outer casing is further configured to shield the plurality of RFID tags from being scanned, at a first position and selectively expose one of the plurality of RFID tags for being scanned, at an associated second position from a plurality of second positions, based on mapping with at least one criterion defined by a user.

With advancement of technology, in everyday life, the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) devices has widely increased. RFID devices are extensively used to provide a user with access to restricted areas or services, for example, office, bus, subway, gym, or home garage. A user may use RFID cards to access multiple such restricted areas. For each of these areas, the user may be required to use a different RFID card. As result, the user may have to manage multiple RFID cards at any given time, resulting in a swollen wallet that is difficult to carry around. Moreover, at may instances the user may forget to carry along one these RFID cards or may even forget which specific RFID card is to be used at a certain location. This may lead to a lot of inconvenience and hassle at a user's end.
One of the conventional technologies uses multiple RFID tags in a single device. However, this conventional technology only allows manual selection of an RFID tag that is to be activated for being scanned. Moreover, in these conventional technologies, analog keys may be provided, which may require prolonged pressing in order to activate an RFID tag. Another one of the conventional technologies, which uses multiple RFID tags in a single device, involves simultaneous activation of all passive circuits for the RFID tags, without any differentiation based on the type of access required. This leads to wastage of time and energy. Thus, the conventional technologies do not provide a device that allows use of multiple RFID tags in an optimized manner.

Multi radio frequency identification (RFID) device with selective activation of RFID tags


A method for applying correction adapted to the shape of a subject to be imaged. The method includes applying edge enhancement to data D(r, v, c) of interest if the difference between the data D(r, v, c) of interest and data D(r, v+1, c) in a view adjacent to the view corresponding to the data D(r, v, c) is large, while smoothing is applied to the data D(r, v, c) of interest when the difference is small.

The present invention relates to a data correction method and an X-ray CT (computer tomography) apparatus, and more particularly to a data correction method and an X-ray CT apparatus capable of applying correction adapted to the shape of a subject to be imaged.
There is known a conventional X-ray CT apparatus for: if data has a larger value than an upper threshold, applying smoothing to the data; if data has a smaller value than a lower threshold, taking the data as is; and if data has a value between the upper and lower thresholds, applying smoothing to the data, the degree of which smoothing is lower than that for the data of a larger value than the upper threshold, and becomes higher in proportion as the data has a larger value (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2000-5159.
In such a conventional X-ray CT apparatus, the degree of correction processing is changed simply according to the magnitude of data.
However, assuming that the shape of a subject to be imaged is so complex as to make one of data elements adjacent to each other in the view or channel direction have a larger value and the other have a smaller value, the technique as described above causes the degree of smoothing to be increased for one of the adjacent data elements and decreased for the other, which is unreasonable. That is, the conventional X-ray CT apparatus poses a problem that correction adapted to the shape of the subject to be imaged can sometimes not be applied.

Data correction method and X-ray CT apparatus

GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company LLC


The present invention relates to a circuit arrangement for detecting a capacitance of a capacitive component and/or a change in the capacitance of a capacitive component, which circuit arrangement comprises, inter alia a monostable flipflop controllable by a control signal and having at least two inputs and one output, wherein a first input of the flipflop is provided for the control signal, and a second input is connected to a capacitive component. The circuit arrangement further comprises a conversion device, which is connected to the output of the monostable flipflop, and an evaluation unit, which is connected to the conversion device in order to evaluate the signal voltage and from this to generate at least one detection value, which indicates the capacitance and/or a change in the capacitance of the capacitive component.

The present invention relates to a circuit arrangement and a method for detecting a capacitance of a capacitive component and/or a change in the capacitance of a capacitive component.
A circuit arrangement of the generic type is known from DE 10 2006 029 120 A1. In the circuit arrangement disclosed in said document, a control unit for controlling a monostable flipflop is provided, which is connected to the capacitive component, for example a sensor electrode or an electrode arrangement comprising a response electrode and a reference electrode. The control unit is connected to a first input of the monostable flipflop in order to transmit control signals to the monostable flipflop, and the capacitive component is connected to a second input of the monostable flipflop. An output signal is generated by a control signal at an output of the monostable flipflop, the duration of said output signal being dependent on the capacitance of the capacitive component. Such an output signal is converted into a signal voltage via a conversion device, the course of said signal voltage being proportional to the duration of the output signal. The signal voltage obtained is thus likewise proportional to the capacitance of the capacitive component or a change in capacitance, with the result that it is possible to draw a conclusion in respect of the capacitance or the change in capacitance on the basis of the signal voltage. The signal voltage is correspondingly evaluated by an evaluation unit in order to generate from this a detection value which indicates the present capacitance and/or a change in the capacitance of the capacitive component.
Such a circuit arrangement is usable, for example, for an adjusting device for a closing element of a vehicle which is adjustable, actuated by external force, for example for a tailgate or side door which is adjustable by an electric motor or a boot lid of a motor vehicle which is adjustable by an electric motor. The capacitive component is in this case formed, for example, by a sensor electrode in order to be able to detect an operation event contactlessly hereby. Thus, the measurable capacitance changes owing to a body part of a user in the region of the sensor electrode, with the result that a user can initiate an operation event in a targeted manner by the respective body part, which operation event is detected via the sensor electrode and should result in automatic adjustment of the respective closing element. An exemplary application in this case is the application of a sensor electrode in the region of a rear bumper of a motor vehicle in order to identify, via the sensor electrode, a movement of a foot of a user in the region of the bumper in the manner of a kick as an operation event and to open the tailgate or the boot lid of the motor vehicle in response to this. The adjustment of the closing element in the form of the tailgate or the boot lid can therefore be controlled contactlessly, i.e. without the respective closing element being touched by the user.
DE 10 2006 029 120 A1 proposes a conversion device having a constant current source and an integrator in the form of a capacitor. In this case, the switching-on and switching-off of the constant current source or the connection thereof to the integrator is controlled via the output signal of the monostable flipflop. Depending on the duration of the output signal, which is in turn dependent on the capacitance of the capacitive component, a signal voltage is thus integrated at the integrator by the constant current source, i.e. the integrator is charged in the form of a capacitor. The signal voltage which is measurable via the integrator is evaluated by an electronic evaluation unit in order to draw a conclusion in respect of the presence of an operation event, for example when a threshold value is exceeded, and to generate a tripping signal. The adjustment of a closing element of a motor vehicle would then be controllable via such a tripping signal, for example.
The provision of a constant current source and the targeted switching thereof on the basis of the output signal provided by the monostable flipflop, for example via a switch to be provided in the circuit arrangement, can under certain circumstances be only comparatively complex to implement in terms of circuitry, however.
DE 102 58 417 B3 again describes a circuit arrangement for detecting and/or determining the properties of a medium with the aid of a capacitive component in the form of a pair of electrodes, in which a conclusion is drawn in respect of a composition of a medium into which the two electrodes are immersed on the basis of the capacitance measurable via the two electrodes. For this purpose, the two electrodes are connected to a monostable flipflop, referred to as monostable multivibrator in DE 102 58 417 B3, which generates an output signal with a specific duration depending on the capacitance at the electrodes. This output signal is passed via a low-pass filter connected downstream of the monostable flipflop in order thereafter to provide a signal voltage which is evaluated by an evaluation unit. In this case, for example, the content of water in the respective medium can be determined on the basis of the value of the signal voltage, and it is possible to distinguish between different media, such as, for example, diesel fuel, biodiesel fuel and water on the basis of their different dielectric constants.
In the circuit arrangement from DE 102 58 417, however, it is disadvantageous when using an RC low-pass filter that the signal voltage which can be tapped off at a capacitor of the low-pass filter only has a temporarily linear course over time, to be precise only for as long as an input voltage present at the low-pass filter is considerably lower than the output voltage which can be measured at the output of the low-pass filter. The output voltage has an e function over time in the case of an RC low-pass filter and therefore asymptotically approaches a maximum value. Precisely in order to detect whether an operation event for adjusting a closing element of a vehicle is present, however, a linear relationship between the capacitance of the capacitive component and the signal voltage also over relatively long time periods is preferred in order to be able to therefore safely identify the respective, possibly complex operation event.

Circuit arrangement and method for detecting a capacitance and/or a change in a capacitance of a capacitive component

Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft, Hallstadt


The present invention relates to a perfuming ingredient of a compound of formula

Compounds having a strong tenacity and an odor of the type white flower and citronella are very rare and very much prized by perfumers. Indeed, compounds having such an odor are especially useful, inter alia, in functional perfumery. However, in the vast majority of the cases the compounds suffer from a lack of tenacity which renders them of little use in functional perfumery.
It is the aim of this application to solve the problem by providing a compound having a floral and citrus/citronella odor, while having a sufficient tenacity to allow its use also in functional perfumery.
To the best of our knowledge the invention's compound has been only reported in the book by S. Arctander, "Perfume and Flavor Chemicals", 1969, Montclair, N.J., USA. In the book, the invention's compound has been mentioned under the reference number 825 and the name of decahydro-beta-naphthylacetaldehyde.
However, the compound mentioned by Arctander's is described as having a boiling point of 236° C. and an odor of the type "semi-dry, musty-woody with a remote resemblance to notes in ambergris" and "a tenacity very poor". Moreover, it is also stated that "the author believes that this material has little or no interest to the perfume industry".
Therefore, Arctander's disclosure suggests only an odor, a tenacity and an interest in such compound which is at the opposite of what is aimed in the present invention, and is far from suggesting that a compound of formula (I) can be used as perfuming ingredient to impart flower/citrus notes.

Citronella and floral perfuming ingredient

Abstract: in the form of any one of its isomers or of a mixture thereof, and having a boiling point above 250° C., as measured at a pressure of 1013 mbar and its use in a method to confer, enhance, improve or modify the odor properties of a perfuming composition or perfumed article. The perfuming compositions and perfumed articles having the desirable odor characters are also part of this invention.


In a method for manufacturing a cleaning member comprising opened fiber bundle, in order to correct twisting of fiber bundle in the path for feeding the fiber bundle from a storage container to a driving roller to thereby stabilize manufacturing process, and in order to pre-open the fiber bundle in the path from a driving roller to the opening step to thereby speed-up the opening step, fiber bundle drawn out continuously from a storage container in a first direction is wound onto a non-rotational bar, and after being fed in a second direction, is fed to a first driving roller, and the fiber bundle fed from the first driving roller in a third direction is wound onto a second non-rotational bar, and after being fed in a fourth direction, is fed to a second driving roller and to the following opening step.

In a cleaning member comprising a fiber bundle as a substrate, an opened fiber bundle is utilized. A method for opening a fiber bundle has been known in which the fiber bundle is drawn out from a storage container by a driving roller and is fed to an opening step. (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).

Method and apparatus for manufacturing cleaning member


The invention is directed to methods and compositions for inhibiting caspase-independent apoptosis. In particular, methods and compositions for inhibiting Omi/HtrA2 activity, as well as method for identifying other inhibitors of Omi/HtrA2. Also disclosed are Omi/HtrA2 specific substrates and methods for identifying other substrates of Omi/HtrA2.

The technical field of this invention relates generally to alteration of apoptosis in a cell and modification of pathways involved in apoptosis including the treatment of diseases that involve apoptotic pathways. In particular, the invention pertains to a class of inhibitors that inhibit mitochondrial homeostasis, caspase-dependent, and caspase-independent apoptosis by affecting Omi/HtrA2 activity.
Apoptosis, which is also referred to as programmed cell death, is a form of cell death characterized by membrane blebbing and nuclear DNA fragmentation. Apoptotic cell death is morphologically distinct from necrotic cell death and is important in the normal development and maintenance of multicellular organisms.
Since apoptosis functions in maintaining tissue homeostasis in a range of physiological processes such as embryonic development, immune cell regulation and normal cellular turnover, the dysfunction or loss of regulated apoptosis can lead to a variety of pathological disease states. For example, the loss of apoptosis can lead to the pathological accumulation of self-reactive lymphocytes that occurs with many autoimmune diseases. Inappropriate loss or inhibition of apoptosis can also lead to the accumulation of virally infected cells and of hyperproliferative cells such as neoplastic or tumor cells. Similarly, the inappropriate activation of apoptosis can also contribute to a variety of pathological disease states including, for example, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), neurodegenerative diseases and ischemic injury. Treatments that are specifically designed to modulate the apoptotic pathways in these and other pathological conditions can alter the natural progression of many of these diseases.
Although apoptosis is mediated by diverse signals and complex interactions of cellular gene products, the results of these interactions ultimately feed into a cell death pathway that is evolutionarily conserved between humans and invertebrates. The pathway, itself, is a cascade of proteolytic events analogous to that of the blood coagulation cascade.
Several gene families and products that modulate the apoptotic process have now been identified. Key to the apoptotic program is a family of cysteine proteases termed caspases. The human caspase family includes Ced-3, human ICE (interleukin-1-beta converting enzyme) (caspase-1), ICH-1 (caspase-2), CPP32 (caspase-3), ICErelII (caspase-4), ICErelII (caspase-5), Mch2 (caspase-6), ICE-LAP3 (caspase-7), Mch5 (caspase-8), ICE-LAP6 (caspase-9), Mch4 (caspase-10), caspase 11-14, and others. Capsases can be positioned as downstream effectors of apoptosis.
The serine protease Omi, is also involved in apoptosis. Omi (also known as "HtrA2" and "Omi/HtrA2") was identified as a mitochondrial direct inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) binding protein, and is released from the mitochondria upon induction of apoptosis by apoptotic stimuli (Hegde et al. (2002) J Biol. Chem., 277: 432-438). The mature Omi/HtrA2 protein contains a conserved IAP-binding motif that comprises the tetra peptide motif "AVPS" at its N terminus. It has been demonstrated that the deregulated expression of Omi/HtrA2 in the cytoplasm of mammalian cells induces apoptosis in these cells, indicating that Omi/HtrA2 could participate in the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.
Mature Omi/HtrA2 is released from the mitochondria into the cytosol upon disruption of the outer mitochondrial membrane during apoptosis. Mature Omi/HtrA2 can induce apoptosis in human cells in a caspase-independent manner through its protease activity and in a caspase-dependent manner via its ability to disrupt caspase-IAP interaction.
Since Omi/HtrA2 is present in all mammalian cells and by its activity of disrupting the inhibition of the "apoptosis protein-caspase interaction" decreases the cell lifetime, it would be important to discover an inhibitor of the adverse activity of Omi/HtrA2 and homologous proteins.
Accordingly, it would be useful to identify a class of inhibitors that inhibit Omi/HtrA2. A need also exists to determine the peptides involved in the caspase-independent pathway of apoptosis such as substrates of Omi/HtrA2, as well as methods and compositions that inhibit such pathways. It would also be useful to find ways to use these methods and compositions to prevent, reduce or ameliorate a disorder associated with apoptosis.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and compounds for inhibition of cell death


A multi-functional cargo area assembly for a cargo bed of a vehicle includes a first and a second sidewall disposed in a transversely spaced relationship, and an integrally formed guide track in the first and second sidewalls. The cargo area assembly also includes extendible sidewall portions. The cargo area assembly further includes a movable divider panel supported with the guide track by a support rod, and extending transversely between the first and second sidewalls, wherein the divider panel includes a positioning mechanism for fixedly locating the divider panel.

Utility vehicles, such as pickup trucks and cargo vans are characterized by a load carrying portion, referred to as a cargo bed, defined by a generally planar floor. The dimensions of the cargo bed vary in length from several feet to more than eight feet. These types of vehicles are multifunctional, since they satisfy both transportation and load carrying capacity needs.
Various devices are available to further increase the versatility of the utility vehicle, and in particular the cargo bed portion. One example of such a device is a cargo bed cover for enclosing the cargo bed of a pickup truck. Another example is a removable cargo bed liner, which is configured with the shape of the cargo bed, to protect the surface finish of the cargo bed. Still another example is a cargo bed divider, for subdividing the cargo bed of the pickup truck to accommodate diverse, or various sized, loads. The prior art has implemented a number of different approaches towards providing cargo bed dividers for pickup trucks. Some prior art dividers are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,411,355; 4,722,646; 5,603,439; 5,456,514; 5,423,463; 5,415,506; 3,767,059; 5,044,682; 4,733,899; 5,265,993; 5,586,850; 5,628,442; 5,845,953; 4,834,599; 5,259,712 and 5,927,783. At the same time, it is also advantageous to expand the volume of the cargo bed of a pickup truck to accommodate an oversized load, such as a 4×8′ sheet of plywood.
While various of the prior art cargo bed liners and divider systems referenced herein are reconfigurable, none of these systems allow for the expansion of the interior volume of a pickup truck's cargo bed. Thus, there is a need in the art for a multi-functional cargo bed liner assembly that is expandable and includes a divider panel that is infinitely positionable.


A power train having dual modes for hybrid vehicles increases the range of the transmission gear ratio within which the efficiency of the power train is superior. The method of operating the power train varies depending on the transmission gear ratio, and thus the power train can be operated with superior efficiency.

As well known to those skilled in the art, a hybrid power transmission device using two planetary gear sets and two motor generators controls the speed of the motor generators without a separate transmission and thus is able to serve as a variable transmission that is electrically operated. Furthermore, the hybrid power transmission device can operate in a motor mode, an engine mode, a hybrid mode and a regenerative braking mode through control of the speed of the motor generators. If desired, the hybrid power transmission device can turn the engine on or off, thus increasing the fuel consumption ratio. In addition, when braking, the hybrid power transmission device minimizes the use of a frictional brake and thus increases the efficiency of power recovery when braking.
An input split type power train, in which one of two motor generators is directly fixed to an output shaft, is a representative example of conventional power trains using two motor generators for hybrid electric vehicles.
The conventional input split type power train having the above-mentioned construction exhibits the highest efficiency at a transmission gear ratio which forms a mechanical point at which the speed of the other motor generator, which is not coupled to the output shaft, becomes zero. On the basis of the mechanical point, as the transmission gear ratio is increased or reduced, the efficiency of the power train is reduced. The reduction in efficiency of the power train when the transmission gear ratio is reduced is marked, compared to when the transmission gear ratio is increased.
In other words, the conventional power train is problematic in that, as the transmission gear ratio is reduced after passing the mechanical point (as the speed of the vehicle increases), the efficiency of the power train rapidly decreases.

Power train for hybrid electric vehicles and method of controlling the same


A Station Management Entity (SME) steers a directional antenna for a station to communicate with an Access Point (AP) in an 802.11 protocol system. The SME can steer the antenna before or after an 802.11 station has authenticated and associated with the Access Point. During a passive scan, the steering process cycles through the available antenna positions and monitors an AP beacon signal to determine a best position based on, for example, a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI). During an active scan where access probing is used, the steering process cycles through the antenna positions and monitors a probe response to determine the best antenna position. Additional scans may be performed based on a decision that the received signal level of the currently selected antenna position has dropped below a predetermined threshold.

The 802.11 Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) standards defines a specification for stations to be moved within a facility and remain connected to a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) via Radio Frequency (RF) transmissions to Access Points (AP) connected to a wired network. A physical layer in the stations and access points controls the modulation and signaling format used by the stations and access points to communicate. Above the physical layer is a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer that provides services such as authentication, deauthentication, privacy, association, disassociation, etc.
In operation, when a station comes on-line, the physical layer in the station and access points first establish wireless communication with each other, followed by the MAC layer establishing access to the network via an access point.
Typically, in 802.11 stations or access points, the signals are RF signals, transmitted and received by monopole antennas. A monopole antenna provides transmissions in all directions generally in a horizontal plane. Monopole antennas are susceptible to effects that degrade the quality of communication between the station and access points, such as reflection or diffraction of radio wave signals caused by intervening walls, desks, people, etc., multipath, normal fading, Rayleigh fading, and so forth. As a result, efforts have been made to mitigate signal degradation caused by these effects.
A technique known as "antenna diversity" counteracts the degradation of RF signals. Antenna diversity uses two antennas that are connected to a transmitter/receiver via an antenna diversity switch. The theory behind using two antennas for antenna diversity is that, at any given time, one of the two antennas is likely receiving a signal that is not affected by the effects of, say, multi-path fading. The system using the two antennas selects the unaffected antenna via the antenna diversity switch.

Method and apparatus for antenna steering for WLAN


A projector includes: a first light modulation device that modulates illumination light; a second light modulation device that further modulates the illumination light modulated by the first light modulation device; a projection unit that projects the modulated illumination light toward a screen; and an optical device moving unit that moves an optical device blocking at least part of the illumination light relatively to a light path of the illumination light to move the device off the light path in response to an external request.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a projector.
2. Related Art
These days, image quality improvement in electronic display apparatuses such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an EL (Electro-luminescence) display, a plasma display, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), and a projector is remarkable and performance comparable to the human visual properties is being realized with respect to resolution and color gamut. However, with respect to the brightness dynamic range, its reproduced range remains on the order of 1 to 102 [nit], and further, the number of gradations is generally 8 bits. On the other hand, the human visual perception provides a brightness dynamic range that can be perceived at a time on the order of 10−2 to 104 [nit], and further, the brightness discriminative ability is on the order of 0.2 [nit]. This is said to be equal to 12 bits in terms of number of gradations. Seeing a display image of a current display apparatus through such visual properties, the human does not satisfy the reality and impact of the display image because the narrowness of the brightness dynamic range stands out and additionally, the gradations in shadow parts and highlight parts are insufficient.
Further, in computer graphics (CG) used for movies or games, the movement for pursuing description reality by providing display data (hereinafter, referred to as "HDR (High Dynamic Range) display data") with brightness dynamic range and gradation characteristics close to human visual perception is becoming the mainstream. However, there is a problem that powers of expression the CG contents originally have can not be exerted sufficiently because the performance of the display apparatus for displaying CG is insufficient.
Furthermore, in the next OS (Operative System), 16-bit color space is planned to be adopted, and the brightness dynamic range and the number of gradations will be increased dramatically compared to those in the current 8-bit color space. Accordingly, the demand for realization of an electronic display apparatus with high dynamic range and high gradation capable of utilizing the 16-bit color space is expected to be increased.
Among display apparatuses, projection display apparatuses (projectors) such as a liquid crystal projector and DLP (Digital Light Processing, registered trademark) projector can perform large screen display and are effective display apparatuses for reproducing the reality and impact of display images. In this field, the following proposals have been made in order to solve the above described problems.
As a display apparatus with high dynamic range, for example, there is a technology disclosed in JP-T-2004-523001 and JP-A-2001-100689. In the technology, a light source, a second light modulation device for modulating brightness of all wavelength regions of light, and a first light modulation device for modulating the brightness of the wavelength regions with respect to respective wavelength regions of RGB three primary colors of the wavelength regions of light are provided for forming a desired brightness distribution by modulating light from the light source by the second light modulation device, imaging the optical image thereof onto a display surface of the first light modulation device and performing color modulation, and projecting the secondarily modulated light. The respective pixels of the second light modulation device and the first light modulation device are separately controlled based on the first control value and the second control value determined from the HDR display data, respectively. As the light modulation device, a transmissive modulation device having a pixel structure or segment structure with independently controllable transmittances and capable of controlling a two-dimensional transmittance distribution is used. As a representative example thereof, a liquid crystal light valve is cited. Further, a reflective modulation device may be used in place of the transmissive modulation device, and as a representative example thereof, a micromirror array device is cited.
Now, the case of using a light modulation device having a transmittance of 0.2% of dark display and a transmittance of 60% of light display is considered. Regarding the light modulation device alone, the brightness dynamic range is 60/0.2=300. The display apparatus corresponds to the case where light modulation devices having the brightness dynamic range of 300 are optically and serially arranged, and thereby, the brightness dynamic range of 300×300=90000 can be realized. Further, the equal way of thinking is held with respect to the number of gradations, and the number of gradations exceeding 8 bits can be obtained by optically and serially arranging light modulation devices with 8-bit gradation.
By the way, in a projector with high dynamic range, light is modulated by serially provided two light modulation devices, and a problem that the amount of light finally output from projecting means becomes smaller and the brightness of the display image becomes lower arises. At present, it is assumed that the projector with high dynamic range is used when image display is mainly performed in dark environments as is the case of cinema contents or the like. Accordingly, the above described brightness reduction of display image due to serially provided two light modulation devices is not so much acknowledged as a problem.
However, in the future, there is a possibility that the projector with high dynamic range is used when image display is performed in bright environments as is the case of data contents or the like. In this case, the brightness of display image is likely to be insufficient by the brightness reduction of display image due to serially provided two light modulation devices.


A fingerprint sensing system including a plurality of micro-lenses, a sensor, a shielding structure and a controller is provided. The micro-lenses are arranged in an array. The sensor has a plurality of sensing pixels arranged in an array. The sensor, the shielding structure and the micro-lenses are sequentially arranged along an arrangement direction. The controller is electrically connected to the sensor. A pitch between the micro-lenses is greater than a pitch between the sensing pixels. The controller forms a fingerprint image according to signals of a plurality of output pixels of the sensor, wherein each of the output pixels is one of every at least four of neighboring sensing pixels. An operation method of a fingerprint sensing system is also provided.

Due to the development of smart phones and mobile devices, and people's requirements for the security of these devices, the demand for fingerprint sensing systems has increased significantly. In general, the fingerprint sensing system includes a sensor, a shielding structure, and a lens array. When a sensing beam hits the user's finger, a reflected beam will pass through the lens array, the shielding structure and the sensor in sequence. Signals output by the sensor form a fingerprint image.
In order to obtain a good fingerprint image, an opening in the shielding structure is preferably aligned with a sensing pixel of the sensor. Since the sensor and the shielding structure can be formed sequentially in the semiconductor manufacturing process, the opening in the shielding structure can be aligned with the sensing pixel of the sensor.
However, the lens array cannot be easily formed in the semiconductor manufacturing process, it is difficult for a lens optical axis of the lens array to be aligned with the opening in the shielding structure and the sensing pixel of the sensor. Therefore, a reliability of the fingerprint image obtained by the fingerprint sensing system cannot be improved.

Fingerprint sensing system and operation method thereof


A medicine ball construction includes a pliable cover of leather with an inflatable rubber bladder within said cover, the bladder wall being thick and the bladder being inflated to a low pressure so that the ball is pliable and light.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved construction for a medicine ball which makes the ball lighter, less expensive to manufacture, easier to throw and catch, and less likely to injure a person who is struck by the ball.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional medicine balls are used to provide aerobic exercise to a person when the ball is thrown or caught. Most medicine balls are relatively heavy and have considerable mass in order to produce optimum expenditure of energy when the ball is in use. The mass is generally provided by surrounding a heavy object with a fibrous material such as loose cotton batting or wadded pieces of cloth. The outside of the ball is generally composed of sections of leather, cloth, rubber or plastic stitched together to forms a spherical covering about the heavy, padded central mass. The outside of the ball is soft and pliable so that it can be grasped more easily when being thrown or caught, and because of its pliable outside and soft cloth inside the ball will deform to a substantial degree when striking a person or object. The force of the impact will be distributed over a larger area than if the ball were firm, and risk of injury to persons or object is considerably reduced. However, because the mass of the ball is great, injuries to persons, especially younger persons or children, may result if the ball is improperly thrown or caught.
Conventional athletic balls such as footballs and basketballs are composed of an inflatable, high strength inner bladder, and an outer layer of heavy leather, rubber or plastic material. Such balls are inflated to high pressure and thrown, kicked or bounced, all of which can cause injuries to fingers as well as other parts of the body, and to property as well.
The present invention uniquely combines the pliability of a standard medicine ball with the ease of manufacture and sturdiness of an inflatable athletic ball to produce an improved medicine ball. The ball may be of any size, but is preferably about the size of a standard soccer ball. It has a sturdy leather or plastic cover and an inflatable inner bladder of sufficient thickness that, at relatively low inflation pressures, permits the ball to be lighter in weight than conventional medicine balls yet pliable so that it is easy to throw and catch, even for children. The lighter ball is less likely to cause injuries, but as with standard medicine balls should not be kicked or headed like a soccer ball.
In its construction the present improved medicine ball is substantially different from the inflatable play ball described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,382 to Spector in that the wall of the inflatable bladder of this invention is considerably thicker, adding mass and weight to the ball yet permitting the ball to be pliable when inflated to low pressures. The present invention is also different from the pliant soccer ball having a wound cotton interior as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,902 to Massino, and from the soccer ball with a two-ply butyl floating bladder described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,373 to Dehnert et al. The bladder of the present invention does not float, but is secured to the inside of the covering.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a unique medicine ball which is smaller and lighter than conventional ball, but which is pliable and easily thrown and caught.
Another object of this invention is a novel construction for a medicine ball wherein the inside is an inflatable bladder with heavy, thick walls which add mass but which are pliable when inflated to low pressures.
A further object of this invention is a small, light weight medicine ball that is easy to construct and is less likely to cause injury.
A still further object of this invention is a novel medicine ball in which a thick-walled rubber bladder is secured about its valve seat to the inside of its covering.


Reduction projection type X-ray lithography with an exposing beam wavelength of 40-150A, longer than in conventional 1:1 proximity exposure, has a high-vacuum space. This would reduce wafer replacement work efficiency and contaminate optical mirrors with substances released by a resist decomposed during exposure except for separating an optical system chamber and a wafer exposing chamber by a differential pumping section and a thin-film window. Wafer exposure is under atmospheric pressure, improving productivity, accuracy of exposure and longevity of the optical devices.

The present invention relates to fabricating a semiconductor device and more particularly to X-ray lithography to form a fine pattern, for example, as used for making highly integrated memory devices.
Efforts have been made to develop X-ray lithography to be used in microfabrication and to be capable of manufacturing future highly integrated LSIs at high production capacity. Until now, development efforts have been focused on a 1:1 method, in which a mask of the same scale as the LSI is replicated. Since the replication performance depends on the mask precision, a reduced projection method is newly proposed in which a beam path intersects an enlarged mask, after, which the beam is reduced and exposed onto wafers. This is described in, for example, Technical Digest Series Volume of Soft-X-ray Projection on Lithography, p. 57-59, 1991. With this reduced projection method, because of the restrictions of a focusing optical system, the wavelength of the X-ray is about 130A, more than ten times longer than that of the conventional 1:1 method. For this reason, an entire system including an optical system and a wafer exposing unit is arranged in one high-vacuum chamber.

Projection type X-ray lithography apparatus


The present invention discloses a multifunctional powder material for protecting buildings and process for the same. Said multifunctional powder material contains fine powders of refined limestone, dolomite and marble, a straight-chain alkyl acid or a straight-chain alkane containing 16-25 carbon atoms hydrophobic agent packed closely on the whole surfaces of said powders, the usage of said hydrophobic agent is at least 0.3 percent by weight (based on the total weight of the mixture of said powders).

Heat isolation and preservation, water-proofing, insulation and flame retardation etc. for buildings are very important in architectural engineering. In order to solve these problems, many kinds of materials for protecting buildings have been developed already. Water-proofing materials include water-proofing rolls and slices, coatings or paints, such as polychloroprene asphalt emulsion, polyurethane water-proofing coating, etc.; sealing ointments, such as tar polymethane water-proofing glue, etc. Heat isolating and preserving materials, insulating materials as well as flame retardation materials have also been developed. But among these materials, most of them possess only one function. For example, water-proofing materials only have the action of water-proofing. Insulating materials only have the action of insulating, etc. Moreover, organic substances are used in these materials, they are combustible and have no flame retardability. In addition, the protecting materials known in the prior art can be brought in play only with the aid of some other auxiliary materials, and their costs are rather high, and the processes for the utilization of them are rather complicate. Furthermore, these protecting materials will be deformed in case of the ageing of said auxiliary materials and/or the crevice or the deformation of the building's foundation, and the protectabilities of these protecting materials will be lost.

Multifunctional powder material for protecting buildings and process for the same

Jianxin Waterproof Powder Factory of Chonging County


A radio communication system includes a radio network controller, base stations and mobile stations. The mobile station includes a response signal transmitter which is configured to transmit a response signal including a group ID identifying a multicast group A to a base station. The response signal responds to a control signal for the multicast group A which the mobile station is joining in. The base station includes a response signal transmitter configured to transmit at least one response signal to the radio network controller. The response signal is selected from at least one response signal transmitted from the mobile station joining in the same multicast group A.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio communication system performing multicast communication, a mobile station, a base station and a radio network controller.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 1, broadcast communication whereby a plurality of base stations 11 to 17 transmit common information to unspecified mobile stations 101 to 112 in predetermined areas is known in a conventional radio communication system.
As shown in FIG. 2, multicast communication whereby a plurality of base stations 11 to 17 transmit common information to specific mobile stations joining in (belonging to) a specific group is known in a conventional radio communication system.
However, there is a problem in that a plurality of mobile stations joining in a multicast group receive a controls signal for the multicast group at approximately the same time, and a plurality of response signals are transmitted to the radio network controller at approximately the same time, so that the load on receiving controlling and processing of the radio network controller is increased as the number of response signals increases in the conventional multicast communication.

Radio communication system, mobile station, base station and radio network controller


A projection optical system used for an exposure apparatus to projecting a reduced size of an image of an object onto an image plane includes plural refractive elements that dispense with a reflective element having a substantial optical power, wherein the projection optical system forms an intermediate image.

The present invention relates generally to a projection optical system in an exposure apparatus, and more particularly to a projection optical system in an exposure apparatus used to manufacture a semiconductor integrated circuit and a liquid crystal display.
The exposure apparatus, such as a stepper and a scanner, used to manufacture a semiconductor device, such as an IC and LSI, is demanded to have an improved resolving power as the fine processing to the semiconductor device advances.
In general, the Rayleigh's formula gives the resolving power of the exposure apparatus, where R is a resolvable critical dimension, k1 is a constant determined by the photosensitive agent (resist) and illumination condition, λ is an exposure wavelength, and NA is a numerical aperture:R=k1·λ/NA  (1)
NA is defined as follows, where n is a refractive index of an image side, and θ is an angle between the optical axis and the marginal ray:NA=n·sin θ  (2)
The depth of focus ("DOF") is expressed as follows, where k2 is a constant:DOF=k2·n·λ/(NA2)  (3)
Therefore, according to Equation (1), use of a shorter exposure wavelength and a higher NA of the projection optical system are effective to the improved resolving power of the exposure apparatus.
The use of a shorter exposure wavelength has been promoted by adopting the ultra high-pressure mercury lamp (having a wavelength of 365 nm), a KrF excimer laser (having a wavelength of 248 nm), an ArF excimer laser (having a wavelength of 193 nm), etc. As for the NA of the projection optical system, an exposure apparatus equipped with a projection optical system having an NA of 0.85 is reduced to practice. A projection optical system exceeding an NA of 1.0 is being studied by applying the immersion technology that is used for the microscope field to the semiconductor exposure apparatus.
However, various technological problems arise as the high NA advances, such as 1) difficulties of corrections of various aberrations due to the high NA, 2) increased cost disadvantages caused by a large projection optical system, 3) manufacturing difficulties of a large aperture lens for the large projection optical system, 4) design and manufacturing difficulties of an antireflection coating applied to a lens, 5) remarkable influence of the polarization in imaging, and 6) a decreased focus margin due to the reduced DOF in inverse proportion to square NA.
A description will be given of a typical projection optical system for a conventional exposure apparatus. FIG. 15 shows a structure of the conventional projection optical system. Tables 7 and 8 indicate a radius of curvature, a surface interval, an effective diameter, and an aspheric coefficient for each surface.
The projection optical system has a specification of an NA of 1.1 (immersion), a light source of the ArF excimer laser (having a wavelength of 193 nm), and the maximum object point of 53.4 mm. Calculations assume that synthetic quartz (SiO2) has a refractive index of 1.5603, calcium fluoride (CaF2) has a refractive index of 1.5014, and water has a refractive index of 1.4367. The values of these refractive indexes are common to the embodiments of the present invention, which will be described later.
Unlike an illumination optical system, the projection optical system in the exposure apparatus and an objective lens in a microscope are required to have performance compatible with the diffraction limits. Generally speaking, the projection optical system and the like are required to have a wavefront aberration of 0.07λRMS or smaller as a permissible residue aberration, which is referred to as a Marechal's criterion.
The more recent semiconductor exposure apparatus is required to have a smaller wavelength aberration. The projection optical system shown in FIG. 15 has a value of 0.005λRMS throughout the entire screen area, and has received an excellent aberrational correction.
It is understood from Table 7 that the largest lens has an effective diameter of Φ350 mm or greater in the projection optical system. The block weight in the rightmost column in Table 7 denotes the weight of the cylindrical glass block that circumscribes each lens, and of materials necessary to manufacture the lens. The calculation assumes a margin from the effective diameter to the lens outer diameter to be 5 mm, a margin from the effective diameter of the concave surface to the outer diameter of the concave surface to be 2 mm, and a polishing margin to be 1 mm. These margins are common to the following embodiments.
Japanese Patent Application, Publication No. 2004-22708 discloses, at paragraphs 0038 to 0041, and FIG. 15 etc., an imaging optical system that serves as an illumination optical system for an exposure apparatus, forms an intermediate image, and has a reduced lens diameter.
It is understood from Table 7 that about 220 kg of glass material is necessary to manufacture the projection optical system. Therefore, when expensive synthetic quartz for the ArF excimer laser is used to manufacture the projection optical system, the whole exposure apparatus becomes expensive due to the material cost of the optical element.
In addition, the glass material used for the semiconductor exposure apparatus should maintain the homogeneity extremely high and the birefringence extremely low, and it is technically difficult to satisfy the specification in the glass material having a large diameter.
Moreover, a diameter of the above conventional projection optical system exponentially increases, as the high NA scheme advances. FIG. 6 shows a relationship between the NA and the lens diameter in various types of projection optical systems, as disclosed in SPIE (The International Society for Optical Engineering), February of 2003. According to FIG. 6, the lens diameter increases nonlinearly in the projection optical system as the NA increases. The conventional projection optical system shown in FIG. 15 is an immersion dioptric optical system that uses an aspheric lens, and the lens diameter suddenly increases as the NA exceeds 1.05. The glass material cost and the manufacturing difficulty increasingly will rise in designing and manufacturing a future projection optical system having a higher NA that meets the demands for the improved resolving power.
According to FIG. 6, a catadioptric projection optical system has a smaller diameter than a dioptric projection optical system. However, the catadioptric system should use a mirror (reflective element) that has a higher manufacturing sensitivity than a lens (refractive element), and poses higher design and manufacturing difficulties than the dioptric system. Therefore, instead of using the catadioptric system, the dioptric system preferably forms a projection optical system having a high NA.

Projection optical system and exposure apparatus having the same


A system and a method for generating a document and maintaining the integrity of the document includes compiling a superset of data into a data heap from multiple data sources, where the data heap corresponds to a start date and one or more clients. The system generates the document using content elements, which are created using the compiled data, and embeds the content elements into the document. The document then is accessible through an associated software application. The data heap is saved and attached to the document. When the document is modified or edited in any manner, the system automatically saves the modified document as a new version. Additionally, the data heap is synchronized to the associated document and, therefore, is regenerated and saved as a new version along with the modified document.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and a method for generating computer-accessible documents from a plurality of data sources and maintaining the integrity of the documents.
2. Related Art
It is common when generating a business document, such as a text file or presentation slides, to draft, review, and revise the document multiple times before a final document is produced. Often, such a document includes data imported from multiple sources and multiple applications external to the document. Typically, the importation of data into a document is performed manually, once a user has located the relevant data. Generating a document that requires a large volume of data to be imported, such as, for example, presentation slides in which data from multiple sources are compiled, can take weeks, sometimes even months, to produce depending on the size of the document.
Additionally, because a document often is edited and revised multiple times before a final document is produced, changes between each version of the document are lost when a new version is not created for each time the document is modified. If multiple users have access to the document, maintaining the integrity of the document becomes increasingly difficult. Accordingly, a need exists for an improved way of automating the creation of documents that utilize external or imported data, and for an improved means of maintaining the integrity of such documents in order to reduce the time and human error often associated with documents made through the collaborative efforts of multiple users.

System and method for automating document generation


In accordance with the present invention, there are provided nucleic acids encoding human metabotropic glutamate receptor subtypes and the proteins encoded thereby. In a particular embodiment, the invention nucleic acids encode mGluR1, mGluR2, mGluR3 and mGluR5 subtypes of human metabotropic glutamate receptors. In addition to being useful for the production of metabotropic glutamate receptor subtypes, these nucleic acids are also useful as probes, thus enabling those skilled in the art, without undue experimentation, to identify and isolate related human receptor subunits. In addition to disclosing novel metabotropic glutamate receptor subtypes, the present invention also comprises methods for using such receptor subtypes to identify and characterize compounds which affect the function of such receptors, e.g., agonists, antagonists, and modulators of glutamate receptor function.

The amino acid L-glutamate is a major excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. Anatomical, biochemical and electrophysiological analyses suggest that glutamatergic systems are involved in a broad array of neuronal processes, including fast excitatory synaptic transmission, regulation of neurotransmitter releases, long-term potentiation, learning and memory, developmental synaptic plasticity, hypoxic-ischemic damage and neuronal cell death, epileptiform seizures, as well as the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative disorders. See generally, Monaghan et al., Ann. Rev. Pharmacol. Toxicol. 29:365-402 (1980). This extensive repertoire of functions, especially those related to learning, neurotoxicity and neuropathology, has stimulated recent attempts to describe and define the mechanisms through which glutamate exerts its effects.
Currently, glutamate receptor classification schemes are based on pharmacological criteria. Glutamate has been observed to mediate its effects through receptors that have been categorized into two main groups: ionotropic and metabotropic. Ionotropic glutamate receptors contain integral cation-specific, ligand-gated ion channels, whereas metabotropic glutamate receptors are G-protein-coupled receptors that transduce extracellular signals via activation of intracellular second messenger systems. Ionotropic receptors are further divided into at least two categories based on the pharmacological and functional properties of the receptors. The two main types of ionotropic receptors are NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors and kainate/AMPA (.alpha.-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate, formerly called the quisqualic acid or QUIS receptor), receptors. While the metabotropic receptors bind to some of the same ligands that bind to ionotropic glutamate receptors, the metabotropic receptors alter synaptic physiology via GTP-binding proteins and second messengers such as cyclic AMP, cyclic GMP, diacylglycerol, inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate and calcium [see, for example, Gundersen et al., Proc. R. Soc. London Ser. 221:127 (1984); Sladeczek et al., Nature 317:717 (1985); Nicoletti et al., J. Neurosci. 6:1905 (1986); Sugiyama et al., Nature 325:531 (1987)].
The electrophysiological and pharmacological properties of metabotropic glutamate receptors have been studied using animal tissues and cell lines as a source of receptors, as well as non-human recombinant receptors. The value of such studies for application to the development of human therapeutics has been limited by the availability of only non-human receptors. Moreover, it is only recently that the characteristics and structure of metabotropic glutamate receptors have been investigated at the molecular level. Such investigation has, however, only been carried out in non-human species. Because of the potential physiological and pathological significance of metabotropic glutamate receptors, it is imperative (particularly for drug screening assays) to have available human sequences (i.e., DNA, RNA, proteins) which encode representative members of the various glutamate receptor classes. The availability of such human sequences will also enable the investigation of receptor distribution in humans, the correlation of specific receptor modification with the occurrence of various disease states, etc.

Cation-based bioassay using human metabotropic glutamate receptors


An optical transmitting/receiving apparatus comprises a laser and an optical detector. The optical transmitting/receiving apparatus is connected to an optical fiber by a coupling mechanism in such a way that the optical fiber can be connected and disconnected to and from the optical transmitting/receiving apparatus with a high degree of freedom. An optical signal transmitted by the laser is supplied to the optical fiber. On the other hand, an inputting optical signal received through the optical fiber and a loopback optical signal are supplied to the optical detector. A signal output by the optical detector is supplied to a receiving circuit. When a self-diagnosis of the optical transmitting/receiving apparatus is carried out, the optical fiber is disconnected from the optical transmitting/receiving apparatus. In the self-diagnosis, a loopback control circuit generates a driving circuit control signal in accordance with a loopback control signal. The driving circuit control signal is supplied to a driving circuit for driving the laser in order to adjust the optical signal output by the laser.

The present invention relates to an optical communication apparatus suitable for two-way optical communication.
There has been known an optical transmitting/receiving apparatus capable of carrying out two-way optical communication of optical signals by using a transmitting unit and a receiving unit through an optical fiber.
A self-diagnosis is carried out in such an optical transmitting/receiving apparatus by transmitting an optical signal from the transmitting unit thereof to its receiving unit by way of a loopback optical fiber.
By the way, in order to carry out a self-diagnosis in the normal usage of two-way optical communication, it is necessary to connect a loopback optical fiber prepared separately, giving rise to a problem that the self diagnosis can not be performed with ease.


A turbine rotor blade includes a hollow airfoil joined to a platform and dovetail. A main flow channel extends longitudinally in span through the blade and is bound chordally by opposite partitions transversely bridging opposite sidewalls of the airfoil. A damper rib and transversely opposite damper pad are arranged together in a plurality of pairs spaced longitudinally apart in the airfoil and chordally positioned intermediate to the partitions to provide unobstructed forward and aft portions of the flow channel for channeling a coolant therethrough. The damper ribs and pads are configured to receive a wire damper through the channel to locally dampen vibration while minimizing obstruction of the coolant flow therethrough.

The present invention relates generally to gas turbine engines, and, more specifically, to turbine rotor blade vibration.
In a gas turbine engine, air is pressurized in a compressor and mixed with fuel in a combustor for generating hot combustion gases. Energy is extracted from the gases in a high pressure turbine (HPT) which powers the compressor through one drive shaft, and additional energy is extracted from the gases in a low pressure turbine (LPT) which follows the HPT and drives another shaft for powering an upstream fan in a turbofan aircraft engine application.
Each turbine stage includes a stationary turbine nozzle having a row of nozzle vanes which guide the combustion gases through a corresponding row of turbine rotor blades extending radially outwardly from a supporting rotor disk. The rotor blades extract energy from the gases to rotate their supporting disks and the corresponding drive shaft connected thereto.
Each turbine blade is therefore subject to substantial aerodynamic pressure loads from the combustion gases, thermal loads from the heat thereof, and centrifugal loads from rotation of the blades atop their supporting rotating disks. The turbine blades are typically hollow in the initial turbine stages and include corresponding internal cooling circuits through which air bled from the compressor is channeled for cooling the blades from exposure to the hot combustion gases.
Each turbine rotor blade is therefore highly loaded during operation and is subject to vibration therefrom. Vibration occurs at distinct modes subject to excitation frequency and force and affects the high cycle fatigue (HCF) life of the rotor blades.
Accordingly, turbine rotor blades are specifically designed for their specific turbine stages and specific operating environment to minimize vibration at the different modes of vibration, and correspondingly maximize the HCF life of the blade.
In many designs, the individual rotor blades may be sufficiently configured for acceptable HCF life without additional remedy.
In other designs, a discrete damper is used for frictionally damping vibration of the blades during operation for enhancing blade life. However, dampers are generally undesirable because they increase the number of parts required for the engine, increase weight, and increase original cost of the engine as well as maintenance costs.
Blade vibration dampers are found in various configurations including those specifically configured for being mounted external to the blade, and those specifically configured for being mounted inside the blade. The different designs require different configurations and have different advantages and disadvantages and different modes of operation except for the common use of frictional damping.
A frictional damper introduces an interface centrifugally loaded during operation for effecting frictional damping as the adjacent components experience relative motion during vibration. The energy of vibration is dissipated by the friction, which therefore reduces the magnitude of the vibration.
However, frictional damping occurs with frictional wear between the components, and the damper and the associated blade being dampened must also be suitably designed for minimizing friction wear to ensure the desired useful life of the blade and cooperating damper.
Development testing of certain turbine rotor blades indicates that under-platform dampers are not suitably effective for damping vibration under certain vibratory modes. However, internal damping may be used to more effectively dampen the experienced vibratory modes, but substantially increases the difficulty of design.
Since the typical turbine rotor blade is optimized in design for aerodynamic, thermodynamic, and mechanical performance, the redesign thereof for additional damping performance necessarily affects the original optimum design.
For example, the airfoil portion of the typical turbine blade is hollow with relatively thin sidewalls, and includes an intricate internal cooling circuit differently configured for the different heat loads experienced over the opposite pressure and suction sides thereof. The experienced heat loads vary from the airfoil leading edge which first receives the hot combustion gases to the relatively thin trailing edge over which the gases are discharged.
The airfoil pressure side is generally concave and the suction side is generally convex and effect different velocity and pressure distributions thereover between the leading and trailing edges of the airfoil and from root to tip.
The introduction of an additional damper inside the airfoil therefore affects the cooling performance of the internal cooling circuit, as well as increases the weight of the blade and the corresponding centrifugal loads and stresses generated during rotary operation of the blades atop the supporting rotor disk.
Accordingly, it is desired to provide a turbine rotor blade having an internal damper for reducing blade vibration during operation while minimizing adverse affect in the overall blade design.


A measuring cell (22) in a fiber sample analysis system (10) contains housing member (76) which removably supports a transparent flow tube (82) and an optical device (26) which projects a beam (124) across the tube for detecting and measuring individual fibers in a dilute sample fluid which flows through the tube at a constant velocity. The tube includes a gradually narrowing transition portion (86) leading to a measurement portion (88) situated at the optical device and having a flow diameter in the range of about 1.0 to 3.0 mm.

The present invention relates to the detection of particulates in a fluid, and more particularly, to the measurement of the size distribution of fibers in a fluid sample.
In papermaking and other processes of a similar nature, a dispersion of fibers in a carrier liquid is deposited on webs or the like for undergoing various consolidation, drying, and perhaps coating operations, eventually to emerge as a finished sheet product, i.e., paper. The manufacture of paper spans a variety of specifications as to weight, surface texture, and other physical and chemical criteria to be satisfied. As is well known, the quality of the manufactured paper is very strongly dependent on the quality of the fibers. This quality depends in part on the source of the fibers, and on the manner in which the fibers were refined prior to introduction into the paper manufacturing equipment. An indicator of refining quality is the size distribution of the refined fibers.
In papermaking plants, it is desired that the machinery be adjusted, or controlled, in response to the deviation of the fiber size distribution relative to the targets associated with the particular type of paper manufactured during a given run. To date, on-line equipment for measuring or analyzing the size distribution of fibers, has been very expensive and susceptible to plugging.
Traditionally, "accurate" fiber size distribution has been determined by flowing a diluted sample through various tanks and meshes, on which the fibers are physically classified into four or five size intervals. The deposits on each mesh must be dried and weighed. As a practical matter, this procedure cannot be carried out on line, because the steps of precisely diluting the samples, weighing the meshes before and after classification, and the like, can only be performed in a laboratory or a well-equipped room away from the actual paper manufacturing equipment. The standard types of procedures are generally referred to as either the Clark method or the Bauer-McNett method, and are more fully described in TAPPI Standard T233SU-64 (1964).
More recent attempts of on-line measurement have utilized an optic counting technique, whereby a diluted sample of the fluid is passed through a transparent tube, where a standing light beam is interrupted commensurate with the length of the fiber passing therethrough. It is believed that one type of optic analyzer, available in two models, utilizes measuring tubes having diameters of about 0.2 mm and 0.4 mm, and counting rates of 50 and 100 fibers per second, respectively. Since relatively large fibers, or the occasional agglomeration of fibers, better known as shives, may have a diameter on the order of 0.2 mm to 0.4 mm, this type of equipment is prone to plugging by oversize fibers or shives. When plugging occurs, a backwash or vacuum assist operation is performed to clear the tubes and resume analysis.
Another type of optic analyzer has a generally square flow tube on the order of at least 8.0 mm per side. In this arrangement, the flow area is large enough to avoid blockage by oversized fibers and shives, but it is so large that two light beams projecting perpendicularly to each other, must be used to assure that the fibers can be characterized. Precision is lost and, as a result, the fibers are classified only into only a few categories, e.g., relatively large, average, or relatively small.


Mechanisms to prevent access to electronic components in an electronic device when the electronic device is receiving power. On example may provide an electronic device including a receptacle, the receptacle including a button. The button may be configured to be depressed by a user, and otherwise to be in a normal state. When the button is depressed, it may act through a locking mechanism to unlock, open, or eject a door covering one or more sockets or electronic components. When the door is closed, the locking mechanism may either prevent the door from being opened, or may maintain the door in a closed state, unless the button is depressed. When a power plug is inserted in the receptacle, the power plug may prevent access to the button. Accordingly, when the power plug is inserted, the button may not be accessible to be depressed, and the door may remain closed.

Electronic devices have become ubiquitous the past several years. The number and types of portable computing devices, tablet, desktop, and all-in-one computers, cell, smart, and media phones, storage devices, portable media players, navigation systems, monitors and other devices has increased tremendously, and this increase shows no signs of abating.
These electronic devices may include one or more sockets and electronic components. It may be useful to provide users access to some of these sockets and electronic components. For example, it may be useful to provide access such that users may replace failed components. It may also be useful to provide access such that users may upgrade or otherwise improve existing components.
Access to these devices may be provided through components in a device enclosure, such as through doors, slots, removable covers, or other such structure. That is, a door, cover, or other such covering mechanism may be opened or removed to allow access.
Unfortunately, when these components are accessed, they may be damaged. For example, static electricity from a user may damage electrical components when they are being accessed. More importantly, users may be injured, particularly when power is being applied to the electrical components. That is, inadvertent contact between a user accessing internal electrical components of an electronic device may cause injury to the user.
To avoid this user injury, it may be desirable to prevent users from making such inadvertent contact with components that are receiving power. One way to accomplish this may be to prevent access to such components while the electronic device is being powered.
Thus, what is needed are mechanisms for electronic devices and device enclosures to prevent access by a user to electronic components in an electronic device when the electronic device is receiving power.

Protective locking mechanism for device enclosure


A semiconductor memory device having shared sense amplifiers is provided. The semiconductor memory device has a bit-line selector disposed closer to a memory cell array than a column decoder. When the column decoder outputs a bit-line indication signal corresponding to the number of bit lines, the bit-line selector selects a plurality of bit lines in response to the bit-line indication signal. Thus, it is possible to reduce the number of signals output from the column decoder.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate to a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly, to a semiconductor memory device having shared bit-line sense amplifiers.
2. Description of Related Art
Semiconductor memory devices may have higher operating speed, lower power consumption, higher degree of integration, and/or smaller size. To these ends, a semiconductor memory device in which a plurality of bit lines use one sense amplifier in common has been made. In order for a column decoder to select the bit lines, a number of column selection lines should be the same as a plurality of bit lines.


A turning control device for a vehicle includes: a first standard yaw rate calculation unit that calculates a first standard yaw rate on the basis of detection signals of the lateral acceleration detection unit and the vehicle speed detection unit, a correction unit that corrects the first standard yaw rate, in an increasing direction on the basis of detection signals of a steering amount detection unit and the vehicle speed detection unit, and calculates a second standard yaw rate, a braking force control amount calculation unit that calculates a yaw rate deviation that is a deviation between the second standard yaw rate and an actual yaw rate, which is detected by the yaw rate detection unit, and determines a braking force control amount so as to cancel out the yaw rate deviation, and a braking control unit that controls the braking force on the basis of the braking force control amount determined by the braking force control amount calculation unit.

As an example of this type of turning control device, it is known that stabilization of a vehicle behavior is achieved by controlling braking of a specific wheel in a direction in which a deviation between a lateral G standard yaw rate, which is calculated on the basis of the acceleration of a vehicle in the right-and-left direction (hereinafter referred to as lateral acceleration) and a vehicle speed, and the actual yaw rate of the vehicle is brought close to 0.
Additionally, in an example of another turning control device, it is known that a yaw moment is assisted and improvement of a turning-round property is achieved by controlling to make right and left braking forces of front wheels different and make right and left braking forces of rear wheels different, according to a turning state (for example, the change rate of a steering angle or a steering angle), at braking (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Additionally, it is known that improvement of the turning-round property is achieved by calculating a correct yaw moment by adding a first moment and a second moment, the first yaw moment is calculated on the basis of a steering angular speed or a steering angular acceleration, and the second yaw moment is calculated on the basis of the steering angle, the vehicle speed, and the yaw rate, and then making right and left braking forces of front wheels different and making right and left braking forces of rear wheels different so as to generate the corrected yaw moment (for example, refer to Patent Document 2).


A positive displacement pump, particularly a liquid metering or batching pump, includes a fluid inlet, a pump chamber of variable volume, an outlet through which fluid leaves the pump chamber, a driven injection member for repetitive displacement of fluid from the pump chamber, and a valve which functions to open and close a flow passage connecting the inlet with the pump chamber. The flow passage is formed by a gap which extends around at least the major part of the circumference of the pump chamber and which can be open to a height which varies from a smallest value at the ends of the gap to a largest value at a location between the circumferential ends of the gap. The valve includes a valve member which extends along the flow passage and which is pivotally mounted on a pivot adjacent the circumferential ends of the passage.

The present invention relates to a piston-type positive-displacement pump and also to a valve arrangement which can be used, for instance, as an inlet valve in such pumps.
European Patent Application No. 89850427.9 discloses piston-type positive-displacement pumps, some embodiments of which are provided with flap valves and other embodiments of which are provided with mechanically operated pinch valves for blocking and unblocking the flow of fluid between an inlet and a pump chamber and in certain cases also between the pump chamber and an outlet.
An important feature of the pumps disclosed in the aforesaid patent application is that the inlet communicates with the pump chamber through a flow passage in the form of a gap which extends around the full circumference of the pump chamber, or at least over a major part of the circumference.
In those embodiments where the outlet is positioned centrally in the pump chamber, the pump can be readily constructed so that the flow passage will extend completely around the pump chamber, such that the passage will have a maximum circumferential length for a given diameter of the pump chamber and can thus be given a maximum cross-section area. Connected with the flow passage, immediately outside it, is a supply or reservoir chamber, which also extends completely around the pump chamber. Some of these embodiments include flap valves, while others include pinch valves which are operated positively by mechanical actuating means.
In the case of other embodiments, a small part of the pump-chamber circumference is used to accommodate an outlet connection from the pump chamber, with the circumferential ends of the flow passage positioned adjacent the outlet connection on both sides thereof. In these emodiments, the flow of fluid through the flow passage is controlled by means of flap valves.
In all of the emodiments illustrated in the aforesaid patent application, those parts of the pump which come into contact with the pumped fluid are formed by a container which is made of a flexible material (plastic foil or plastic film) and which comprises an inlet connection, a supply or reservoir chamber into which the inlet connection opens, a pump chamber, a flow passage extending between the two chambers, and an outlet connection, which extends from the pump chamber and which may include an equalizing chamber. The container is formed from two superimposed plastic-foil sheets which are heat-sealed together to form the just-mentioned parts.
When a pump of the kind described in the aforesaid patent application is to be used as a metering or volumetric batching pump with which high demands are placed on the exactness of the volume of fluid metered or batched by the pump, as is the case with liquid-packaging machines, for instance, it is preferred to use mechanically and positively controlled pinch valves, since flap valves are not able to close with sufficient precision. The use of positively controlled pinch valves causes no particular problems in those instances where the flow passage extends around the whole of the pump-chamber circumference, since in such cases the container walls may part from one another along a closed curve (circle) to open the flow passage. On the other hand, a problem is created when the flow passage is broken or interrupted for accommodating the outlet connection, since the container walls are heat-sealed together or held together in some other way at the ends of the flow passage.

Valve arrangement and positive-displacement pump