Isolated and purified antiserum or antibody specific for an immunogenic material is provided. Such immunogenic material may comprise purified and isolated transferrin receptor protein of a strain of Haemophilus or a fragment or an analog of the transferrin receptor protein, recombinant Tbp1 or Tbp2 proteins and isolated and purified Tbp1 and Tbp2 proteins, and synthetic peptides.

Encapsulated Haemophilus influenzae type b strains are the major cause of bacterial meningitis and other invasive infections in young children. However, the non-encapsulated or non-typable H. influenzae (NTHi) are responsible for a wide range of human diseases including otitis media, epiglottitis, pneumonia, and tracheobronchitis. Vaccines based upon H. influenzae type b capsular polysaccharide conjugated to diphtheria toxoid (Berkowitz et al., 1987. Throughout this application, various references are referred to in parenthesis to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains. Full bibliographic information for each citation is found at the end of the specification, immediately preceding the claims. The disclosures of these references are hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure), tetanus toxoid (Classon et al., 1989 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,538), or Neisseria meningitidis outer membrane protein (Black et al., 1991) have been effective in reducing H. influenzae type b-induced meningitis, but not NTHi-induced disease (Bluestone, 1982).
Otitis media is the most common illness of early childhood with 60-70% of all children of less than 2 years of age experiencing between one and three ear infections. Chronic otitis media is responsible for hearing, speech and cognitive impairments in children. H. influenzae infections account for about 30% of the cases of acute otitis media and about 60% of chronic otitis media. In the United States alone, treatment of otitis media costs between 1 and 2 billion dollars per year for antibiotics and surgical procedures such as tonsillectomies, adenoidectomies and insertion of tympanostomy tubes. Furthermore, many of the causative organisms of otitis media are becoming resistant to antibiotic treatment. An effective prophylactic vaccine against otitis media is thus desirable. Non-typable strains of H. influenzae are also important pathogens responsible for pneumonia in the elderly and other individuals who are particularly susceptible to respiratory infections. There is thus a need for antigens from H. influenzae which are useful as components in immunogenic preparations that provide protection against the many serotypes of H. influenzae.
Iron is an essential nutrient for the growth of many bacteria. Several human pathogens, such as H. influenzae, Branhamella catarrhalis, N. meningitidis, N. gonorrhoeae and non-pathogenic commensal Neisseria strains, can utilize human transferrin as an iron source (Schryvers, 1988; Schryvers and Lee, 1989; Mickelsen and Sparling, 1981). The bacterial transferrin receptor (TfR) is composed of two chains, Tbp1 and Tbp2. In strains of H. influenzae, the molecular weight of Tbp1 is approximately 100,000, whereas the molecular weight of Tbp2 is variable, ranging from 60,000 to 90,000, depending upon the strain (Schryvers and Gray-Owen, 1992; Holland et al., 1992). Expression of H. influenzae transferrin receptor is thought to be iron-and/or hemin-regulated (Morton et al., 1993) and a putative fur-binding site (Braun and Hantke, 1991) has been identified upstream of tbp2. This sequence is found in the promoter region of genes which are negatively regulated by iron, including N. meningitidis TfR (Legrain et al., 1993). The promoter is followed by the tbp2 and tbpl genes, an arrangement found in other bacterial TfR operons (Legrain et al, 1993; Wilton et al., 1993). Antibodies which block the access of the transferrin receptor to its iron source may prevent bacterial growth. In addition, antibodies against TfR that are opsonizing or bactericidal may also provide protection by alternative mechanisms. Thus, the transferrin receptor, fragments thereof, its constituent chains, or peptides derived therefrom are vaccine candidates to protect against H. influenzae disease. Mice immunized with N. meningitidis TfR proteins in Freund's adjuvant were protected from homologous challenge and the anti-TfR antisera were bactericidal and protective in a passive transfer assay (Danve et al., 1993). Pigs immunized with recombinant A. pleuropneumoniae Tbp2 were protected against homologous challenge but not heterologous challenge (Rossi-Campos et al., 1992). These data indicate the efficacy of TfR-based vaccines in protection from disease. It would be desirable to provide the sequence of the DNA molecule that encodes transferrin receptor and peptides corresponding to portions of the transferrin receptor and vectors containing such sequences for diagnosis, immunization and the generation of diagnostic and immunological reagents.
Poliovirus is an enterovirus, a genus of the family Picornaviridae. There are three distinct serotypes of the virus, and multiple strains within each serotype. Virulent strains are causative agents of paralytic poliomyelitis. Attenuated strains, which have reduced potential to cause paralytic disease, and inactivated virulent strains, are used as vaccines. Infection with the virus induces long-lasting, protective, mucosal immunity. Inoculation with inactivated poliovirus vaccines can also induce a mucosal immune response.
The structure of poliovirus is known, and is highly conserved among strains and serotypes. The structures of several other picornaviruses (viruses belonging to genera of the family Picornaviridae) have also been determined, and have been shown to be closely related to the structure of poliovirus. It is possible to express foreign epitopes on the capsid of polioviruses (Murdin et al, 1992) and this work has been extended to other picornaviruses. Epitopes which have been expressed are usually short, well defined, contiguous epitopes, and most have been expressed within poliovirus neutralisation antigenic site I (NAgI) or the equivalent site on other picornaviruses. This site includes the loop linking beta strands B and C (the BC loop) of poliovirus capsid protein VP1. The BC loop of VP1 is a surface-exposed loop of nine amino acids which can be replaced and extended with at least twenty-five heterologous amino acids (Murdin et al, 1991). Hybrid or chimeric polioviruses expressing transferrin receptor epitopes, which grow to a high titer and are immunogenic, would be useful as vaccines and as tools for the generation of immunological reagents.


A deformable mirror compatible with short wavelength (extreme ultraviolet) radiation that can be precisely controlled to nanometer and subnanometer accuracy is described. Actuators are coupled between a reaction plate and a face plate which has a reflective coating. A control system adjusts the voltage supplied to the actuators; by coordinating the voltages supplied to the actuators, the reflective surface of the mirror can be deformed to correct for dimensional errors in the mirror or to produce a desired contour.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to deformable optics for use with short wavelength radiation.
2. Background of the Invention
The use of mirrors or reflective optics for applications with short wavelength radiation (e.g., <200 nm) is well-known. Reflective optics are required for short wavelength radiation because refractive optics absorb, but do not transmit at these wavelengths. Although reflective optics absorb some shortwave radiation, much of the incident radiation can be reflected with special reflective coatings.
One example of a commercial application for short wavelength radiation compatible mirrors is extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photolithography, which is used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices. The use of short wavelength or EUV radiation (<20 nm) in semiconductor photolithography is being developed to reduce the resolution dimension, which is proportional to wavelength. A smaller resolution dimension allows more devices to be fabricated onto a given area of a wafer.
To accurately project an image onto a wafer through an optical system in photolithography, the image distortion must be very low. For commercial semiconductor production, the image distortion of an optical system should not be greater than 10% of the resolution dimension. Because the resolution dimension of EUV optical systems may be in the 50 to 100 nm range, the distortion must be proportionally small, approximately 5 to 10 nm. If the distortion exceeds 10% of the resolution dimension, excessive lithography errors can occur, resulting in defective integrated circuits.
In order to produce optical systems with less than 10 nm distortion, the mirrors used in EUV optical systems must have extremely high dimensional accuracy. Dimensionally correct mirrors have better imaging performance, higher EUV throughput, and longer lifetime between refurbishments. However, such low dimensional tolerances for optical systems make fabrication of acceptable mirrors, particularly aspheric mirrors, extremely difficult. Dimensional defects in mirror surfaces can result from inaccurate machining of the optics, and subsequent uneven deposition of reflective coatings, which are used to maximize the reflectivity of EUV optical elements. However, even with dimensionally perfect mirrors, dimensional defects can occur during short wavelength radiation exposure due to thermal loading, reflective coating stress, gravitational loading, and improper maintenance. Out of tolerance mirrors will produce unacceptably high image distortion at the wafer.
Deformable mirrors allow the reflective surface to be adjusted within the required dimensional tolerances during use without having to disassemble the optical system. U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,563 is an example of a deformable mirror which uses a number of actuators mounted on the back of the mirror to manipulate the mirror surface. Although the mirror of the '563 patent is deformable, it is not compatible with EUV radiation and therefore cannot deform the surface deflection within the nanometer tolerances required for short wavelength radiation photolithography optical systems.
Another deformable mirror is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,436. The '436 patent describes a deformable mirror that is compatible with EUV radiation and has a thin flexible reflective surface which is deformed by piezo actuators. Although the mirror described in the '436 patent is deformable, it also is not controllable within the tolerances required for EUV lithography, namely, nanometer to subnanometer accuracy. The actuators are connected between a stiff base and a flexible reflective surface, and any movement of the actuators directly deforms the reflective surface.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a deformable mirror which can precisely deform a mirror within the nanometer-subnanometer tolerances required for EUV lithography, and the reflective surface must be compatible with EUV radiation.

Deformable mirror for short wavelength applications


There is provided a stowable vehicle seat that can be stowed and restored with improved operability. The stowable vehicle seat has a seat support part for supporting a seat cushion so that the seat cushion is rotatable in the front and rear direction, a seat back having a reclining mechanism that folds over the seat cushion, a stowage recess provided on the vehicle body floor side, a front leg provided on the front side of the seat cushion, a leg locking element that engages and disengages the front leg with and from the vehicle body floor side, a link mechanism connected to the reclining mechanism and the leg locking element, and a strap that operates the reclining mechanism and the leg locking element via the link mechanism.

Various embodiments of the present invention relate to a stowable vehicle seat and, more particularly, to a stowable vehicle seat having improved operability.
Conventionally, there has been known a stowable vehicle seat in which—in the state in which the rear end part of a seat cushion constituting a vehicle seat is supported to be rotatable in the front and rear direction on the front side of a stowage recess (storage recess) in vehicle body floor, and a seat back is folded over the seat cushion—the vehicle seat can be rotated to the rear and stowed in the stowage recess.
For example, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-82698 ("the '698 Publication"), rotating shafts are provided in both right and left side edge parts in the front part of the stowage recess and brackets provided in right and left parts of the rear end part of the seat cushion, and the brackets are disposed to be rotatable in the front and rear direction with respect to the rotating shafts, whereby the seat can be stowed in the stowage recess by supporting the rear end part of the seat cushion to be rotatable in the front and rear direction.
In the technique described in the '698 Publication, the operating element for reclining lock and striker lock operated when the stowable vehicle seat is stowed and restored are separated for each mechanism, and also a lever is used as the operating element for striker lock. Therefore, this technique has a disadvantage that the operation load is high, and the operation is difficult to perform.


An illumination system for an interferometer combines a white-light source and a green source with a reflective green dichroic filter. When the green source alone is energized for PSI measurements, the output of the illumination system is green only. When a white-light output is desired for VSI measurements, both sources are energized and the intensity of the green light is judiciously calibrated to match the spectral band filtered out by the dichroic mirror. Therefore, the system can switch between green and white light simply by changing the selection of energized sources, without any mechanical switching and attendant delays and vibrations. Multiple narrowband sources may be combined with white light in a similar manner.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to interferometric techniques for surface characterization. In particular, it relates to a new method for providing illumination at different wavelengths for different interferometric applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Interferometric profilometry enables the performance of non-contact measurement of a surface with high resolution and high measurement speed. Several widely accepted techniques are available for acquiring light intensity data from correlograms generated by interfering light beams reflected from a test object and a reference surface and for calculating the surface topography of the object using a variety of well known analytical tools.
Most notably, phase-shifting interferometry (PSI) is based on changing the phase difference between two coherent interfering beams using a narrowband light, or at a single wavelength λ, to measure fairly smooth and continuous surfaces. Large-step, rough, or steep-surface measurements, on the other hand, have been traditionally carried out with white-light (or broadband light) vertical-scanning interferometry (VSI). Combinations and variations of PSI and VSI have been introduced in the art over the years to improve data acquisition and the quality of the measurements. See, for example, the so-called enhanced vertical scanning interferometry (EVSI) and the high-definition vertical-scan interferometry (HDVSI) processed described in copending U.S. Ser. No. 11/473,447.
Because different interferometric approaches used for different test surfaces require illumination at different wavelengths for best results, interferometers have incorporated illumination systems that permit switching wavelengths to suit the need. As the availability of reliable light emitting diodes of particular wavelengths has improved, the illumination systems have incorporated various combinations of diodes to provide maximum versatility. Green light is suitable for PSI and white light for VSI; thus, some illumination systems have included both sources (a green LED and a white light LED) and a mechanical switch in front of the instrument's optics to allow switching between the two, as illustrated schematically in FIG. 1. A drawback of this configuration has been the fact that the moving part necessarily introduces vibrations in the system that are highly undesirable for interferometric measurements.
Another approach has been to combine red, green and blue LEDs with two dichroic mirrors operating in reflection, as illustrated schematically in FIG. 2. As is readily understood by one skilled in the art, when all three LEDs are energized, the output of the illumination system is white light. Otherwise, a particular single wavelength may be selected simply by turning off the undesired ones. This configuration eliminates the shutter, thus allowing switching among a variety of wavelengths without mechanical action and attendant vibrations. However, the drawback of the system is the fact that the intensity spectrum of the white light produced by combining red, green and blue, while apparently white, is not sufficiently Gaussian to constitute true white light and is therefore not suitable for interferometry. As those skilled in the art would readily recognize, the correlograms and modulation envelopes produced by interferometric measurements are wide and exhibit so-called "ringing," as illustrated in FIG. 3. Moreover, this system is relatively expensive due to the large number of components (three LEDs and two dichroic elements).
The number of components in the illumination system could seemingly be reduced significantly simply by using a single white-light source and a movable green filter operating in transmission, as illustrated schematically in FIG. 4. The problem with this solution, however, lies in the fact that it still includes a movable part, the filter, and further that green filters tend to attenuate the incoming white light beyond a useful level of intensity in the output green band. Therefore, this apparently simple solution is not practical and a new illumination system with fewer elements and no mechanical components would be very desirable. The present invention addresses this remaining need.

Variable-wavelength illumination system for interferometry


An HDTV down conversion system including an apparatus for forming a low resolution 2:1 down converted video signal from an encoded video signal representing a video image. The encoded video signal is a frequency-domain transformed high resolution video signal with motion prediction. The apparatus includes a receiver for receiving encoded video signals as a plurality of high resolution frequency-domain video coefficient values. A down conversion filter receives and weights the high resolution frequency-domain video coefficient values to form a set of low passed frequency-domain video coefficients. An inverse-transform processor transforms the set of frequency-domain video coefficients into a set of pixel values. An averaging filter transforms selected ones of the pixel values in the set of pixel values into averaged pixel values. A decimating processor deletes selected ones of the set of pixel values to provide the low resolution video signal.

The present invention relates to a decoder which converts and formats an encoded high resolution video signal, e.g. MPEG-2 encoded video signals, to a decoded lower resolution output video signal, and more specifically to a 2:1 down conversion system for the decoder.
In the United States a standard has been proposed for digitally encoded high definition television signals (HDTV). A portion of this standard is essentially the same as the MPEG-2 standard, proposed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The standard is described in an International Standard (IS) publication entitled, xe2x80x9cInformation Technologyxe2x80x94Generic Coding of Moving Pictures and Associated Audio, Recommendation H.626xe2x80x9d, ISO/IEC 13818-2, IS, 11/94 which is available from the ISO and which is hereby incorporated by reference for its teaching on the MPEG-2 digital video coding standard.
The MPEG-2 standard is actually several different standards. In the MPEG-2 standard, several different profiles are defined, each corresponding to a different level of complexity of the encoded image. For each profile, different levels are defined, each level corresponding to a different image resolution. One of the MPEG-2 standards, known as Main Profile, Main Level is intended for coding video signals conforming to existing television standards (i.e., NTSC and PAL). Another standard, known as Main Profile, High Level, is intended for coding high-definition television images. Images encoded according to the Main Profile, High Level standard may have as many as 1,152 active lines per image frame and 1,920 pixels per line.
The Main Profile, Main Level standard, on the other hand, defines a maximum picture size of 720 pixels per line and 576 lines per frame. At a frame rate of 30 frames per second, signals encoded according to this standard have a data rate of 720*576*30 or 12,441,600 pixels per second. By contrast, images encoded according to the Main Profile, High Level standard have a maximum data rate of 1,152*1,920*30 or 66,355,200 pixels per second. This data rate is more than five times the data rate of image data encoded according to the Main Profile, Main Level standard. The standard proposed for HDTV encoding in the United States is a subset of this standard, having as many as 1,080 lines per frame, 1,920 pixels per line and a maximum frame rate, for this frame size, of 30 frames per second. The maximum data rate for this proposed standard is still far greater than the maximum data rate for the Main Profile, Main Level standard.
The MPEG-2 standard defines a complex syntax which contains a mixture of data and control information. Some of this control information is used to enable signals having several different formats to be covered by the standard. These formats define images having differing numbers of picture elements (pixels) per line, differing numbers of lines per frame or field, and differing numbers of frames or fields per second. In addition, the basic syntax of the MPEG-2 Main Profile defines the compressed MPEG-2 bit stream representing a sequence of images in five layers, the sequence layer, the group of pictures layer, the picture layer, the slice layer and the macroblock layer. Each of these layers is introduced with control information. Finally, other control information, also known as side information, (e.g. frame type, macroblock pattern, image motion vectors, coefficient zig-zag patterns and dequantization information) are interspersed throughout the coded bit stream.
A down conversion system converts a high definition input picture into lower resolution picture for display on a lower resolution monitor. Down conversion of high resolution Main Profile, High Level pictures to Main Profile, Main Level pictures, or other lower resolution picture formats, has gained increased importance for reducing implementation costs of HDTV. Down conversion allows replacement of expensive high definition monitors used with Main Profile, High Level encoded pictures with inexpensive existing monitors which have a lower picture resolution to support, for example, Main Profile, Main Level encoded pictures, such as NTSC or 525 progressive monitors.
To effectively receive the digital images, a decoder should process the video signal information rapidly. To be optimally effective, the coding systems should be relatively inexpensive and yet have sufficient power to decode these digital signals in real time.
One method of down conversion of the prior art simply low pass filters and decimates the decoded high resolution, Main Profile, High Level picture to form an image suitable for display on a conventional television receiver. Consequently, using existing techniques, a decoder employing down conversion may be implemented using a single processor having a complex design, considerable memory, and operating on the spatial domain image at a high data rate to perform this function. The high resolution, and high data rate, however, requires very expensive circuitry, which would be contrary to the implementation of a decoder in a consumer television receiver in which cost is a major factor.
An apparatus for forming a low resolution 2:1 down converted video signal from an encoded video signal representing a video image. The encoded video signal is a frequency-domain transformed high resolution video signal. The apparatus includes means for receiving encoded video signals as a plurality of high resolution frequency-domain video coefficient values. A down conversion filter means receives and weights selected ones of the high resolution frequency-domain video coefficient values to form a set of frequency-domain video coefficients which an inverse-transform means transforms into a set of pixel values. An averaging filter means transforms selected ones of the pixel values in the set of pixel values into averaged pixel values. A decimating means deletes selected ones of the set of pixel values to provide the low resolution video signal.

Efficient down conversion system for 2:1 decimation

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A system and method for testing input and output paths connected to an embedded processor. Specialized test software operating on the embedded processor creates one or more test workers or threads, each having a specific routine to perform, which are executed in parallel, stressing various communication paths. The results may be analyzed to help in many different ways during the life cycle of the device with the embedded controller.

Embedded controllers are ubiquitous, contained in many devices from complex disk controllers to small appliances. Often, the embedded controller runs a set of computer programs that perform many complex functions. Both the hardware and software can be complex and require many man hours to create.
When a new product is being developed, both the hardware and software must be tested and evaluated. In cases where the hardware and software are both complex and the software is required for the hardware to operate, the 'turn on' time for the device may be difficult because problems may not be quickly isolated to either hardware or software.
Many devices with embedded controllers have input and output functions. For example, a disk drive controller device may take input from one bus and send the information to the various disk drives it controls. The algorithm used by the embedded controller to process the input and output of the device may be very complex. When turning on a new hardware design with untested software, the debugging process may be long, tedious, and costly.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a system and method whereby a device with an embedded controller may quickly and reliably test its own hardware circuitry, especially the input and output channels. It would be further advantageous if such a system and method were repeatable, accurate, and was able to characterize the performance of certain areas of the hardware.


Systems for manufacturing a composite extruded product formed of a substrate and a film. The system includes an extruder, a film application section for integrally bonding the film to the substrate, a heating section for increasing the temperature of the composite extruded product, an embosser for embossing a pattern into the composite extruded product, and a cooling section for cooling the composite extruded product. The cooling section applies pressure to the composite extruded product and sprays cooling fluid onto the composite extruded product such that the composite extruded product is cooled and the pattern embossed into the first surface is permanently set.

Composite extruded products, e.g. decking, siding panels, and wall siding systems, can be made from several different composite materials including wood, plastic or vinyl materials such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and engineered wood composites. The composite extruded products may also include additives that add color and/or protect the composite extruded products against decay, mildew, ultraviolet light exposure, discoloration, and/or the like.
The composite extruded products may be made from layers of materials. For example, the composite extruded products may include a substrate layer and a cap layer that is affixed to the substrate layer. The cap layer is relatively thin relative to the substrate layer, and the expensive materials of the composite extruded product can be located in the thin cap layer rather than the relatively thick substrate layer to reduce the overall cost of the composite extruded product, e.g. expensive additives are only included in the thin cap layer and are not included in the thick substrate layer.
The composite extruded products may also be embossed by embossing rollers such that the surfaces of the composite extruded products are embossed with patterns. The embossed patterns can vary, and in certain examples, the embossed patterns simulate or mimic wood grain patterns of real wood. As such, the composite extruded products appear to be real wood to the consumer.
The following U.S. Patent Application Publication is incorporated herein by reference in entirety: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0203724 which discloses conventional methods for making a conventional composite extruded product.

Composite extruded products and systems for manufacturing the same


A method and apparatus for making a length of cable including placing a length of pipe forming a closed chamber into a bore hole, placing a length of metal tubing into the pipe, attaching a piston pig to an electrically conductive wire and inserting the pig into the metal tubing and applying a differential pressure to the piston pig for controlling the movement of the pig and conductor through the tubing, and removing the combination of the tubing and wire from the pipe for later use.

There is a need for long lengths of an insulated electrical conductor wire encased in metal tubing, for example, in well bores for providing electrical power and/or making various measurements from various types of instruments. In such cases, the electrical cable may be of a long length, for example only, as much as 15,000 feet long. The manufacture of such cable is both expensive and difficult.
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for manufacturing long lengths of cable in which an insulated conductor is inserted in a metal tubing. And while the present method and apparatus can be used for manufacturing such a cable in a horizontal position, it is particularly advantageous to manufacture such a cable in a vertical position whereby various types of forces can be utilized such as gravity forces, vacuum forces, and pressure forces, to control the insertion of an insulated conductor into the inside of an outer metal tubing. In addition, in the vertical manufacturing mode, the present method and apparatus can be advantageously utilized in a well bore such as an abandoned oil or gas well thereby reducing the expenses of the manufacturing facilities.

Method and apparatus for manufacturing an insulated conductor in metal tubing


A data transmission method is described, where first data is transmitted to a first processor, then second data based on the first data is transmitted to a second processor, and a check result is transmitted back to the first processor. This permits an independent check of data transmitted to a first processor by a second processor, so that abuse or prohibited use of first data in the first processor can be prevented.

German Patent No. 44 42 357 A1 describes a data transmission method in which data is transmitted between a data processing device and a terminal. Before receiving the data transmission, there is a mutual authentification using codes stored in a security module in the data processing device and in the terminal. Furthermore, a code is also transmitted, indicating whether the data records have been altered during the transmission. The security of the transmission is thus linked to the use of these security modules.


A manual binding tool has a first operating part opposite a handle unit and is capable of shifting positions relative to the tool body. A tightening mechanism pulls a second end in the lengthwise direction of the cable tie band part relative to a head part via operation of the first operating part. A holding mechanism holds the second end in the lengthwise direction of the band part pulled by the tightening mechanism to prevent a return movement. Second operating parts are provided to shift positions relative to the tool body. A fastening mechanism secures the second end of the band part in response to the operation of the second operating parts. Third operating parts are provided to shift positions relative to the tool body. A cutting mechanism cuts the second end of the band part in the lengthwise direction in response to the operation of the third operating parts.

Conventionally, manual binding tools used for metal binding band are known. This kind of manual binding tool is equipped with a handle and lever, a tightening mechanism that pulls a band toward a head unit after it passing through the head unit of the binding band, a fastening mechanism that fastens a leading end side of the band to a base end portion using the head unit, and a cutting mechanism that cuts the band near the head unit.
The manual binding tool is further equipped with a tightening-force adjustment mechanism that freely sets a maximum value of the tightening force using the tightening mechanism. Also, the manual binding tool is constituted to operate the tightening mechanism until the tightening force by the tightening mechanism reaches the maximum value (setting value), when the lever is rotated, and to operate the fastening and cutting mechanisms instead of the tightening mechanism when the tightening force has reached the setting value.
Stated another way, according to the manual binding tool, the action times of a pushing mechanism and the cutting mechanism are limited when the tightening force by the tightening mechanism has reached the maximum value set by the tightening-force adjustment mechanism by continuing the rotating operation of the lever. In other words, it was not possible freely to operate the pushing mechanism and the cutting mechanism for a predetermined time before or after the tightening force by the tightening mechanism reaches the maximum value.
Therefore, when the binding band is tightened loosely enough for the wire-shaped band that binds a target for binding to unravel, for example, or even if the binding band is tightened firmly enough to damage the target for binding, if the tightening force by the tightening mechanism reaches the maximum value, the pushing mechanism and the cutting mechanism will operate, so there is concern that the binding band will not be properly tightened.


A method of manufacturing a solar cell comprising steps of: (a) preparing a substrate comprising a semiconductor layer and a passivation layer formed at least on the back side of the semiconductor layer, wherein the passivation layer on the back side comprises one or more openings; (b) forming an aluminum (Al) conductor pattern at least in the openings of the passivation layer on the back side by applying an Al paste, wherein the Al paste comprises: (i) an Al powder, (ii) a glass frit, (iii) a zirconium carbide (ZrC) powder, and (iv) an organic medium; and (c) firing the Al conductor pattern.

A solar cell having a passivation layer on the back side of a semiconductor layer such as a Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell (PERC) has been proposed.
US20130183795 discloses a method of manufacturing a back side electrode of PERC type solar cell. The method contains (a) preparing a semiconductor substrate having a passivation layer which has open-holes on the back side, (b) applying an aluminum (Al) paste comprising an Al powder, a Pb—Si—B containing glass frit, and an organic medium, and (c) firing the Al paste.


A signal receiving apparatus includes an equalization module, a coarse tuning module and a fine tuning module. The equalization module receives an input signal, and performs an equalization process on the input signal according to an equalization strength to generate an equalized signal. The coarse tuning module adjusts the equalization strength according to the equalized signal until the equalized signal satisfies a preliminary convergence condition. When the preliminary convergence condition is satisfied, the fine tuning module adjusts the equalization strength according to the equalized signal until the equalization strength satisfies a final convergence condition.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a signal equalization technology.
2. Description of the Related Art
An equalizer is an essential component at receiver end of many communication systems, and is utilized for compensating or eliminating deformation/attenuation resulted from non-ideal channel factors during a transmission process. Only by applying an appropriate equalization process (e.g., selecting an appropriate equalization strength) on an input signal, a receiver end may correctly parse and use received data. Taking a DisplayPort (DP) video interface of Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) for example, the specification states that a receiver end needs to perform an equalization process following a clock recovery process.
In earlier versions of the DP video interface, a lower operating frequency (1.62 GHz or 2.7 GHz) is used, and a receiver end is usually required to only adopt a fixed equalization strength for receiver circuits to be functional. However, in newer versions of the DP video interface, not only an operating frequency is higher (5.4 GHz) but also a fault tolerance is lower, such that the design of adopting one fixed equalization strength may result in performance degradation of a receiving apparatus.

Signal receiving apparatus and two-stage adaptive equalization method thereof


A device for determining the levels of a predetermined substance in a predetermined volume of a fluid has an inner tube, a mass in the inner tube of a material that changes properties when exposed to the substance so that when the fluid passes through the mass the substance changes, an outer protective tube surrounding the inner tube and having an open end, a frangible seal sheet covering the open outer-tube end, and a test element having an end pierceable through the sheet and fittable with an end of the inner tube. Thus to install the cartridge formed by the inner tube and its contents on the test element, same is merely poked through the seal to simultaneously open the package and fit over the inner tube.

A gas-test device of the type used, for example, as a so-called breathalyzer to test the alcohol content of the exhalations of a drunk-driving suspect normally comprises a glass tube defining a fluid-flow passage in which is provided a mass of particles that, when they react to the alcohol component of a stream of gas passing through them, change color. In the standard drunkometer test the suspect is required to inflate a balloon, thereby passing a measured volume of his or her exhalations through the test cartridge to determine the alcohol level in the volume of gas held by the balloon.
A problem with such devices is that the cartridge containing the reactive material must be kept in a sealed environment and only at the last minute is fitted to the mouthpiece of the balloon to run the test. Any minor difficulties make the test invalid so that handling of the delicate cartridge must be minimized.
Another problem with the known devices is that the crystals that hold the reactive substance get powdered by rough handling so that they no longer work properly.

Prepackaged fluid test system for determining levels of a substance


A method and apparatus for determining the position and orientation of a remote object relative to a reference coordinate frame includes a source having a plurality of field-generating elements for generating electromagnetic fields, a drive for applying, to the generator element, signals that generate a plurality of electromagnetic fields that are distinguishable from one another, a remote sensor having a plurality of field-sensing elements for sensing the fields generated by the source, and a processor for processing the outputs of the sensing elements into remote object position and orientation relative to the source reference coordinate frame. The processor compensates the position and orientation values as a function of displacement of either the field-generating elements from a common center, or the field-sensing elements from a common center, or both. Techniques are disclosed for compensating for small-scale non-concentricity in order to overcome imperfections in the orthogonal coil sets wound on a common core, each set defining the source or the sensor. Techniques are also disclosed for compensating for large-scale non-concentricity to allow physical separation of the coil set defining the source or the sensor to dispersed locations that may be more desirable for a particular application.

This invention relates generally to remote object position and orientation determining systems employing an electromagnetic coupling and more particularly is directed to new processing techniques for such systems.
Remote object position and orientation determining systems employing electromagnetic couplings are known in the prior art. Such systems are used for tracking and determining the position and orientation of remote objects in a wide variety of applications. Such systems traditionally have a source assembly that includes a set, typically three, generally concentrically positioned, of orthogonal field-generation antennas for generating a plurality of electromagnetic fields. Located at the remote object is a sensor having a set, also typically three, generally concentrically positioned, of orthogonal receiving antennas for receiving the electromagnetic fields generated by the transmitting antennas and producing signals corresponding to the received electromagnetic fields.
Processing algorithms for resolving the signals produced by the receiving antennas into remote object position and orientation contain implicit assumptions that the field-generation antennas are spherically concentrically positioned (meaning that their center be collocated) and that the receiving antennas are spherically concentrically positioned. These assumptions may not be warranted depending on manufacturing tolerances and on desired accuracy. Because of the manner in which coils are wound and because of practical tolerances of collocating the coils' centers or the centers of other types of magnetic field antennas, the three antennas' centers can be displaced from an intended common center by appreciable amounts. Because each field measurement data interpreted by the processing algorithm is the result of two operating coils, a source coil and a sensor coil, both of which may be experiencing non-concentricity, the opportunity for error in the position and orientation solution is very great.
Early remote sensor tracking systems, which operated within a relatively small volume of space with relatively limited sensor attitude angles, did not require exceptional accuracy. With such low performance expectations, manufacturing techniques were sufficient to keep non-concentricity deficiencies of the source and sensor within acceptable tolerances. As accuracy requirements have become more demanding and other sources of error have been eliminated or mitigated in position and orientation measurement systems, errors resulting from source and sensor non-concentricity have become a limitation of system accuracy performance. Attempts at solving non-concentricity errors by better manufacturing processes have not only proved to be ineffective but have added significant cost.
Prior art position and orientation algorithms have dictated a requirement that the centers of the coils in the coil set making up the source antennas be collocated and the centers of the coils of the coil set making up the sensor antennas be collocated. In addition to the difficulty of accurately manufacturing such devices, this places a severe constraint on source and sensor coil configuration. Other coil geometries may produce more desirable packaging.

Non-concentricity compensation in position and orientation measurement systems


A biometric authentication apparatus includes: a storage unit which stores representative matching data representing features of biometric information of a registered user and representing conditions of a designated body part of the registered user, each representing one of at least two different portions of a variation range over which the condition of the body part containing the registered user's biometric information varies due to cyclic environmental variations; a biometric information acquiring unit which generates a biometric image representing biometric information of a user; a matching data generating unit which generates, from the biometric image, input matching data that represents the features of the biometric information of the user; a matching unit which matches the input matching data against at least one of the representative matching data; and an authentication judging unit which judges, based on a result of the matching, whether the user is to be authenticated or not.

Recent years have seen the development of biometric authentication technology for authenticating a user of an apparatus or system based on a biometric image representing the user's biometric information such as a palm or finger vein pattern or a fingerprint or palm print. A biometric authentication apparatus using such biometric authentication technology acquires, for example, as an input biometric image, a biometric image representing the biometric information of the user who is going to use the biometric authentication apparatus. Then, the biometric authentication apparatus compares input biometric information, i.e., the user's biometric information represented on the input biometric image, with preregistered biometric information, i.e., the biometric information prestored in the form of a biometric image for each preregistered user. If the result of the comparison indicates that the input biometric information matches the preregistered biometric information, the biometric authentication apparatus authenticates the user as being a legitimate registered user. The biometric authentication apparatus then permits the authenticated user to use the apparatus in which the biometric authentication apparatus is incorporated or some other apparatus connected to the biometric authentication apparatus.
The biometric information represented on such a biometric image changes depending on the condition at the time of acquisition of the biometric image. For example, when a palm vein pattern is used for authentication, the condition at the time of biometric image acquisition that affects the biometric information includes the orientation of the hand such as the position or tilting of the hand relative to the vein sensor. On the other hand, when a fingerprint is used for authentication, the condition at the time of biometric image acquisition that affects the biometric information includes the orientation of the finger relative to an area-type fingerprint sensor or the moving speed of the finger relative to a slide-type fingerprint sensor. If the change in the biometric information is large enough that the difference between the input biometric information represented on the input biometric image and the preregistered biometric information represented on the biometric image acquired at the time of registration becomes significant, the authentication accuracy may degrade. In view of this, the biometric authentication apparatus, for example, determines whether the condition at the time of acquisition of the biometric image is appropriate or not, and if it is determined that the condition is not appropriate, an image of the biometric pattern is recaptured to reacquire the biometric image, and the reacquired biometric image is used for authentication, thereby preventing the degradation of the authentication accuracy.
The biometric information represented on the biometric image may also change when the condition of the body part containing the biometric information is affected, for example, by an environmental factor such as weather. When a palm vein pattern is used for authentication, the condition of the body part is, for example, the degree of contraction of the blood vessels due to temperature. On the other hand, when a fingerprint is used for authentication, the condition of the body part is, for example, the skin condition which depends on the degree of dryness of the skin surface due to humidity. For most users, the condition of the body part containing the biometric information is relatively unaffected by temperature or humidity variations associated with seasonal variations; therefore, for such users, the authentication accuracy is stable throughout the year.
On the other hand, for some users, the condition of the body part containing the biometric information may be significantly affected by temperature or humidity variations associated with seasonal variations. For such users, if the biometric information is registered, for example, in summer, the input biometric information represented on the input biometric image acquired in winter for authentication may be significantly different from the registered biometric information, and the biometric authentication apparatus may fail to authenticate the user.
In the prior art, methods are proposed for updating the registered biometric information as needed (for example, refer to Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication Nos. 2007-226519, 2010-61528, 2006-85268, 2010-79448, and 2008-171094). For example, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2007-226519, there is proposed a biometric information updating management system in which, if the last update date of the master biometric information stored in a storage device is past its validity date, the biometric information presented for authentication and judged to match the master biometric information is registered as the master biometric information. On the other hand, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-61528, there is disclosed a biometric authentication apparatus in which feature information having high reproducibility is extracted from the registered data and the data presented for authentication, and new registration data is created from the extracted feature information and is used to update the registered data.
Further, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-85268, there is proposed a biometric authentication system in which when the performance of authentication using the registered data stored in an IC card registration data storage unit has degraded, the registered data stored in the registration data storage unit is updated by registered data stored in a registration database. Furthermore, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-79448, there is proposed a finger vein authentication system which determines whether the preregistered finger vein pattern data is appropriate or not, and urges the user to perform a re-registration operation depending on the result of the determination. On the other hand, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-171094, there is disclosed a biometric authentication apparatus which determines whether the biometric information presented for authentication is to be accepted or not, based on the matching score between the presented biometric information and each one of a plurality of biometric information templates, in order to replace a selected one of the biometric information templates with the accepted biometric information.
However, in any of these prior art methods, the registered biometric information is updated independently of cyclic environmental variations such as seasonal variations. Therefore, there can occur cases where the registered biometric information representing the condition of the body part containing the biometric information acquired in a given season, for example, is updated by the biometric information acquired in a different season. As a result, if authentication is performed after a certain length of period has elapsed from the last update of the registered biometric information, since the season at the time of the authentication is different from the season at the time of the registration, it follows that the biometric authentication apparatus performs the authentication by using the registered biometric information representing the condition that is different from the condition of the body part at the time of the authentication. This can result in a degradation of authentication accuracy.
On the other hand, there is proposed a fingerprint matching system in which date/time information such as the time of day, day of week, and date of year of registration is registered along with each fingerprint image and, at the time of fingerprint matching, fingerprint images registered within a specified date/time range are read out and used for matching (for example, refer to Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2001-229380).

Biometric authentication apparatus and biometric authentication method


The disclosed method and an apparatus are directed to determine an uplink transmission power in New Radio (NR) systems by a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) for transmitting at least one physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), using multiple beams toward multiple Tx/Rx points (TRPs). The method includes determining common parameters that are common to the multiple beams. The method also includes determining beam-specific parameters like a configurable fractional power compensation factor for each beam, and a configurable maximum transmit power level for each beam, which are determined dynamically or semi-statically based on deployment, WTRU mobility, or interference level. The method further includes transmitting at least one codeword using at least one of the multiple beams, each of the multiple beams having a transmission power calculated based on the common parameters and the beam-specific parameters.

There are two objectives of an uplink power control mechanism. First, the power control mechanism adjusts wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) transmit power to counter path loss and channel fades to maintain the expected target performance. Secondly, the power control mechanism also attempts to control and minimize the level of inter-cell interference.
There are several new aspects of New Radio (NR) systems that influence the operation of the uplink power control. Accordingly, uplink power control mechanisms for NR systems are needed.

Methods for performing power control in new radio (NR) systems


An intervertebral spacer and stabilization implant includes a plate having sockets configured for retaining a fastener passable through the socket and into an adjacent vertebral body. One or more connecting projections extend from a side of the plate, to mate with projections extending from a spacer body. A plurality of teeth project from at least one of the upper or lower surfaces of the spacer body, and a chamber is formed through the spacer body to enable bone fusion between the vertebrae. The combined plate and spacer may be inserted to lie completely within the intervertebral space, or a portion of the plate may overlie a vertebral body.

Bones and bony structures are susceptible to a variety of weaknesses that can affect their ability to provide support and structure. Weaknesses in bony structures have numerous potential causes, including degenerative diseases, tumors, fractures, and dislocations. Intervertebral discs in the spinal column degenerate more rapidly as people grow older. This results in a loss of water content, and ultimately a loss of height. As a result, the nerves exiting from the spinal canal 132 become compressed and pinched, which causes pain, among other neurological deficits.
In some cases, the spinal column requires additional support in order to address such weaknesses and compression. One technique for providing support is to insert a spacer between adjacent vertebrae, to compensate for a failure of the structures whose role it is to separate and help align adjacent vertebrae.
Preparation of the intervertebral disc space includes forming an opening in the annulus fibrosus, and clearing at least a portion of the nucleus pulposus to make room for the spacer. The spacer is inserted into the space, and may be attached to the adjacent bony structures using fasteners, such as bone screws. In some cases, a bone growth material may be placed together with the spacer to promote fusion of the adjacent vertebrae.


An electrostatic chuck, a thin film deposition apparatus including the electrostatic chuck, and a method of manufacturing an organic light emitting display apparatus using the thin film deposition apparatus. The electrostatic chuck includes: a first plate; a first common wire disposed on the first plate and electrically connected to a plus terminal of an electric power source; first electrode patterns electrically connected to the first common wire, separated by a distance from each other, and extending from the first common wire; a second common wire disposed on the first plate and electrically connected to a minus terminal of the electric power source; second electrode patterns electrically connected to the second common wire, separated by a distance from each other, and extending from the second common wire; a first additional wire electrically connected to the first common wire; and a second additional wire electrically connected to the second common wire.

1. Field
Aspects of embodiments of the present invention relate to an electrostatic chuck, a thin film deposition apparatus including the electrostatic chuck, and a method of manufacturing an organic light emitting display apparatus by using the thin film deposition apparatus, and more particularly, to an electrostatic chuck capable of reducing or minimizing degradation of functions due to damage of the electrostatic chuck, a thin film deposition apparatus including the electrostatic chuck, and a method of manufacturing an organic light emitting display apparatus by using the thin film deposition apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
In processes of manufacturing semiconductors or flat panel displays (such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), or organic light emitting displays), mechanical chucks using clamps, vacuum chucks and/or electrical chucks using electric characteristics have been used in the manufacturing processes to stably attract and hold a substrate or a wafer. Conventional mechanical chucks have complex structures and take a long time to maintain, and vacuum chucks have a low attraction force and may deform the substrate.
Therefore, electrostatic chucks using an electrostatic force have been widely used recently. An electrostatic chuck is a tool for holding a substrate onto a lower electrode by using an electrostatic force. The electrostatic chuck may be classified as either a unipolar type electrostatic chuck that attracts the substrate onto the unipolar type electrostatic chuck by generating a potential difference between an electrode and the substrate, or a bipolar type electrostatic chuck that attracts the substrate onto the bipolar type electrostatic chuck by generating a potential difference between two or more electrodes. Since a unipolar electrostatic chuck has a weak electrostatic force and requires a high voltage, it is difficult to use the unipolar type electrostatic chuck on a large substrate. On the other hand, a bipolar type electrostatic chuck has a strong electrostatic force and may perform its holding function at a low voltage, and thus, the bipolar type electrostatic chuck may be used to attract and hold a large substrate onto the bipolar type electrostatic chuck.
However, fine electrodes formed on surfaces of the electrostatic chuck may be easily damaged.

Electrostatic chuck, thin film deposition apparatus including the electrostatic chuck, and method of manufacturing organic light emitting display apparatus by using the thin film deposition apparatus


A method for switching a high pressure fluid includes applying a fixed force between a planar surface of a rotor and a planar surface of a stator. The planar surface of the rotor includes a fluidic channel and the planar surface of the stator has a pair of ports to receive and provide the fluid. A control signal is applied to a linear actuator coupled to the rotor to generate a controllable force between the planar surfaces of the rotor and stator. The control signal is responsive to a rotational state of the rotor. The total force between the planar surfaces of the rotor and the stator is substantially equal to a sum of the fixed force and the controllable force. The method reduces the wear and extends the lifetime of components in a rotary shear seal valve.

Liquid chromatography measurement systems such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultra HPLC (UPLC®) systems typically employ injection valves having a rotary shear seal. A force of several hundreds of pounds or more is applied between the rotor and stator to seal against pressures that can exceed 15,000 psi. The force is maintained while the rotor rotates between valve switch positions, thereby placing stringent requirements on the quality of the sealing surfaces. The injection valves are typically intended to operate for tens of thousands of cycles without excessive wear and leakage.
HPLC and UPLC instrument manufacturers anticipate that future instruments will require sealing pressures of injection valves to exceed 20,000 psi. Intrinsic limitations in the material properties of the stator and, in particular, the polymeric rotor are not likely to be overcome with incremental improvements in materials and design.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,213 discloses a method for varying the force or pressure applied between the stator and the rotor during rotation of the rotor in a conventional rotary shear injection valve. In particular, a lower force is applied when the required sealing pressure is low or when the injection valve is rotated between two switch positions to reduce wear. A greater force is generated at other times to maintain a proper seal and when the valve is not in transition between switch positions. The force applied between the stator and the rotor is controlled by the pressure of a fluid supplied to the injection valve. This technique requires high-pressure fluid control and sealing to operate. One significant disadvantage is the potential for leakage of the hydraulic fluid used to vary the applied force.
The present invention addresses the need for a high pressure rotary seal valve that overcomes the problems identified above and can seal to pressures greater than 20,000 psi for tens of thousands of cycles.

High pressure fluidic switching valve having variable pressure loading


A method of operating a memory system including a non-volatile memory device and a memory controller controlling the non-volatile memory device, includes reading data from a memory cell array in a unit of a page which includes a plurality of sectors; performing error correction decoding on the read data in a unit of a sector of the page; selecting at least one target sector which includes at least one uncorrectable error and selecting at least one pass sector wherein all errors of the pass sector are correctable by the error correction decoding; inhibiting precharging of bit-lines connected to the at least one pass sector while precharging target bit lines connected to the at least one target sector; and performing a read retry operation for data in the at least one target sector.

1. Technical Field
Example embodiments relate generally to a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly to a memory system including a non-volatile memory device, and a memory controller, and a method of operating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A non-volatile memory device such as a flash memory device is one type of electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) where a plurality of memory areas are erased or programmed by one program operation. In a typical EEPROM, one memory area may be erased or programmed at a time. Accordingly, the flash memory device may operate at a rapid speed when systems using the flash memory device concurrently write and read data to and from different regions. All types of flash memory and EEPROMs become worn after the specific number of erase operations due to degradation of a charge storage device used to store data, and wear of an insulation layer surrounding the charge storage device.
The flash memory device stores information in a silicon chip without requiring power to retain information stored in the silicon chip. That is, even if power supplied to the silicon chip is shut off, the information is preserved without power consumption. Further, the flash memory device provides a rapid read access time, and resistance against physical shock. Due to these characteristics, the flash memory device has been extensively employed for data storage device in battery-powered devices.

Memory system and method of operation thereof


A line head includes a positive lens system having two lenses, image-side and object-side lens arrays, a light emitter array on an object side of the positive lens system, and an aperture plate that forms an aperture diaphragm. Where the row number of lenses arrayed in a second direction is ‘m’, a gap between effective regions of two image-side lenses adjacent to each other in a first direction is ‘α’, an image-side angle of aperture is ‘θi’, a width of light-emitting elements images in the first direction is ‘Wi’, a focal length of the image-side lens is ‘f2’ and a distance from an image-side principal plane of the image-side lens to an image surface is ‘Si’, the following conditions are satisfied: f2≦(mWi−α)/(2θi), Wi≧2Siθi/(m−1)+α/(m−1).

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a line head and an image forming apparatus using the same and in particular, to a line head that forms a row of imaging spots by projecting a light-emitting element row onto an irradiated surface using a microlens array and an image forming apparatus using the same.
2. Related Art
JP-A-2-4546 proposes an optical writing line head, in which a plurality of LED array chips are disposed in the LED array direction and the LED array of each LED array chip is projected onto a photoconductor in an enlarged manner by a positive lens disposed corresponding thereto such that images of light-emitting dots at the ends of the LED array chips adjacent on the photoconductor are formed adjacent to each other with the same pitch as a pitch between images of light-emitting dots of the same LED array chips, and an optical reading line head in which the optical path is oppositely set.
Furthermore, JP-A-6-344596 proposes making the focal depth large by configuring a positive lens with two lenses in the same arrangement as disclosed in JP-A-2-4546 and making projected beams approximately parallel beams.
Furthermore, JP-A-6-278314 proposes an optical writing line head in which LED array chips are disposed in two rows at distances there between, the repeat phase is shifted by a half period, and positive lens arrays are disposed in two rows in a condition where each positive lens corresponds to each LED array chip such that images of the light emitting dot array on a photoconductor are aligned.
In the above known techniques, if an angle of view of each positive lens increases, a decrease in the amount of peripheral light becomes large according to a fourth power of cosine rule (shading). In order to prevent the concentration unevenness of a printing image caused by the shading, it is necessary to make constant the light amount of each pixel (light-emitting dot image) on the image surface. In order to do so, however, the shading should be corrected by changing the light amount of the light source (light-emitting dot) for every light-emitting dot. However, the emission intensity of a light source pixel (light-emitting dot) affects a life characteristic. Accordingly, if the shading of an optical system becomes large, the light amount unevenness of the light-emitting dot pitch occur with time even if the uniform image surface light amount is obtained in an early stage by adjusting the light amount for every light-emitting dot. This causes the image concentration unevenness.
In addition, in case of arranging a plurality of rows of light-emitting dot arrays in the sub-scanning direction, the width of an optical writing line head in the sub-scanning direction becomes large if the lens diameter of an optical system increases. As a result, it becomes difficult to make an image forming apparatus small.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Line head and image forming apparatus using the same


Anlogs of ningalin B lacking inherent cytotoxic activity may be employed to reverse multi-drug resistant (MDR) phenotype and to resensitize transformed cells, including a human colon cancer cell line (HCT116/VM46), with respect to a variety of cytotoxic agents, e.g., vinblastine and doxorubicin. In many instances, resensitization is achieved at lower doses than the prototypical agent verapamil. Total synthesis of ningalin B and its analogs was achieved using a concise, efficient approach based on a heterocyclic azadiene Diels-Alder strategy (1,2,4,5-tetrazine→1,2-diazine→pyrrole) ideally suited for construction of the densely functionalized pyrrole core found in the natural product is detailed.

The recently identified ningalin class of marine natural products including ningalin B (1) possess a common 3,4-diaryl substituted pyrrole nucleus bearing a 2-carboxylate. Ningalin B (1) is the second member of this newly described family of marine natural products which were isolated by Fenical (1997) from an ascidian of the genus Didemnum collected in western Australia near Ningaloo Reef. (Kang, H.; Fenical, W. J. Org. Chem. 1997, 62, 3254) Consequently, 1 and the related ningalins are the newest members of a family of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA)-derived o-catechol metabolites that include the tunichromes. (Bruening, R. C.; et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1985, 107, 5289; Bruening, R. C.; et al. J. Nat. Prod. 1986, 49, 193; Bayer, E; et al. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 1992, 31, 52; Oltz, E. M.; et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1988, 110, 6162; Ryan, D. E.; et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1992, 114, 9659; Taylor, S. W.; et al. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 1995, 324, 228)
The lamellarins are a related rapidly growing class of marine natural products which were first isolated from the prosobranch mollusc Lamellaria sp. and important members of this class have been disclosed by Bowden, Faulkner, Fenical, Capon, and Scheuer. (Lamellarins A-D: Anderson, R. J.; et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1985, 107, 5492. Lamellarins E-H: Lindquist, N.; et al. J. Org. Chem. 1988, 53, 4570. Lamellarins I-N: Carroll, A. R.; et al. Aust. J. Chem. 1993, 46, 489. Lamellarins O, P: Urban, S.; et al. Aust. J. Chem. 1994, 47, 1919. Lamellarins Q, R: Urban, S.; et al. Aust. J. Chem. 1995, 48, 1491. Lamellarins S: Urban, S.; et al. Aust. J. Chem. 1996, 49, 711. Lamellarins T-X: Reddy, R. M.; et al. Tetrahedron 1997, 53, 3457. Lamellarin Z: Davis, R. H.; et al. J. Nat. Prod. 1999, 62, 419. Lukianol A, B: Yoshida, W. Y.; et al. Helv. Chim. Acta 1992, 75, 1721.) Recent investigations of several lamellarins demonstrated their cytotoxic activity, revealed equally effective cytotoxic activity against multidrug-resistant (MDR) cell lines, and revealed MDR reversal even at noncytotoxic concentrations by inhibition of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) mediated drug efflux. (Quesada, A. R.; et al. Br. J. Cancer 1996, 74, 677.) Thus, they constitute a new class of antitumor agents which reverse MDR more effectively than verapamil and resensitize resistant malignant cells to front line therapeutics. A number of related structures have been defined that lack cytotoxic activity but which effectively reverse MDR. (Ningalin A, lamellarin O, lukianol A, and permethyl storniamide A: Boger, D. L.; et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121, 54.)
What is needed is a new class of MDR reversal agents having potent activity for resensitizing resistant cancer cells with respect to effective anticancer agents.

Ningalin B analogs employable for reversing multidrug resistance


Reaction of amine-containing substrates with hydrogen peroxide can suffer from certain problems, especially in the presence of transition metals. These problems include both in situ generation of impurities and particularly nitrosamines, which are allegedly carcinogenic, and also impaired product formation. The problems can be ameliorated by employing in the reaction mixture free radical scavengers, including in particular phenols and polyhydroxy-substituted aromatic compounds. The scavengers are advantageously employed in conjunction with a metal chelating agent such as polycarboxylic acid or an organopolyphosphonic acid.

Compounds containing an amino functionality can be oxidized with hydrogen peroxide, sometimes with an additive such as a catalyst in order to promote the reaction or sometimes in the absence of a catalyst, depending on the inherent reactivity of the substrate. Many papers or patents describe variations to the reaction between amines and hydrogen peroxide. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4 247 480 to Nissan Chem Ind KK suggests the addition of a chelating agent selected from EDTA or stannate together with carbonic acid or a carbonate.
Disadvantageously, however, there is a tendency for nitrosamines to be formed as byproducts in reaction mixtures which contain amines, particularly secondary or tertiary amines and hydrogen peroxide. This is inevitably the case during reaction between those two reactants but it can also occur if such an amine is itself a reaction product or intermediate. For example, when tertiary amines are being converted to amine oxides by reaction with hydrogen peroxide, there is a distinct tendency for nitrosamines to be produced as a byproduct. The formation of nitrosamines is disadvantageous for several reasons, of which the most significant identified to date is the fact that many nitrosamines are carcinogenic. At least some of the nitrosamines are quite volatile, so that either in the course of the reaction or subsequently during storage or use of the main product, such volatile nitrosamines can be released into the atmosphere and thus can be inhaled by persons in the vicinity. They can be absorbed through the skin by dermal contact. This can be particularly significant for some amino derivatives such as amine oxides, in that one of their major uses is in personal hygiene products, such as shampoos or cleansing lotions which are skin contact products. Consequently, it is highly desirable to find ways of inhibiting the formation of such carcinogenic byproducts to preserve the health of chemical process operators and any subsequent user of the products.
As a second disadvantage, though of rather less importance, a number of the byproduct nitrosamines are brightly colored, such that their presence, even in low amounts, tends to impart that color to the main product. If as is the case with amine oxides, the product would otherwise be white, then the presence of the byproduct can render the product less desirable commercially, by failing to meet color specifications.
It has been observed that the peroxide/amine reaction can be sensitive to the presence of a number of interfering substances including metals which can promote by-reactions. Such substances can be present as impurities in the reactants, possibly as a result of the method of their manufacture, or introduced in water added as diluent in the reaction mixture, or can be extracted from the pipework or walls of the reaction vessels or holding tanks or can result from inadvertant ingress of foreign bodies such as dust. The concentration of such substances correlates to a reasonable extent with the extent of nitrosamine formation. Herein, when high levels of such interfering substances are present, though still within the range that can be encountered in practice, the conditions are sometimes described as "stress conditions".
In U.S. Pat. No. 5 023 376 (Shehad et al) and the corresponding EP-A-0 409 043 (Interox America), it has already been proposed to conduct amine/hydrogen peroxide reactions in the presence of a specified selection of aminopolymethylenephosphonate compounds. Together with other beneficial effects, it was found that their addition, in appropriate concentrations, resulted in the measurable reduction in the rate and/or extent of formation of nitrosamines. It can therefore be deduced from the data disclosed therein that at least some transition metal ions are in some way implicated in the mechanism for nitrosamine formation. The problem was ameliorated by chelation with the selected phosphonates, but either to a lesser extent or not appreciably by employing other organophosphonates outside the selection. From the foregoing, it was deduced that some further mechanism may be operating to generate nitrosamines or that there was some hitherto unidentified factor within the existing metal ion cataylzed route for nitrosamine formation that was contributing to the by-product formation.

Inhibition of the formation of nitrosamines


There is provided a method and an apparatus for efficiently obtaining 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene with low contents of both organic impurities and water. The method for continuously purifying crude 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene containing water and one or more organic impurities, the method including using an apparatus having a distillation column with X stages (3≦X, the stage closest to a column top is the first stage) and a unit for cooling and condensing a distillate; supplying the crude 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene to an m-th stage (n+1≦m≦X, 2≦n≦X−1) of the distillation column, recirculating at least part of the distillate cooled and condensed in the unit for cooling and condensing to an h-th stage (1≦h≦n−1) of the distillation column; and taking out a liquid phase part of an n-th stage of the distillation column to obtain a purified product of 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene.

Conventionally, as a refrigerant for automobile air conditioners or the like, 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (HFC-134a) has been widely used. However, HFC-134a has a high global warming potential (GWP) of 1430, and hence its use has become restricted due to movement toward restricting refrigerant having high GWP in recent years, for example, prohibiting use of a refrigerant with GWP of 150 or more in new models of automobiles in EU from the year 2011, and the like. Here, in this description, for halogenated hydrocarbons, an abbreviation of a chemical compound will be described in parentheses after a chemical compound name, but in this description such an abbreviation is also used instead of a chemical compound name as necessary.
Then, as an alternative refrigerant for HFC-134a, use of 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (HFO-1234yf) with a quite low GWP of 4 is becoming popular. In manufacturing HFO-1234yf, alkaline washing and water washing are performed for removing acids used or generated such as hydrofluoric acid, hydrochloric acid, and the like, and thus crude liquid often contains water besides fluorine-based low-molecular organic impurities of intermediates, by-products, non-reacted raw materials, and the like.
When such crude liquid of HFO-1234yf is purified by distillation, HFO-1234yf and water form an azeotrope mixture, and thus water contained in the crude liquid condenses in a column-top reflux line, and water in an obtained product increases. Thus, Patent Reference 1 (WO2010/024366) describes a manufacturing method of HFO-1234yf which makes an HFO-1234yf product with less water from a bottom product obtained from a bottom part of a distillation column.
However, among the fluorine based low-molecular organic impurities contained in the HFO-134yf crude liquid, there are many organic impurities having higher boiling point than that of HFO-1234yf, and such many organic impurities are mixed into the bottom product obtained from the bottom part of the distillation column. Thus, it has been necessary to further remove the organic impurities in another process.

Purifying method and manufacturing method of 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene