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1. An integrated apparatus (1) for electrophoretic separation on a liquid stream and for laser-induced fluorescence detection, characterized in that it comprises: a miniaturized flattened support (2) having a substantially planar surface (3), on which surface at least one well (23, 32, 34) containing the separation electrolyte and/or the specimen to be analyzed and at least one migration microchannel (20, 21, 31, 33) serving as the liquid stream are formed, said microchannel being capable of containing a solution comprising at least one substance that can undergo a laser-induced fluorescence reaction; at least one projection means (12) capable of projecting an excitation light beam locally onto an excitation region (16) of said microchannel (20) in a direction making an angle (α) of greater than 60° with a longitudinal direction (A) of said microchannel, said excitation light being capable of inducing a fluorescence reaction in said substance or one of said substances; an optical collecting means (7) mechanically coupled to a free end of said microchannel (20) and placed so as to collect fluorescence light propagating substantially along the longitudinal direction (A) of the microchannel; an optical measurement means (8) coupled to said collecting means so as to be able to measure said collected fluorescence light; and a processing means (9) capable of processing a measurement signal transmitted by said measurement means in order to produce a result of the analysis of said solution; said microchannel (20) having a first portion forming a reservoir (5) with an internal cross section that widens from its free end up to at least said excitation region (16), said first portion being extended by a first internal wall (22) of approximately conical, ellipsoidal or paraboloidal shape, one face of which is turned toward said free end and is capable of reflecting said fluorescence light toward said free end, and emerging in a second microchannel portion having a smaller internal cross section, this latter portion being in communication with the aforementioned well or wells. 2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said support includes at least one anode electrode (24) and at least one cathode electrode (25) that are connected to a voltage source (26) and are placed at a well and at said excitation region (16) of the microchannel (20), respectively, so as to be able to establish a potential drop along said microchannel in order to make said dissolved substance or one of said dissolved substances migrate by electrophoresis. 3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the approximately conical (218), ellipsoidal or paraboloidal internal wall(s) (22) of the microchannel (20) is (are) coated with a metallic oxidation-resistant reflective material (27). 4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 taken in combination, characterized in that the metallic coating (27) on said approximately conical, ellipsoidal or paraboloidal internal wall (22) serves as cathode electrode. 5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that the metallic coating (27) is grounded (29). 6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that all the walls of the microchannel in the excitation region (16) are coated with this reflective material (27) except for at least one part (28) of the end wall of the microchannel (20), which part is devoid of said reflective material near the aforementioned internal walls (22) of conical, ellipsoidal or paraboloidal shape. 7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said microchannel has a depth of at most 100 μm, and preferably about 10 μm, and a width of at most 400 μm, and preferably about 50 μm. 8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said projection means comprises a light source (12), which is placed laterally at a certain distance from said microchannel (20), and optical means (14) that are placed between the light source and the microchannel in order to match the cross section of said excitation light beam (F) to the internal width of said microchannel. 9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the laser beam (F) has an elliptical cross section, the major axis of which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (A) of the microchannel and extends substantially over the width of the microchannel, the minor axis being approximately parallel to or coincident with said longitudinal axis of the microchannel. 10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the cross section of the microchannel (20) is rectangular and open to the air. 11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the approximately conical (218), ellipsoidal or paraboloidal internal wall(s) (22) of the microchannel (20) is (are) coated with a metallic oxidation-resistant reflective material (27). 12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that all the walls of the microchannel in the excitation region (16) are coated with this reflective material (27) except for at least one part (28) of the end wall of the microchannel (20), which part is devoid of said reflective material near the aforementioned internal walls (22) of conical, ellipsoidal or paraboloidal shape. 13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that all the walls of the microchannel in the excitation region (16) are coated with this reflective material (27) except for at least one part (28) of the end wall of the microchannel (20), which part is devoid of said reflective material near the aforementioned internal walls (22) of conical, ellipsoidal or paraboloidal shape. |
Detection method of nucleic acid hybridization |
The present invention relates to a detection method of DNA hybridization comprising: (a) preparing a oligo-plate by fixing capture probes onto a working electrode surface, (b) hybridizing the capture probes with target probes, (c) reacting a nucleic acid binding material specific to single-stranded nucleic acid or a double-stranded nucleic acid, (d) thc nucleic acid binding material changes the charge state of the working electrode surface, and (e) measuring an electrochemical quantity depending on the charge state of the working electrode surface with an electrochemical method using an electroactive electrolytic condition. |
1. An electrochemical method of detecting hybridization between a nucleic acid fixed on an electrode surface (capture probe) and a nucleic acid complementary thereto which is derived from a sample by electrically neutralizing a double stranded nucleic acid or a single stranded nucleic acid with a nucleic acid binding material, wherein the detection method comprises: (a) fixing the capture probe onto an electrode surface to obtain an nucleic acid lay; (b) contacting the capture probe fixed on the electrode surface with the nucleic acid derived from sample to induce hybridization; (c) simultaneously or sequentially reacting hybridized- or non-hybridized capture probe with a surfactant and a nucleic acid binding material where the nucleic acid binding material has a positive charge, to change a charge amount or charge state of the hybridized or non-hybridized capture probe by binding thereto; and (d) monitoring an electrical current or charge amount of the electrode surface in electrolyte solution to determine whether the capture probe is hybridized or not. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the nucleic acid is DNA or RNA. 3. (canceled) 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the capture probe is fixed onto the electrode surface using a thiol group located at the terminus of the capture probe. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the capture probe is fixed onto the electrode surface using an amine group located at the terminus of the capture probe. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electrode is made of a material selected from the group consisting of gold, platinum, silver, carbon, copper, nickel, chromium, and palladium. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the nucleic acid binding material is selected from the group consisting of an intercalator, an intercalating fluorescent dye, an acridine compound, chloroquine, quinine, novanatrone, doxorubicin, a single strand binding protein, and Rec A protein. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the intercalating fluorescent dye is selected from the group consisting of 1,1′-[1,3-propanediylbis[(dimethyliminio)-3,1-propanediyl]]bis[4-[(3-methyl-2(3H)-benzoxazolylidene)methyl]]-, tetraiodide, 1,1′-[1,3-propanediylbis[dimethyliminio)-3,1-propanediyl]]bis[4-[3-(3-methyl-2(3H)-benzoxazolylidene)-1-propenyl]]-,tetraiodide, 4-[(3-methyl-2(3H)-benzoxazolylidene) methyl]-1-[3-(trimethylammonio)propyl]-,diiodide,4-[3-(3-methyl-2(3H)-benzoxazolylidene)-1-propenyl]-1-[3-(trimethylammonio)propyl]-, diiodide,2,2′-[1,3-propanediylbis[(dimethyliminio)-3,1-propanediyl-1(4H)-pyridinyl-4-ylidenemethylidyne]]bis[3-methyl]-, tetraiodide,2,2′-[1,3-propanediylbis[dimethyliminio)-3,1-propanediyl-1(4H)-pyridinyl-4-ylidene-1-propen-1-yl-3-ylidene]]bis[3-methyl]-, tetraiodide), EtBr (3,8-diamino-5-ethyl-6-phenyl-,bromide, 3-methyl-2-[[1-[3-(trimethylammonio)propyl]-4(1H)-pyridinylidene]methyl]-, diiodide, 3-methyl-2-[3-[1-[3-(trimethylammonio)propyl]-4(1H)-pyridinylidene]-1-propenyl]-, diiodide, and SYBR green. 9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the acridine compound is selected from the group consisting of 3,6-diaminoacridine, 3,6-diamino-10-methylacridinium chloride, acridine orange, and acridine yellow. 10. (canceled) 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the surfactant is sodium dodecyl sulfate or triton-x. 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the detection method further comprises the step of applying heat, voltage, or sonic waves onto the nucleic acid layer after the step (c). 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electrochemical method is cyclic voltammetry, amperometry, or chronocoulometry. 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the capture probe is fixed onto the electrode surface by chemical binding. |
<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>(a) Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a detection method of nucleic acid hybridization, and more particularly, to an electrochemical detection method of change of charge state of nucleic acid using a nucleic acid binding material specific to single-stranded nucleic acid or a double-stranded nucleic acid. (b) Description of the Related Art The detection of nucleic acid hybridization is the most important technique in the field of nucleic acid chips. The general detection method is a laser induced fluorescence spectroscopic method, which detects a light stimulated by irradiating a laser to a fluorescence-labeled nucleic acid. Affymetrix and Nanogen offer DNA chips that have been tested based on the laser induced fluorescence spectroscopic method. However several problems are raised: (a) it is cumbersome to label nucleic acid with fluorescent molecules; (b) the process is complex; and (c) florescent molecules are expensive. Recently, detection methods of nucleic acid hybridization without fluorescence use have been studied, and methods using surface plasmon resonance, quartz crystal microbalance, mass spectrometry, and electrochemistry have been developed. However, except for the electrochemical method, these methods still have problems such as high cost and laborious processes, while the method using electrochemistry is simple so that everybody can carry it out without professional knowledge and most of the equipment used can be found at a low price. |
<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrochemical method for detecting nucleic acid hybridization. It is another object of the present invention to provide a detection method of nucleic acid hybridization that can be employed simply and with low cost. In order to achieve these objects, this invention provides a detection method of nucleic acid hybridization, comprising: (a) preparing an oligo-plate by fixing a capture probe onto a working electrode surface; (b) hybridizing the capture probe with a target probe; (c) reacting a nucleic acid binding material specific to single-stranded nucleic acid or a double-stranded nucleic acid and (d) measuring the change of charge state on the working electrode surface with an electrochemical method under an electroactive electrolyte condition. |
Tool and method for the finishing of valve seats and guides |
It is proposed to provide a tool for the final machining of a valve seat and valve guide in a cylinder block of a combustion engine of a motor vehicle, said tool having a first section with at least one first blade for machining the valve seat and a second section with at least one second blade for machining the valve guide. The tool is characterized in that a separation site (13) is provided between the first section (5) and the second section (9), said separation site comprising a cone (15) and a conical recess (17) capable of receiving said cone. |
1. Tool for final machining of a valve seat and valve guide in the cylinder block of a combustion engine of a motor vehicle, said tool having a first section provided with at least one first blade for machining the valve seat and a second section provided with at least one second blade for machining the valve guide, characterized in that a separation site (13) is provided between the first section (5) and the second section (9), said separation site comprising a cone (15) and a conical recess (17) capable of receiving said cone. 2. Tool according to claim 1, characterized in that the separation site (13) comprises two plane surfaces (19, 21) of which the first one (19) is disposed on the first section (5) and the second one (21) is disposed on the second section (9). 3. Tool according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first plane surface (19) and/or the second plane surface (21) have the shape of an annular surface. 4. Tool according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sections (5, 9) of the tool (1) can be made of different materials, steel preferably being used for the first section (5) and hard metal for the second section (9). 5. Tool according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second section (9) has a widened region (22) which is preferably adjacent to the separation site (13). 6. Method for final machining of a valve seat and a valve guide in the cylinder block of a combustion engine of a motor vehicle by means of a tool comprising a first section provided with at least one first blade and a second section provided with at least one second blade, particularly by means of a tool according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the final machining is carried out with a single tool. 7. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that the final machining is performed in a single step. |
Biological assay detection method |
The invention is a method for detecting a reaction product which signals the presence of a reaction product inducer such as an enzyme. The method enables the recognition of epitopes that form the basis of a detection strategy without the need for specific antibodies to the epitope. In the method, a directly or indirectly labeled modular domain and a biotinylated form of the cognate peptide ligand are used as the basis for a measurable interaction. The peptide ligand can be masked by modifications through, for example, phosphorylation of the Ser or Thr residue, or extension of the amino acid sequence beyond the C-terminal Val. Because the masked residues are critical to binding of the labeled modular domain, masking of at least one of the residues prevents binding. Upon treatment of the masked residue by the appropriate enzyme, (e.g., treatment of the phosphorylated residue with a phosphatase enzyme, or treatment of the extended residue with a protease enzyme, the peptide is converted to the original unmasked ligand that is capable of binding to the labeled modular domain and forming a measurable complex. |
1. A method for detecting, under suitable conditions, the presence, in a sample, of a complex inducer that converts a modified ligand incapable of forming a complex with a directly or indirectly labeled PDZ domain into a ligand capable of forming a complex with the labeled PDZ domain comprising a) combining the modified ligand, the labeled PDZ domain, and the sample, to form a combination, and b) analyzing the combination to detect the complex, indicating the presence in the sample of the complex inducer, wherein the detection conditions convert the modified ligand only in the presence of the complex inducer. 2. A method of claim 1 wherein the ligand is selected from the group consisting of biotin-(XX)0-10 Glu-Thr-XX1-Val-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 Glu-Ser-XX1-Val-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 Asp-Thr-XX1-Leu-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 Asp-Ser-XX1-Leu-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 Ser-Thr-Trp-Met-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 XX2-XX1-Phe-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 XX2-XX1-Val-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 XX2-XX1-Ala-COOH, and biotin-(XX)0-10 Tyr-Tyr-Ala-COOH, wherein each XX, same or different, is an amino acid selected from the group consisting of Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gln, Glu, Gly, His, Ile, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, and Val; XX1 is an amino acid selected from the group consisting of Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gln, Glu, Gly, His, Ile, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, and Val; and XX2 is Phe or Tyr. 3. A method of claim 1 wherein the modified ligand is selected from the group consisting of biotin-(XX)0-10 Glu-pThr-XX1-Val-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 Glu-pSer-XX1-Val-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 Asp-pThr-XX1-Leu-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 Asp-pSer-XX1-Leu-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 pSer-Thr-Trp-Met-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 Ser-pThr-Trp-Met-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 pTyr-XX1-Phe-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 pTyr-XX1-Val-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 pTyr-XX1-Ala-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 pTyr-Tyr-Ala-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 Tyr-pTyr-Ala-COOH, biotin-(XX)0-10 Glu-Thr-XX1-Val-(XX3)1-4-NH2, biotin-(XX)0-10 Glu-Ser-XX1-Val-(XX3)1-4-NH2, biotin-(XX)0-10 Asp-Thr-XX1-Leu-(XX3)1-4-NH2, biotin-(XX)0-10 Asp-Ser-XX1-Leu-(XX3)1-4-NH2, biotin-(XX)0-10 Ser-Thr-Trp-Met-(XX3)1-4-NH2, biotin-(XX)0-10 XX2—XX1-Phe-(XX3)1-4-NH2, biotin-(XX)0-10 XX2—XX1-Val-(XX3)1-4-NH2, biotin-(XX)0-10 XX2—XX1-Ala-(XX3)1-4-NH2, and biotin-(XX)0-10 Tyr-Tyr-Ala-(XX3)1-4-NH2, wherein each XX, same or different, is an amino acid selected from the group consisting of Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gln, Glu, Gly, His, Ile, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, and Val; XX1 is an amino acid selected from the group consisting of Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gln, Glu, Gly, His, Ile, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, and Val; and each XX3, same or different, is an amino acid selected from the group consisting of Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gln, Glu, Gly, His, Ile, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, and Val. 4. A method of claim 1 wherein the labeled PDZ domain is labeled with labeled chelate. 5. A method of claim 4 wherein the labeled chelate is Eu3+ chelate. 6. A method of claim 1 wherein the labeled PDZ domain is labeled antibody. 7. A method of claim 6 wherein the labeled antibody is Eu3+ antibody 8. A method of claim 1 wherein the labeled PDZ domain is labeled with labeled collodial particles. 9. (canceled) 10. A method of claim 1 wherein the complex inducer is selected from the group of enzymes consisting of phosphatase, protease, kinase, hydrolase and deacetylase. |
<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>For decades, immunological methods have formed the basis for detection strategies in wide-ranging medical and biological applications. Variations of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, ELISA, have been employed for clinical diagnostic tests and in drug discovery programs of the pharmaceutical industry. The advent of the monoclonal antibody and subsequent work leading to the development of monoclonal antibody library repertoires from recombinant and display technologies (Gao, C., et al., (1999) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96(11): 6025-6030) have further leveraged the power of these selective high affinity proteins in many areas of science. While innovations in antibody technology promise to expand access to these reagents for assay development, an alternative approach would build on the inherent specificity and accessibility of the diversity of protein/peptide interactions found in nature, such as those comprising cellular signaling systems. Enzymes, receptors and adaptor proteins such as Grb2 and PSD95 found within many signal transduction networks often contain one or more modular domains (e.g., SH2, SH3, PTB and PDZ domains) responsible for mediating molecular interactions frequently through peptide-protein associations (Pawson, T. N., et al., Genes & Development 14(9): (2000) pp. 1027-1047). Some of these domain-ligand combinations have the potential to function in much the same way as antibody-antigen pairs in assay detection systems. |
<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The invention is a method for detecting a reaction product which signals the presence of a reaction product inducer such as an enzyme. The method enables the recognition of epitopes that form the basis of a detection strategy without the need for specific antibodies to the epitope. In the method, a directly or indirectly labeled modular domain and a biotinylated form of the cognate peptide ligand are used as the basis for a measurable interaction. The peptide ligand can be masked by modifications through, for example, phosphorylation of the Ser or Thr residue, or extension of the amino acid sequence beyond the C-terminal Val. Because the masked residues are critical to binding of the labeled modular domain, masking of at least one of the residues prevents binding. Upon treatment of the masked residue by the appropriate enzyme, (e.g., treatment of the phosphorylated residue with a phosphatase enzyme, or treatment of the extended residue with a protease enzyme, the peptide is converted to the original unmasked ligand that is capable of binding to the labeled modular domain and forming a measurable complex. detailed-description description="Detailed Description" end="lead"? |
Valve block for a control device, particularly for a hydrostatic machine |
The invention relates to a valve block (1) for a control device comprising a valve (9) whose valve piston (14) is subjected to the action of a control pressure when in its open position and to the action of a return spring (15) when in its closed position. The closing force of the return spring (15) can be decreased or increased by an actuator, which can be displaced toward a position that increases the closing force and one that decreases the closing force. In order to simplify the displacement or adjustment and to improve reliability, the displacing movement of the actuator (16a) in the direction of movement that increases the closing force of the return spring (15) is limited by a stop element (112) in a position in which the closing force of the return spring (15) reaches its limited maximum value. |
1. Valve block (1) for a control device, in particular for a hydrostatic machine, comprising a valve (9) the valve piston (14) of which is subjected to the action of a control pressure when in its open position and to the action of a return spring (18) when in its closed position, the closing force of the return spring (15) being able to be reduced or increased by means of an actuator (16a) which can be displaced towards a position which increases the closing force and a position which reduces the closing force, characterised in that the displacing movement of the actuator (16a) in the direction of movement which increases the closing force of the return spring (15) is limited by a stop element (112) in a position in which the closing force of the return spring (15) reaches its limited maximum value. 2. Valve block according to claim 1, characterised in that the stop element (112) is formed by a step face (114) facing away from the valve piston (14) in a receiving hole (101) receiving the return spring (15). 3. Valve block according to claim 2, characterised in that the return spring (15) bears against a support plate (19) against which the actuator (16a) acts, and cooperates with the stop element (112). 4. Valve block according to claim 3, characterised in that the step face (114) borders a widened hole section (115) in which the support plate (19), which is dimensioned larger than the receiving hole (101), is arranged. 5. Valve block according to claim 3 or 4, characterised in that the actuator (16a) is arranged axially movably in a preferably coaxial hole section (102) on the side of the support plate (19) facing away from the valve piston (14). 6. Valve block according to claim 5, characterised in that the support plate (19) is reduced on opposite sides to a width dimension (e) which is smaller than the cross-sectional dimension of the receiving hole (101), and the widened hole section (115) is sufficiently large for the support plate (19) to be swivellable in the widened hole section (115). 7. Valve block according to claim 5 or 6, characterised in that the actuator (16a) is formed by a screw drive having an adjusting screw (103) which is screwed into the outer hole section (102). 8. Valve block according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the stop element (112) and the actuator (16a) are arranged in an add-on part (84) of the valve block (1). 9. Valve block according to claim 8, characterised in that the add-on part (84) is connected to the valve block (1) by a screw connection. 10. Valve block according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the valve is a pressure control valve (9), e.g. a pressure limiting valve, or a delivery flow control valve (11). 11. Valve block according to claim 10, characterised in that the pressure control valve (9) or the delivery flow control valve (11) is arranged in an actuating pressure line (24) which extends to an adjusting cylinder (4) which is provided to adjust the displacement volume of the hydrostatic machine. |
Assembly for setting a valve prosthesis in a corporeal duct |
The invention concerns an assembly comprising a valve prosthesis to be implanted and a support receiving said valve. The support comprises: at least a tubular portion made of a pliable material slightly stretchable in the circumferential direction; means for fixing said tubular portion to the wall of the corporeal duct; and a plurality of elongated reinforcing elements, arranged on the circumference of said tubular portion and linked to said tubular portion independently of one another; the valve is linked at least partly to said elongated reinforcing elements, in particular at the commissures of its leaflets, and said elongated reinforcing elements jointly form, in extended position, a structure having a predetermined diameter that ensures sufficient extension of said valve. |
1-18. (Cancelled). 19. A valve prosthesis assembly comprising an implantable valve and a support for supportably receiving the valve, the valve and the support being configured to contract for delivery and deployment and expand for implantation, the assembly comprising: at least one tubular portion comprising a radially expandable pliable material, the tubular portion configured to conform to a target corporeal duct site; means for affixing the tubular portion to the wall of the corporeal duct; and a plurality of elongated reinforcing elements linked to the tubular portion. 20. The assembly of claim 19, wherein the valve is configured to be connected at least partially to the elongated reinforcing elements and wherein said elongated reinforcing elements are configured to expand to a predetermined diameter that substantially ensures sufficient expansion of the valve. 21. The assembly of claim 19, further comprising a second tubular portion spaced from the first tubular portion by the elongated reinforcing elements. 22. The assembly of claim 19, wherein the valve is connected to the reinforcing elements at the commissures. 23. The assembly of claim 19, wherein the assembly is configured to permit lateral blood flow to the coronary ostia when implanted at the aortic valve. 24. The assembly of claim 19, wherein the tubular portion is configured to be expanded at a target location so as to provide a seal between said tubular portion and the wall of the target corporeal duct. 25. The assembly of claim 19, wherein a proximal zone of the tubular portion comprises a truncated cone shape suitable for bearing against the wall of the ventricle. 26. The assembly of claim 19, wherein the affixation means comprises one or more anchoring fasteners that each comprise an anchoring prong configured to be inserted into the wall of the target corporeal duct. 27. The assembly of claim 26, wherein the fasteners are plastically deformable. 28. The assembly of claim 26, wherein the affixation means is configured to extend the anchoring prongs of these fasteners in a non-radial fashion. 29. The assembly of claim 26, wherein the one or more fasteners comprise a shape-retaining material. 30. The assembly of claim 29, wherein the one or more fasteners comprise a nickel and titanium alloy. 31. The assembly of claim 19, wherein the affixation means comprises a biological glue. 32. The assembly of claim 31, wherein the glue is provided in breakable blisters placed on the radially external surface of the tubular portion. 33. The assembly of claim 19, wherein each elongated reinforcing element comprises a convex configuration. 34. The assembly of claim 19, wherein the elongated reinforcing elements comprise a rectilinear form at rest and wherein the assembly further comprises restraining means to limit the radial expansion of at least a portion of said elements when expanded in place. 35. The assembly of claim 19, further comprising means for delivering and deploying said assembly. 36. The assembly of claim 35, wherein the delivering and deploying means comprises a catheter. 37. The assembly of claim 36, wherein the delivering. and deploying means further comprises a sheath for maintaining the tubular portion and the elongated reinforcing elements in a contracted configuration during delivery and at least one balloon for expanding the tubular portion and reinforcing elements upon deployment. 38. The assembly of claim 36, wherein the delivering and deploying means further comprises a proximal positioning means, dimensioned for bearing against the wall of the ventricle. 39. The assembly of claim 36, wherein the delivering and deploying means further comprises a pump facilitating the flow of blood past the assembly during implantation. |
<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an assembly for setting a valve prosthesis in a corporeal duct, especially a cardiac valve and in particular an aortic valve. 2. Description of the Related Art Documents WO 91/17720, WO 98/29057 and EP 1 057 460 each describe an assembly of this type, comprising the valve prosthesis to implant; a radially expandable reinforcement, called a “stent,” clean, in the expanded state, to bear against the wall of the target corporeal duct, this bearing allowing this stent to be immobilized with respect to this wall; and means for fixing the valve to the stent. Setting of the stent thus allows the valve to be installed in the corporeal duct, eliminating the necessity for outside access and thus for direct surgical intervention. However, this technique may have important disadvantages leading to a risk of damage to the valve by the balloon utilized for expanding the stent, and limiting the expansion force that it is possible to give to the stent. This limitation has an effect on the anchoring of the stent, making a displacement of the assembly possible. This limitation also has an effect on the sealing of the stent at the valvular ring, which is particularly affected when the calcified areas give the valvular ring an irregular form and/or a certain rigidity. Expansion of the balloon may also lead to damage to the corporeal duct, particularly when the duct is in a blood vessel. Furthermore, the target corporeal duct may not present a perfectly circular cross section at the implantation site, particularly when the natural valve is retained and when this valve, or valvular ring, comprises calcified areas. Whatever the degree of expansion of the stent, the circular shape of this stent then may not be suitable for the specific anatomy of the implantation site. A defect in sealing of the implanted valve may then result. Furthermore, the stent presents a certain rigidity, which leads to a rigidity in the implantation catheter. This rigidity may make the advancement of this catheter to the implantation site difficult. Another disadvantage of the prior technique is the direct connection of the leaflets' commissures to the stent. A different than anticipated expansion of the stent, and thus of the valve, results, which may lead to a poor coaptation of the leaflets and thus a defective operation of the valve. The stent must consequently be subjected to a predetermined expansion that prevents, or makes difficult, the adaptation of this stent to the anatomic variability. The prior technique also has the disadvantage of, in cases of aortic valve implantation, inducing a risk of obstruction of the coronary ostia. |
<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present invention aims to remedy one or more of these disadvantages. The assembly that the invention relates to comprises a the valve prosthesis to implant and a valve support, the valve and the support being shaped so that they are able to adopt a position of radial contraction, which allows their insertion into the target corporeal duct with the help of insertion/extension means, and a radial extension position, in which the support is immobilized with respect to the wall of the target corporeal duct. According to the invention, the support comprises at least one tubular portion in a pliable material that is slightly stretchable in the circumferential direction, which presents, in its extension position, a dimension in the circumferential direction substantially corresponding to the dimension in the circumferential direction of the location of the corporeal duct in regards to which this tubular portion must be implanted. The invention further comprises means for fixating this tubular portion to the wall of the corporeal duct, and a plurality of elongated reinforcing elements, arranged on the circumference of said tubular portion and linked to said tubular portion independently of one another, the valve being linked at least partially to these elongated reinforcing elements, in particular at the commissures of its leaflets. The elongated reinforcing elements jointly form, in extended position, a structure having a predetermined diameter that ensures sufficient extension of said valve. The support according to the invention thus is not formed by an expandable stent bearing by friction against the wall of the target corporeal duct but is formed by (i) at least one pliable tubular portion that is slightly stretchable in the circumference, fitted with fixation means at the wall of the corporeal duct, and (ii) an installation structure for the valve, extended by such tubular portion or portions. The latter are only subjected to active extension, achieved in particular by means of one or more inflatable balloons, at the areas equipped with the fixation means; the leaflets of the valve are linked to the elongated reinforcing elements and are thus placed on a portion of the support that does not have to be stimulated by the extension means, so that the risk of deterioration of these leaflets by these extension means is eliminated. The extension of the tubular portion or portions does not require a radial force as great as that necessary for extending a stent, and the slight stretchability of the tubular portions beyond their extension position allows the risk of deterioration of the corporeal duct resulting from the utilization of the inflatable balloons to be eliminated. The pliable structure of the tubular portion or portions furthermore allows them to be perfectly adapted to the specific anatomy of the implantation site, particularly when the site is not circular in its cross section due to the presence of calcified areas. The support has an overall longitudinal rigidity definitely less than that of a stent, which significantly facilitates the advancement of the implantation catheter to the implantation site. The valve may be constructed of a biological tissue or of a synthetic material such as, for example, a polymer. The valve may present a base ring allowing its tight connection, particularly by sutures, to the tubular portion or to one of the tubular portions. The commissures of the leaflets are not linked to an expandable area, and the structure formed by the elongated reinforcing elements assures the sufficient extension of these leaflets. The tubular portion, or a peripheral wall that comprises the valve, may present side openings to allow the blood to flow naturally to the coronary ostia, without risk of stagnation. Preferably, the tubular portion or portions present at least one inflatable peripheral chamber, which may be inflated so that a joint is formed which ensures the sealing between this tubular portion and the wall of the target corporeal duct. The proximal area of the tubular portion, or of the proximal tubular portion in case of a plurality of tubular portions, may present a truncated cone shape suitable for bearing against the wall of the ventricle. The tubular portion or portions may be constituted of a biological or synthetic material, particularly a polymer or a fiber fabric known under the name “dacron.” The fixation means are preferably constituted of anchoring fasteners presenting anchoring prongs. These anchoring prongs are configured to be inserted into the wall of the target corporeal duct at the end of the extension of the tubular portions. These fasteners may be plastically deformed; the means may then be provided for extending the anchoring prongs of these fasteners non-radially, particularly in an oblique orientation or according to a trajectory curve, in order to reinforce the resistance of the anchoring obtained. At least one of these fasteners may be in a shape-retaining material such as the nickel and titanium alloy known under the name “NITINOL.” Such a fastener is preferably configured to adopt before implantation an insertion configuration, in which its anchoring prongs are substantially radially positioned with respect to the tubular portion so that they can be inserted in the wall of the duct, and an anchoring configuration, in which these same anchoring prongs are positioned non-radially and/or are curved in order to ensure the anchoring of the fasteners in the wall of the target corporeal duct. The fixation means may also comprise a biological glue, which may be contained in breakable blisters placed on the radial external surface of the tubular portion or portions. These blisters break when they are crushed between the tubular portion or portions and the wall of the corporeal duct, thus freeing the glue. Each elongated reinforcing element advantageously presents a curved form and is placed with its convex side radially turned toward the inside of the support, so that this support presents, at its median zone, a smaller diameter compared to the diameter that it presents at its axial extremities. This smaller diameter allows any risk of covering the coronary ostia to be eliminated. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the support comprises two tubular portions, such as that described above, whereby one of the extremities of the elongated reinforcing elements is linked to one of these tubular portions while the other extremity of these elongated reinforcing elements is linked to the other tubular portion. The extension of these two tubular portions ensures a perfect extension of the elongated reinforcing elements. According to another possible embodiment of the invention, the support comprises a single tubular portion extending on the support assembly, to the wall of which are linked the elongated reinforcing elements. This single tubular portion may present the aforementioned side openings with regard to the coronary ostia. According to still another possible embodiment of the invention, the support comprises a single tubular portion, from which the elongated reinforcing elements protrude, on an axial extremity of this tubular portion. This support may in particular allow the implantation of a mitral valve. To be well understood, the invention is again described below with reference to the attached schematic drawing representing, by way of non-limiting indication, a preferred form of embodiment of the assembly, to which the invention relates. |
Electrocapillary cleaning aids in dishwashers |
The invention relates to a method for cleaning objects (3), particularly kitchenware (3), whereby the objects to be cleaned (3) are brought in contact with a washing liquid (5). According to the invention, at least one electric field is generated in at least some parts of the surface of the objects to be cleaned (3). |
1-30. (Cancelled). 31. A method for cleaning an object, the method comprising: bringing the object to be cleaned in contact with a washing liquid; and generating at least one electric field in at least a portion of a surface of the object to be cleaned. 32. The method according to claim 31, wherein the electric field has a perpendicular component over the surface of the objects to be cleaned. 33. The method according to claim 31, wherein the electric field is generated by one of a positive and a negative electrification of the washing liquid. 34. The method according to claim 31, wherein the washing liquid is electrified via an electrification electrode to which is applied an electric potential. 35. The method according to claim 31, wherein the positive or negative direct or alternating potential is in the range from 100 to 10,000 volts and particularly from 1000 to 5,000 volts. 36. The method according to claim 31, wherein the washing liquid contains substances with cleaning ability, particularly surfactants and/or enzymes. 37. The method according to claim 31, wherein the electrification electrode is disposed in a region of a section of a line through which the washing liquid flows before coming in contact with the objects to be cleaned. 38. The method according to claim 31, wherein the electrification electrode is disposed in the region of a nozzle arm. 39. The method according to claim 31, wherein a counter-electrode is disposed in the vicinity of the objects to be cleaned. 40. The method according to claim 31, wherein after coming in contact with the objects to be cleaned the washing liquid is collected in a collecting container. 41. The method according to claim 31, further comprising the step of at least partially de-electrifying the washing liquid after the step of bringing the object cleaned in contact with a washing liquid. 42. The method according to claim 31, further comprising the step of at least partially de-electrifying the washing liquid before the step of disposing the washing liquid. 43. The method according to claim 31, wherein the de-electrification is carried out with the aid of a de-electrification electrode. 44. The method according to claim 31, wherein the de-electrification electrode is disposed in the region of the collecting container. 45. An apparatus for carrying out the method according to claim 31. 46. An apparatus for cleaning objects which brings the objects to be cleaned in contact with a washing liquid, wherein the apparatus includes means capable of generating at least one electric field in at least some regions of the surfaces of the objects to be cleaned. 47. The apparatus according to claim 46, wherein the means generate the electric field so that said field has a perpendicular component over the surface of the objects to be cleaned. 48. The apparatus according to claim 46, wherein the means electrify the washing liquid. 49. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the washing liquid contains substances with cleaning ability, particularly surfactants and/or enzymes. 50. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the means for electrifying the washing liquid comprise an electrification electrode to which an electric potential can be applied. 51. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the positive or negative, direct or alternating potential is in the range from 100 to 10,000 volts and particularly from 1000 to 5,000 volts. 52. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the electrification electrode is disposed in the region of a section of the line through which the washing liquid flows before coming in contact with the objects to be cleaned. 53. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the electrification electrode is disposed in the region of a nozzle arm. 54. The apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising a counterelectrode disposed in the vicinity of the objects to be cleaned. 55. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein metallic objects of the apparatus or metallic objects to be cleaned take over the function of the counterelectrode. 56. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein, after having been brought in contact with the objects to be cleaned, the washing liquid is collected in a collecting container. 57. The apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising de-electrification means for the purpose of at least partially de-electrifying the washing liquid after said washing liquid has at least once been brought in contact with the objects to be cleaned. 58. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the de-electrification means de-electrify the washing liquid at least partially before said washing liquid is disposed of. 59. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the de-electrification electrode is located in the region of the collecting container. 60. The apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising a protective circuit breaker which shuts off the electric power when a pre-determined current flow is exceeded. 61. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the apparatus is a dishwasher. |
Device configuration and management development system |
A device configuration development system uses a common configuration and management database for the development of configuration and management data. A device management system for set of devices is provided from the common and management data for the management and configuration of a set of devices. Each device in the set of devices is also provided with a subset of management and configuration data related to the device. |
1. A device information development system for developing and managing configuration and/or management information for devices, the system comprising: data storage means storing device data structured in accordance with a common model of parameters related to the configuration and/or management of the devices; developer interface means for allowing a software developer to develop software for configuring and/or managing devices and to enter device data into the data storage means in accordance with the common model; and software product building means for building a device configuration and/or management software product for configuring and/or managing at least one device, the software product builder being adapted to build the software product by reading data for at least one device from the data storage means structured in accordance with the common model for use by device management and control software to control a processing apparatus to configure and/or manage the devices using the data for the devices included in the product and to provide the data for a device to the device to allow local configuration and/or management at the device. 2. A device information development system according to claim 1, wherein the software product builder is adapted to build the software product by reading and including in the software product the software developed by the software developer, for loading onto devices for configuring and/or managing the devices. 3. A device information development system according to claim 1, wherein the devices comprise network devices and the common model is a model of parameters related to the configuration and/or management of the network devices. 4. A device information development system according to claim 1, wherein the parameters related to the configuration and/or management of the devices are suitable for central remote management of the devices and local management of each device. 5. A device information development system according to claim 1, wherein the common model of parameters related to the configuration and/or management of the devices comprises a model of hardware characteristics, software characteristics and relationships therebetween. 6. A device information development system according to claim 1, wherein said device data comprises configuration data and metadata, the metadata comprising management information for the configuration data and for the device. 7. A device information development system according to claim 1, wherein the device data includes interface data defining the configuration of a user interface to the device data. 8. A device information development system according to claim 7, wherein the interface data defines the configuration of each element of a user interface related to the display and/or input of a configuration parameter and/or management parameter. 9. A device information development system according to claim 7, wherein the interface data defines a management interface for configuring and/or managing the device and/or the device data. 10. A device information development system according to claim 7, including user interface means for providing an interface to a user using the interface data. 11. A device information development system according to claim 10, wherein the user interface means comprises a web server means for providing the user interface as a web page. 12. A device information development system according to claim 1, wherein the developer interface means is adapted to allow a developer to enter device data for a new device by copying device data for another device and modifying the device data. 13. A device information development system according to claim 1, wherein the developer interface means is adapted to generate code stubs for management functionality from the device data for combination with software provided by the software developer to control the device to develop the software for configuring and/or managing the devices. 14. A device information development system according to claim 1, wherein the database storage means comprises a relational database storage means. 15. A device information development system according to claim 1, wherein the common model is an object model comprised of hardware objects, software object, and interface objects linking the hardware and software objects. 16. A device information development system according to claim 1, including documentation storage means for storing documentation segments associated with respective parameters of the common model, and documentation input means to allow the input of documentation segments for association with respective parameters of the common model. 17. A device information development system according to claim 16, including documentation generation means for generating documentation for a device by combining the stored document segments for parameters related to the configuration and/or management provided for the device. 18. A device information development system according to claim 1, wherein the common model includes a parameter to identify a configured device having configuration data for all configuration parameters, and a configuration profile for which some configuration data can be input to complete or modify the configuration data for a device. 19. A device information development system according to claim 18, wherein the common model includes a parameter to identify a configured device having some configuration data entered by a user and some configuration data provided from the partial configuration. 20. A device information development system according to claim 1, comprising a processing system, wherein the data storage means comprises a relational database, the developer interface means comprises a developer computer application implemented on the processing system, the software storage means comprises a storage device, and the software product building means comprises a software builder computer application implemented on the processing system. 21. A device information development system according to claim 1, including software storage means storing device management and control software for configuring and/or managing device, wherein said software product building means is adapted to build the software product to include the device management and control software. 22. A device information development method for developing and/or managing configuration and/or management information for devices, the method comprising: providing a database storing device data structured in accordance with a common model of parameters related to the configuration and/or management of the devices; entering device data into the database in accordance with the common model when a software developer develops software for configuring and/or managing devices; and building a device configuration and/or management software product for use in the configuration and/or management of at least one device by including in the software product the data for a set of devices from the database store structured in accordance with the common model in the database for use by device management and control software to control a processing apparatus to configure and/or manage the devices using the data for at least one device included in the product and to provide the data for a device to the device to allow local configuration and/or management at the device. 23. A device information development method according to claim 22, wherein the software product building step includes in the software product the software developed by the software developer, for loading onto devices for configuring and/or managing the devices. 24. A device information development method according to claim 22, wherein the devices comprise network devices and the common model is a model of parameters related to the configuration and/or management of the network devices. 25. A device information development method according to claim 22, wherein the parameters related to the configuration and/or management of the devices are suitable for central remote management of the devices and local management of each device. 26. A device information development method according to claim 22, wherein the common model of parameters related to the configuration and/or management of the devices comprises a model of hardware characteristics, software characteristics and relationships therebetween. 27. A device information development method according to claim 22, wherein said device data comprises configuration data and metadata, the metadata comprising management information for the configuration data and for the device. 28. A device information development method according to claim 22, wherein the device data includes interface data defining the configuration of a user interface to the device data. 29. A device information development method according to claim 28, wherein the interface data defines the configuration of each element of a user interface related to the display and/or input of a configuration parameter and/or management parameter. 30. A device information development method according to claim 28, wherein the interface data defines a management interface for configuring and/or managing the device and/or the device data. 31. A device information development method according to claim 28, including generating an interface to a user using the interface data. 32. A device information development method according to claim 31, wherein the user interface is generated as a web page. 33. A device information development method according to claim 22, wherein device data for a new device is entered by copying device data for another device and modifying the device data. 34. A device information development method according to claim 22, including generate code stubs for management functionality from the device data for combination with software provided by the software developer to control the device to develop the software for configuring and/or managing the devices. 35. A device information development method according to claim 22, wherein the database comprises a relational database. 36. A device information development method according to claim 22, wherein the common model is an object model comprised of hardware objects, software object, and interface objects linking the hardware and software objects. 37. A device information development method according to claim 22, including inputting and storing documentation segments associated with respective parameters of the common model. 38. A device information development method according to claim 37, including generating documentation for a device by combining the stored document segments for parameters related to the configuration and management provided for the device. 39. A device information development method according to claim 22, wherein the common model includes a parameter to identify a configured device having configuration data for all configuration parameters, and a configuration profile for which some configuration data can be entered to complete or modify the configuration data for a device. 40. A device information development method according to claim 39, wherein the common model includes a parameter to identify a configured device having some configuration data entered by a user and some configuration data provided from the partial configuration. 41. A device information development method according to claim 22, wherein device management and control software is built into the device configuration and/or management software product. 42. A system for managing devices comprising: data storage means for storing management data for each device for managing and the device, the management data being structured in accordance with a common model of parameters related to the functioning and management of the devices; communication means for communicating with the devices, each device having a copy of the management data for a respective device stored therein to provide for local management; and device management means for controlling the communication means to send and receive data to and from the devices to provide receipt of management data from the devices. 43. A system according to claim 42, wherein the device management means is adapted to send the copy of the management data to the devices. 44. A system according to claim 42, including code module storage means for storing code modules for controlling devices, wherein each device can store therein a code module for controlling the device using the management data, and the device management means is adapted to send code modules from the code module storage means to the devices. 45. A system according to claim 42, wherein a code module is common for each type of device. 46. A system according to claim 42, wherein the management data includes configuration data associated therewith, the management data comprising data defining a specific configuration instance, and the management data comprising metadata for the data defining management parameters for configured devices. 47. A system according to claim 46, wherein the configuration data can define a configuration profile for which some user definable configuration data can be entered or modified, including user input means to allow a user to select a configuration profile and enter or modify the user definable configuration data to generate configuration data for a specific device instance for storage in the database storage means. 48. A system according to claim 42, wherein the common model comprises a hardware model, a software model and relationships therebetween. 49. A system according to claim 42, wherein the management data includes data defining a management interface to provide access to management data for a device. 50. A system according to claim 42, wherein the communication means is arranged to provide a hypertext transfer protocol interface. 51. A system according to claim 42, including a programmable processor, wherein the data storage means comprises a relational database, the communication means comprises a communications port, and the device management and control means comprises an application for implementation by the programmable processor. 52. A method of managing devices comprising: storing management data for each device for managing the device, the management data being structured in accordance with a common model of parameters related to the management of the devices; communicating with the devices, each device having a copy of the management data for a respective device stored therein to provide for local management; and controlling the communication with the devices to send and receive data to and from the devices to provide for receipt of management data from the devices. 53. A method according to claim 52, wherein the copy of the management data is sent to the devices. 54. A method according to claim 52, including storing code modules for controlling devices, wherein each device can store therein a code module for controlling the device using the management data, and code modules are sent to the devices. 55. A method according to claim 54, wherein a code module is common for each type of device. 56. A method according to claim 52, wherein the management data has configuration data associated therewith, the configuration data comprising data defining a specific configuration instance, and the management data comprising metadata for the data defining management parameters for configured devices. 57. A method according to claim 56, wherein the configuration data can define a configuration profile for which some user definable configuration data can be entered or modified, the method including receiving a user selection of a configuration profile and entry or modification of the user definable configuration data to generate configuration data for a specific device instance for storage in the database storage means. 58. A method according to claim 52, wherein the common model comprises a hardware model, a software model and relationships therebetween. 59. A method according to claim 52, wherein the management data includes data defining a management interface to provide access to management data for a device. 60. A method according to claim 52, wherein the communication with the devices is by hypertext transfer protocol. 61. A centrally managed device comprising: storage means for storing data for the device structured in accordance with a common model of parameters related to the functioning and management of devices managed by a central management system; communication means for communicating with the central management system; and control means for controlling the device according to the stored data and for controlling the communication means to send management data to the central management system. 62. A centrally managed device according to claim 61, wherein the stored data includes configuration data for use by the control means for controlling the device and the control means is adapted to control the communications means to receive the configuration data from the central management system. 63. A centrally managed device according to claim 61, including code storage means for storing a code module, wherein the control means comprises a programmable processing means programmed by the stored code module to control the device according to the stored data. 64. A centrally managed device according to claim 63, wherein the communication means is adapted to receive the code module from the central management system and to store the received code module in the code storage means. 65. A centrally managed device according to claim 61, wherein the communication means includes user interface means for providing management data output to a user 66. A centrally managed device according to claim 61, wherein the communication means includes a web server for communication using the hypertext transfer protocol. 67. A method of controlling a centrally managed device comprising: storing data for the device structured in accordance with a common model of parameters related to the functioning and management of devices managed by a central management system; and controlling the device according to the stored data and sending management data to the central management system. 68. A method according to claim 67, including receiving configuration data from the central management system and storing the configuration data for use in controlling the device. 69. A method according to claim 67, including storing a code module, wherein a programmable processing means is programmed by the stored code module to control the device according to the stored data. 70. A method according to claim 67, wherein the code module is received from the central management system. 71. A method according to claim 67, including providing a user interface for providing management data output to a user 72. A method according to claim 67, wherein a web server provides for communication to the central management system using the hypertext transfer protocol. 73. A device documentation generation system comprising: storage means for storing meta data for each of a plurality of parameters defining the characteristics of a plurality of devices, the meta data being stored in accordance with a common data model for the devices; documentation input means for inputting documentation segments associated with meta data for respective parameters; and document generation means for generating documentation for a device by combining document segments associated with meta data for parameters defining characteristics of the device. 74. A device documentation generation system according to claim 73, wherein the parameters comprise configuration data and the meta data comprises management data. 75. A device documentation generation system according to claim 73, wherein the document generation means is adapted to generate the documentation by incorporating the meta data into the documentation segments. 76. A device documentation generation system according to claim 73, including documentation storage means for storing input documentation segments, wherein the meta data includes an indication of the language of the documentation to be generated for a device, the stored documentation segments comprise a documentation segment in more that one language for meta data for a parameter, and the document generation means is adapted to generate the documentation for a device using the documentation segments in the language indicated by the indication in the meta data for the device. 77. A device documentation generation method comprising: storing meta data for each of a plurality of parameters defining the characteristics of a plurality of devices, the meta data being stored in accordance with a common data model for the devices; receiving documentation segments associated with meta data for respective parameters; and generating documentation for a device by combining document segments associated with meta data for parameters defining characteristics of the device. 78. A device documentation generation method according to claim 77, wherein the parameters comprise configuration data and the meta data comprises management data. 79. A device documentation generation method according to claim 77, wherein the documentation is generated by incorporating the meta data into the documentation segments. 80. A device documentation generation method according to claim 77, including storing input documentation segments, wherein the meta data includes an indication of the language of the documentation to be generated for a device, the stored documentation segments comprise a documentation segment in more that one language for meta data for a parameter, and the documentation is generated for a device using the documentation segments in the language indicated by the indication in the meta data for the device. 81. A device documentation generation system comprising: a storage device storing meta data for each of a plurality of parameters defining the characteristics of a plurality of devices, the meta data being stored in accordance with a common data model for the devices; a program memory storing processor readable code; and a processor for reading and implementing the code in the programme memory; wherein the code stored in the program memory comprises code for controlling the processor to: receive documentation segments associated with meta data for respective parameters; and generate documentation for a device by combining document segments associated with meta data for parameters defining characteristics of the device. 82. A device documentation generation system according to claim 81, wherein the parameters comprise configuration data and the meta data comprises management data. 83. A device documentation generation system according to claim 81, wherein the code stored in the program memory includes code for controlling the processor to generate the documentation by incorporating the meta data into the documentation segments. 84. A device documentation generation system according to claim 81, including a documentation storage device for storing received documentation segments, wherein the meta data includes an indication of the language of the documentation to be generated for a device, the stored documentation segments comprise a documentation segment in more that one language for meta data for a parameter, and the code stored in the program memory includes code for controlling the processor to generate the documentation for a device using the documentation segments in the language indicated by the indication in the meta data for the device. 85. A device configuration development system for developing control code for devices, the system comprising: a code store storing a library of code stubs for providing device management functions; a data store for storing meta data on device configuration parameters, the meta data comprising management information for the device configuration parameters; an input device for inputting the meta data to the data store; and code stub determining means for determining code stubs for a device to provide the management functionality defined in the input meta data using the library of code stubs in the code store. 86. A device configuration development system according to claim 85, including code development means for allowing a developer to develop code for controlling a device and for receiving and integrating the determined code stubs to provide code for the device which provides management functionality as defined by the stored meta data. 87. A device configuration development method for developing control code for devices, the method comprising: storing a library of code stubs for providing device management functions; inputting and storing meta data on device configuration parameters, the meta data comprising management information for the device configuration parameters; and determining code stubs for a device to provide the management functionality defined in the input meta data using the library of code stubs. 88. A device configuration development method according to claim 87, including developing code for controlling a device and integrating the determined code stubs to provide code for the device which provides management functionality as defined by the stored meta data. 89. A device management system for providing information defining a management interface for devices to provide for local and central management, the system comprising: data storage means storing device data structured in accordance with a common model for the management of the devices; input means for inputting information defining a management interface for devices for storage in the device data; and output means for outputting the device data as a set of device data to provide a management interface for the central management of the set of devices, and as device data for each device to provide the same management interface for the local management of each device. 90. A device configuration development method for developing and managing configuration and management information for devices, the method comprising: storing device data structured in accordance with a common model of parameters related to the configuration and management of the devices; inputting information defining a management interface for devices for storage in the device data; and outputting the device data as a set of device data to provide a management interface for the central management of the set of devices, and as device data for each device to provide the same management interface for the local management of each device. 91. A device management system for providing information defining a management interface for devices to provide for local and central management, the system comprising: a data store storing device data structured in accordance with a common model for the management of the devices; a code memory storing processor readable code; a processor for reading and implementing the code; wherein the code comprises code for controlling the processor to: input information defining a management interface for devices for storage in the device data; and output the device data as a set of device data to provide a management interface for the central management of the set of devices, and as device data for each device to provide the same management interface for the local management of each device. 92. A device configuration development system for developing and managing configuration and management information for devices, the system comprising: means for defining the required functionality of devices; means for entering desired attributes for management of the devices; and means for storing the entered attributes as a central database for central management of the devices and as a set of data in the devices for local management of the devices. 93. A device configuration development method for developing and managing configuration and management information for devices, the method comprising: defining the required functionality of devices; entering desired attributes for management of the devices; and storing the entered attributes as a central database for central management of the devices and as a set of data in the devices for local management of the devices. 94. A device configuration development system for developing and managing configuration and management information for devices, the system comprising: a memory device storing processor readable code; a processor for reading and implementing the code in the memory device; wherein the code stored in the memory device comprises code for controlling the processor to: define the required functionality of devices; enter desired attributes for management of the devices; and store the entered attributes as a central database for central management of the devices and as a set of data in the devices for local management of the devices. 95. A device documentation generation system comprising: storage means for storing meta data for each of a plurality of parameters defining the characteristics of a plurality of devices, the meta data being stored in accordance with a common data model for the devices; documentation input means for inputting documentation associated with meta data for respective parameters; and document generation means for generating documentation for a device by incorporating meta data for parameters defining characteristics of the device into the documentation. 96. A device documentation generation system according to claim 95, wherein the documentation input means is adapted for inputting document segments associated with parameters defining characteristics of the device, and the documentation generation means is adapted to generate the documentation by combining document segments associated with meta data for parameters defining characteristics of the device. 97. A device documentation generation method comprising: storing meta data for each of a plurality of parameters defining the characteristics of a plurality of devices, the meta data being stored in accordance with a common data model for the devices; inputting documentation associated with meta data for respective parameters; and generating documentation for a device by incorporating meta data for parameters defining characteristics of the device into the documentation. 98. A device documentation generation method according to claim 97, wherein the input documentation comprises document segments associated with parameters defining characteristics of the device, and the documentation is generated by combining document segments associated with meta data for parameters defining characteristics of the device. 99. A carrier medium carrying computer readable code for controlling a computer to carry out the method of any one of claims 20, 22, 52, 67, 77, 87, 90, 93, or 97. |
Method and computer system for separating and processing layout information and data of a document |
Computer-implemented methods, computer systems and computer program products are provided for separating and processing layout information and data of a document. The computer system provides a predefined document description. The document description is decomposed into a layout template and a data description. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, decomposition is achieved by using style sheet language transformations. Optionally, the computer system may instantiate a data instance from the data description and merge the data instance with the layout template into an individual document description. The individual document description can be rendered by a conventional browser. |
1. A computer-implemented method for separating and processing layout information and data of a document, the method comprising the steps of: providing a predefined document description; an decomposing the document description into a layout template and a data description. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the decomposing step comprises the following steps: extracting the layout template from the document description; and extracting the data description from the document description. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the extracting steps use a transformation program in a programming language. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the transformation program is a style sheet language transformation. 5. The method of claim 2, further comprising instantiating a data instance from the data description; and merging the data instance with the layout template into an individual document description. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the merging step uses a transformation program in a programming language. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the transformation program is a style sheet language transformation. 8. A computer system for separating and processing layout information and data of a document, the computer system comprising: means for providing a predefined document description; and means for decomposing the document description into a layout template and a data description. 9. The computer system of claim 8, further comprising: means for instantiating a data instance from the data description; and means for merging the data instance with the layout template into an individual document description. 10. A computer program product having a plurality of instructions for causing a processor of a computer to separate and process layout information and data of a document, the computer program product causing the computer to execute the following steps: providing a predefined document description; and decomposing the document description into a layout template and a data description. 11. The computer program product of claim 10, causing the computer to further execute the steps of: instantiating a data instance from the data description; and merging the data instance with the layout template into an individual document description. 12. A data carrier readable by a computer, the data carrier storing a plurality of instructions for causing a processor of the computer to separate and process layout information and data of a document, the plurality of instructions causing the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 and 2. |
<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In prior art systems, documents, such as human interface descriptions, typically are described with a standardized document description language (SDL). The term “human interface” as used herein after, describes any kind of application interface for a human to interact with application programs that run on a computer. Examples for human interfaces are graphical user interfaces (GUI) or voice user interfaces (VUI). Typically the SDL is an “Extensible Markup Language” (XML) based language that provides a set of layout controls, wherein a layout control comprises description instructions that describe a specific layout element (LE). A transformer program, comprising transformation rules, transforms the layout element into a browser compliant description. In a SDL typical layout elements are “row”, “cell”, “table”, “grid”, etc. Such layout elements can be reused in any context of any application. A browser, as used herein after, is a computer program that “renders” a document which is written in a markup language, such as “Hyper Text Markup Language” (HTML), “Wireless Markup Language” (WML) or “Voice Extensible Markup Language” (VXML), into a visual or audio presentation of this document. A browser can be device specific. For example, a browser that renders a HTML document on a personal computer screen differs from a browser that renders a WML document on a wireless application protocol (WAP) cell phone display. The browser compliant description can be rendered by a conventional browser into corresponding visual or audio layout elements on an output device of a computer. In the XForms 1.0 specification (08 Jun. 2001) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the assumption is made that data information and layout information are separated from the beginning when a new document is created. This requires the exact knowledge of the data model that is used in an application using the new document. Data model, as used herein after, corresponds to a data description of data that are used (displayed, played, captured, etc.) by the document. However, there are applications where the data model of the application is not known when the document design starts. For example, when an application programmer builds a survey application, typically, the information that is to be captured through a survey form (questionnaire) is defined while developing the survey document. Input fields are added to the form as they are defined during the design process. In general, no data model exists that describes the corresponding data (e.g. dependencies between data, such as questions in a group of questions). |
<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Hence, the present invention provides method, computer system and computer program product to solve the technical problem of automatically separating data information from layout information on the basis of a document where layout information and data information is mixed. For convenience of explanation and without the intention of limiting the present invention, in the following description of the present invention it is assumed that the document is a description of a graphical human interface of a computer. However, the term “layout element”, as used herein after to describe a graphical layout element, also has a meaning in a voice human interface, where it corresponds to a sequence of sounds (e.g., spoken words) that follows a specific dialogue (interaction) schema. The solution to the technical problem according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is provided by the following characteristics: The inventive computer system a) provides a predefined document description, wherein, preferably, the document description is a markup language description, such as a XML or a XHTML document; and b) decomposes the document description into a layout template and a data description. It is an advantage of the present invention that the computer system automatically creates a data model for an application that initially lacks a data model. This is the case when the application is defined through a document description that includes both, data and layout information. Examples for this kind of applications are survey forms or forms for service requests. Survey forms may comprise input or answer fields that are defined during the survey design process and where no predefined data description exists. Service requests may comprise fields for services that are not predefined because they are not offered regularly. Therefore, a predefined data description may not exist. Further, the present invention solves the technical problem to prompt a user with an individual document that includes runtime dependent data (data that are created or modified during runtime). Runtime, as used herein after, means: occurring while a document is executing (being used interactively by a user). Design-time means: occurring while a document is designed (before being used interactively). Examples for runtime dependent data are user name, document creation date, session ID, error messages, etc. The solution to the technical problem according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is provided by the following characteristics: The inventive computer system c) instantiates a data instance from the data description; and d) merges the data instance with the layout template into an individual document description. The individual document description can be rendered by a browser. The advantage is the ability of the data instance to comprise runtime dependent data that can be modified by an application program during runtime processing. Therefore, the individual document description prompts the user with runtime dependent data that are dynamic when compared to then static data of the data description. At any place in the description of the present invention where a style sheet language transformation, such as XSLT, is used to define transformation or conversion rules, alternatively, a person of skill in the art can implement these rules in any programming language, such as Java, as well. The aspects of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both, the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention as described. |
Use of oversulfated polysaccharides as inhibitors of hiv |
The present invention relates to the use of N,O oversulfated K5 derivatives having a degree of sulfation higher than 3.2 or of their pharmaceutically acceptable salts for the preparation of pharmaceutical compositions for treating the infection and the consequent HIV/ADS disease. |
1. Use of a N,O oversulfated K5 having a sulfation degree higher than 3.2, for the preparation of pharmaceutical compositions for treating HIV infections. 2. The use of claim 1, wherein said N,O oversulfated K5 has sulfation degree of from 3.2to 4. 3. The use of claim 2, wherein said N,O oversulfated K5 has a sulfation degree of from 3.5 to 4. 4. The use of claim 3, wherein said N,O oversulfated K5 has a sulfation degree of from 3.7 to 4. 5. The use according to claim 1 wherein said HIV infection is the sole cause of the Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome called AIDS. 6. The use according to claim 1 wherein said N,O oversulfated K5 is in the form a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. 7. The use of claim 6, wherein said pharmaceutically acceptable salt is selected from the group consisting of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, aluminum and zinc salts. 8. The use according to claim 1 wherein said N,O oversulfated K5 has a molecular weight with a distribution from about 2,000 to about 16,000. 9. The use according to claim 8, wherein said distribution is from about 2,500 to about 10,000, with a mean molecular weight of about 6,500. 10. The use according to claim 1 wherein said N,O oversulfated K5 has a molecular weight with a distribution from about 13,000 to about 65,000. 11. The use according to claim 10, wherein said distribution is from about 25,000 to about 50,000, with a mean molecular weight of 40,000. 12. The use according to claim 1 wherein said N,O oversulfated K5 has a molecular weight with a distribution from about 2,000 to about 65,000, with a mean molecular weight of 25,000-30,000. 13. The use according to claim 1 wherein said N,O oversulfatedK5 is obtained by depolymerization and has a mean molecular weight of from 2,000 to 5,000. 14. A pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of the HIV infection which comprises as an active ingredient thereof, a pharmacologically effective amount of a N,O oversulfated K5 having a sulfation degree higher than 3.2, in admixture with a pharmaceutical excipient or vehicle. 15. The composition of claim 14, which is in a dosage unit form. 16. Pharmaceutical composition according to any one of claim 14 wherein said N,O oversulfated K5 has a sulfation degree of from 3.2 to 4. 17. Pharmaceutical composition according to claim 14, wherein said N,O oversulfated K5 has a sulfation degree of from 3.5 to 4. 18. Pharmaceutical composition according to claim 14, wherein said N,O oversulfated K5 has a sulfation degree of from 3.7 to 4. 19. Pharmaceutical composition according to claim 14, wherein said N,O oversulfated K5 has a molecular weight with a distribution from about 2,000 to about 16,000. 20. Pharmaceutical composition according to claim 19, wherein said distribution is from about 2,500 to about 10,000, with a mean molecular weight of about 6,500. 21. Pharmaceutical composition according to claim 14, wherein said N,O oversulfated K5 has a molecular weight with a distribution from about 13,000 to about 65,000. 22. Pharmaceutical composition according to claim 21, wherein said distribution is from about 25,000 to about 50,000, with a mean molecular weight of about 40,000. 23. Pharmaceutical composition according to claim 14, wherein said N,O oversulfated K5 has a molecular weight with a distribution from about 2,000 to about 65,000, with a mean molecular weight of 25,00030,000. 24. Pharmaceutical composition according to claim 23, wherein said N,Ooversulfated K5 is obtained by depolymerization and has a mean molecular weight of from 2,000 to 5,000. 25. A method for the treatment of HIV infections which comprises administering to a patient in need of said treatment an effective amount of a N,O sulfated K5 having a sulfation degree higher than 3.2 or of a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. 26. The method of claim 25 wherein said pharmaceutical acceptable salt is selected from the group consisting of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, aluminum and zinc salts. 27. The method of claim 25 wherein said N,O sulfated K5 has a sulfation degree of from 3.2 to 4. 28. The method of claim 26 wherein said N,O sulfated K5 has a sulfation degree of from 3.5 to 4. 29. The method of claim 27 wherein said N,O sulfated K5 has a sulfation degree of from 3.7 to 4. 30. The method of claim 25 wherein said treatment is carried out by administering to said patient a composition of the invention. 31. The method of claim 30 wherein said pharmaceutical composition is formulated with pharmaceutically acceptable carriers or diluents for parenteral administration or topical application. 32. The method of claim 31 wherein a daily dosage of from 0.5 to 500 mg/kg is used for the parenteral administration. 33. The method of claim 31 wherein a daily dosage of from 1 to 1,000 mg/Kg is used for the topical application. |
<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The invention is based on the hypothesis that by increasing the anionicity of the N,O sulfated polysaccharides from K5, N,O oversulfated K5 derivatives can be obtained with high anti-HIV activity, thus suitable for the treatment of the Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome known as AIDS. Such an hypothesis, however, comes up against the problem that the N,O sulfation of the previously N-deacetylated K5 occurs with difficulty and, in fact, literature describes N,O sulfated polysaccharides from K5 with a degree of sulfation which does not reach 3.2. It has now been found that, by purifying.the K5 obtained by ferrnentation by treatment with isopropanol in a highly saline solution, a pure K5 polysaccharide substantially free of lipophilic substances is obtained and that, by submitting said K5 free of lipophilic substances to a N-deacetylation, N-sulfation, O-sulfation under O-oversulfation conditions, and optionally to a further N-sulfation, new N,O oversulfated K5 derivatives having a degree of sulfation higher than 3.2 are obtained. These N,O oversulfated K5 derivatives are endowed with interesting activities of inhibition of the entry and of the replication of the HIV with a favourable ratio with respect to the global anticoagulant activity and, thus, they can be used for the preparation of pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of HIV infections, in particular useful for combating the Acquired Immuno Deficiency at doses by which the risk of hemorrhagic side effects is extremely reduced. More particularly, we have demonstrated that the N,O oversulfated K5 derivatives having a degree of sulfation higher than 3.2 have a high inhibitory effect on dualtropic viral strains that use both of the CCR5 and CXCR4 co-receptors (R5X4 strains) that are generated during the late phases of the HIV infection. Said strains emerge in 50% of the seropositive individuals in the late phases of the infection and it is proven that they can cause a more accelerated progression of the pathology. |
Use of peptide fragments of the calcium channel a-1 subunit, optionally comprising mutations, for screening molecules of therapeutic interest |
A subject of the present invention is the use of peptide fragments of the α-1 sub-unit of the calcium channels of mammals, of sequences derived by mutation of said fragments, or also of cells transformed by sequences coding for said fragment or derived sequences, for screening of molecules of therapeutic interest. |
1-21. (canceled) 22. A screening test for identifying molecules capable of disturbing the intramolecular interactions and the ionic activity of a α1 sub-unit from a calcium channel of a mammal, comprising: peptide fragments of a α1 sub-unit from a calcium channel of a mammal, said fragments corresponding to the I-II loop and/or to the III-IV loop of said α1 sub-unit, or corresponding to a peptide sequence derived from this I-II or III-IV loop, by substitution, and/or deletion, and/or addition of one or more amino acids, or corresponding to a peptide part of said I-II, or III-IV loop, or of a sequence derived from the latter, said derived sequence and said part of the I-II loop having the property of said I-II loop of binding to a β sub-unit and to the III-IV loop of said calcium channel, said derived sequence and said part of the III-IV loop having the property of said III-IV loop of binding to said I-II loop, or of mutated peptide sequences, derived by mutation of one or more amino acids of said peptide fragments of the I-II loop of the α1 sub-unit of the calcium channels to the extent that the mutation or mutations in question affect essential amino acids within the context of the expression of the calcium channels at the membrane surface, and/or of peptide sequences derived by mutation of one or more amino acids of said peptide fragments of the III-IV loop of the α1 sub-unit of the calcium channels, to the extent that the mutation or mutations in question affect essential amino acids within the context of the inactivation of the calcium channels, or of cells transformed by nucleotide sequences coding for said peptide fragments of the I-II loop and/or of the III-IV loop of the α1 sub-unit of the calcium channels, or coding for said mutated peptide sequences, for the implementation of a process for screening molecules restoring the number of calcium channels to normal in cell membranes where this number has abnormally reduced, namely screening β-like molecules capable of being used in the treatment of pathologies linked to an abnormal reduction in the number of calcium channels such as epilepsy, or neuronal degeneration, and/or molecules increasing the number of calcium channels in the cell membranes, namely screening β-like molecules capable of being used in the treatment of pathologies against which an increase in the number of calcium channels in the plasma membrane would have a beneficial effect, such as Parkinson's disease, insulin-dependent diabetes, or Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome, and/or molecules restoring the number of calcium channels to normal in the cell membranes where this number has abnormally increased, namely screening molecules capable of being used in the treatment of pathologies linked to an abnormal increase in the number of calcium channels such as cardiac hypertrophy, and/or molecules reducing the number of calcium channels in the cell membranes, namely screening molecules capable of being used in the treatment of pathologies against which a reduction in the number of calcium channels in the plasma membrane would have a beneficial effect, such as epilepsy, hypertension, angina pectoris, or cerebral ischaemia, and/or molecules regulating the state of inactivation of the neuronal calcium channels involved in the release of neurotransmitters, namely screening molecules capable of being used in the stimulation or inhibition of neuronal communication, in particular in the treatment of pathologies against which a regulation of the state of inactivation of the neuronal calcium channels involved in the release of neurotransmitters would have a beneficial effect, such as epilepsy, ataxia, migraine, Parkinson's disease, or cerebral ischaemia. 23. The screening test according to claim 22, wherein the screening test comprises a peptide sequence corresponding to the I-II loop of the Cav2.1 sub-unit of the calcium channels of rabbit neuronal cells, said sequence corresponding to the following sequence SEQ ID NO: 2: SGEFAKERERVENRRAFLKLRRQQQIERELNGYMEWISKAEEVI LAEDETDVEQRHPFDGALRRATIKKSKTDLLHPEEAEDQLADIASVGSPF ARASIKSAKLENSSFFHKKERRMRFYIRRMVKTQ or a peptide sequence corresponding to the I-II loop of the Cav2.1 sub-unit of the calcium channels of human neuronal cells, said sequence corresponding to the following sequence SEQ ID NO: 4: SGEFAKERERVENRRAFLKLRRQQQIERELNGYMEWISKAEEVI LAEDETDGEQRHPFDGALRRTTIKKSKTDLLNPEEAEDQLADIASVGSPF ARASIKSAKLENSTFFHKKERRMRFYIRRMVKTQ or a fragment of said sequences SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4, comprising at least the following sequence SEQ ID NO: 15: QQIERELNGYMEWISKAE, or of cells transformed with the following nucleotide sequences SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 coding respectively for said peptide sequences SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4, or transformed with the nucleotide sequence comprised in the sequences SEQ ID NO: 1 and 3 and coding for said sequence SEQ ID NO: 15: tcaggggagtttgccaaagaaagggagcgggtggagaaccggcgcgcattcctgaagctgcggcggc SEQ ID NO: 1 agcagcagattgaacgcgagctcaacgggtacatggagtggatctcaaaagcagaagaggtgatcctcgcag aggacgagaccgacgtggagcagagacatccctttgatggagctctgcggagagccactatcaagaagagca agacggacctgctccacccagaggaggcggaggatcagctggccgacatcgcctccgtggggtctccctttg cccgagccagcattaaaagtgccaagctggagaactcgagttttttccacaaaaaagagaggagaatgcgtt tctacatccgtcgcatggtcaaaactcag: tcagggg agtttgccaa agaaagggaa cgggtggaga accggcgggc ttttctgaag SEQ ID No: 3 ctgaggcggc aacaacagat tgaacgtgag ctcaatgggt acatggaatg gatctcaaaa gcagaagagg tgatcctcgc cgaggatgaa actgacgggg agcagaggca tccctttgat ggagctctgc ggagaaccac cataaagaaa agcaagacag atttgctcaa ccccgaagag gctgaggatc agctggctga tatagcctct gtgggttctc ccttcgcccg agccagcatt aaaagtgcca agctggagaa ctcgaccttt tttcacaaaa aggagaggag gatgcgtttc tacatccgcc gcatggtcaa aactcag: 24. The screening test according to claim 22, wherein said fragments are fused on the N-terminal side to a transmembrane peptide sequence, namely a peptide sequence having the effect of maintaining said peptide fragments in the cell membrane, such as the transmembrane sequence of the α chain of the human CD8 receptor contained in the following sequence SEQ ID NO: 5: LDFACDIYIWAPLAGTCGVLLLSLVITLYCNHR or of cells transformed with an exogenous recombinant nucleotide sequence coding for a transmembrane peptide sequence as defined above, this last sequence being situated upstream of the sequence coding for said peptide fragment of the α1 sub-unit. 25. A process for screening molecules that restore the number of calcium channels to normal in the cell membranes where said number is abnormally reduced, and/or of molecules increasing the number of calcium channels in the cell membranes, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: bringing together peptide fragments of the α1 sub-unit and cells expressing calcium channels for a time sufficient for the number of calcium channels to be reduced significantly at the surface of said cells, then with the molecules to be tested, or bringing together cells transformed using nucleotide sequences coding for peptide fragments of the α1 sub-unit, thus reducing the number of calcium channels at the surface of said cells and the molecules to be tested, and detecting any increase or decrease in the number of calcium channels at the surface of the transformed cells proving the effect of the molecules tested of increasing the number of calcium channels at the surface of the cell membranes. 26. The screening test according to claim 22, wherein said peptide sequences are derived by mutation of one or more amino acids of the peptide fragments of the I-II loop of the α1 sub-unit of the calcium channels, the mutation or mutations in question affecting essential amino acids within the context of the expression of the calcium channels at the membrane surface, to the extent that their mutation has the effect of increasing or reducing the expression at the surface of the plasma membrane of the calcium channels, for the implementation of processes for screening: molecules restoring the number of calcium channels to normal in the cell membranes where this number has abnormally reduced, and/or molecules increasing the number of calcium channels in the cell membranes, and/or molecules restoring the number of calcium channels to normal in the cell membranes where this number has abnormally increased, and/or molecules reducing the number of calcium channels in the cell membranes. 27. The screening test according to claim 26, wherein said peptide sequences comprise one or more mutations having the effect of increasing the expression at the surface of the plasma membrane of calcium channels, said peptide sequences being derived by mutation of at least one of the amino acids situated in positions 383, 395, 396, 398, 427, and 428 of the Cav2.1 sub-unit of the calcium channels of rabbit or human neuronal cells, namely of the peptide sequences (SEQ ID NOS 9 and 10) corresponding to the sequence SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively, in which at least one of Q in position 24, W in position 36, I in position 37, K in position 39, K in position 68, and K in position 69, is substituted by a natural or non-natural amino acid. 28. The screening test according to claim 26, wherein said peptide sequences comprising one or more mutations having the effect of reducing the expression at the surface of the plasma membrane of the calcium channels, said peptide sequences being derived by mutation of at least one of the amino acids situated in positions 387, 422, and 423 of the Cav2.1 sub-unit of the calcium channels of rabbit, or human, neuronal cells, namely of the peptide sequences (SEQ ID NOS 11 and 12) corresponding to the sequence SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively, in which at least one of R in position 28, R in position 63, and R in position 64, is substituted by a natural or non-natural amino acid. 29. A process for screening: molecules restoring the number of calcium channels to normal in the cell membranes where this number has abnormally reduced, and/or molecules increasing the number of calcium channels in the cell membranes, and/or molecules restoring the number of calcium channels to normal in the cell membranes where this number has abnormally increased, and/or molecules reducing the number of calcium channels in the cell membranes, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: bringing together peptide sequences derived from the I-II loop of the α1 sub-unit according to claim 22 and the molecules to be tested already selected for their ability to bind specifically to the non-mutated peptide sequences corresponding to said I-II loops, selecting said molecules binding specifically to the I-II loops and not binding to said derived peptide sequences, if appropriate, bringing together the molecules selected in the previous stage and cells expressing calcium channels, and observing any effect of the molecules on the increase or reduction in the number of calcium channels at the surface of said cells. 30. The screening test according to claim 22, wherein the peptide sequences are derived by mutation of one or more amino acids of the peptide fragments of the I-II loop of the al subunit of the calcium channels, the mutation or mutations in question affecting essential amino acids within the context of the activity of the calcium channels at the membrane surface, to the extent that their mutation has the effect of modulating the activity of the calcium channels, for the implementation of processes for screening molecules regulating the state of inactivation of the neuronal calcium channels involved in the release of neurotransmitters. 31. The screening test according to claim 30, wherein said peptide sequences comprise one or more mutations having the effect of inactivating the calcium channels, said peptide sequences being derived by mutation of at least one of the amino acids situated in positions 387 and 388 of the Cav2.1 sub-unit of the calcium channels of rabbit or human neuronal cells, namely of the peptide sequences (SEQ ID NOS 13 and 14) corresponding to the sequence SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively, in which at least one of R in position 28, and E in position 29, is substituted by a natural or non-natural amino acid. 32. A process for screening molecules regulating the state of inactivation of the neuronal calcium channels involved in the release of neurotransmitters, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: bringing together peptide sequences derived from the I-II loop of the α1 sub-unit according to claim 30 and the molecules to be tested already selected for their ability to bind specifically to the non-mutated peptide sequences corresponding to said I-II loops, selecting said molecules binding specifically to the I-II loops and not binding to said derived peptide sequences, if appropriate, bringing together the molecules selected in a previous stage and cells expressing calcium channels, and observing any effect of the molecules on the regulation of the state of inactivation of the neuronal calcium channels involved in the release of neurotransmitters from said cells. 33. The screening test according to claim 22, wherein said peptide fragments correspond to the III-IV loop of the α1 sub-unit, or to a derived peptide sequence, or to a part of this III-IV loop, or of cells transformed by nucleotide sequences coding for said fragments, for the implementation of processes for screening molecules regulating the state of inactivation of the neuronal calcium channels involved in the release of the neurotransmitters. 34. The screening test according to claim 22, wherein the peptide sequence corresponds to the III-IV loop of the Cav2.1 sub-unit of the calcium channels of human or rabbit neuronal cells, said sequence corresponding to the following sequence SEQ ID NO: 7: ITFQEQGDKMMEEYSLEKNERACIDFAISAKPLTRHMPQNKQSFQYRMWQ FVVSP or of the cells transformed with the nucleotide sequence coding for the III-IV loop of the Cav2.1 sub-unit of the calcium channels of human neuronal cells, said sequence corresponding to the following sequence SEQ ID NO: 6: at caccttccag gagcaagggg acaagatgat ggaggaatac agcctggaga aaaatgagag ggcctgcatt gatttcgcca tcagcgccaa gccgctgacc cgacacatgc cgcagaacaa gcagagcttc cagtaccgca tgtggcagtt cgtggtgtct ccg or of cells transformed with the nucleotide sequence coding for the III-IV loop of the Cav2.1 sub-unit of the calcium channels of rabbit neuronal cells, said sequence corresponding to the following sequence SEQ ID NO: 8: atcacct tccaggagca gggcgacaag atgatggagg agtacagctt ggagaaaaac gagagggcct gcatcgactt cgccatcagt gccaagccgc tgaccaggca catgccccag aacaagcaga gcttccagta ccgcatgtgg cagttcgtgg tgtccccg 35. The screening test according to claim 22, wherein said fragments are fused on the N-terminal side to a transmembrane peptide sequence, namely a peptide sequence having the effect of maintaining said peptide fragments in the cell membrane, such as the transmembrane sequence of the α chain of the human CD8 receptor contained in the following sequence SEQ ID NO: 5: LDFACDIYIWAPLAGTCGVLLLSLVITLYCNHR or of cells transformed with an exogenous recombinant nucleotide sequence coding for a transmembrane peptide sequence as defined above, this last sequence being situated upstream of the sequence coding for said peptide fragment of the α1 sub-unit. 36. A process for screening molecules regulating the state of inactivation of the neuronal calcium channels involved in the release of neurotransmitters, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: bringing together peptide fragments of the α1 sub-unit and cells expressing calcium channels for a time sufficient for the state of inactivation of the channels to be modified, then with the molecules to be tested, or bringing together cells transformed using nucleotide sequences coding for peptide fragments of the α1 sub-unit and the molecules to be tested, wherein said peptide fragments and cells are according to claim 33, and detecting the effect of the molecules tested on the state of inactivation of the neuronal calcium channels involved in the release of neurotransmitters. 37. The screening test according to claim 22, wherein said peptide sequences are derived by mutation of one or more amino acids of the peptide fragments of the III-IV loop of the α1 sub-unit of the calcium channels, the mutation or mutations in question affecting essential amino acids within the context of the inactivation of the calcium channels at the membrane surface, to the extent that their mutation has the effect of activating or inactivating the calcium channels, for the implementation of processes for screening molecules regulating the state of inactivation of the neuronal calcium channels involved in the release of neurotransmitters. 38. The screening test according to claim 37, wherein said peptide sequences comprise one or more mutations having the effect of inactivating the calcium channels, said peptide sequences being derived by mutation of at least one of the amino acids of the peptide sequence corresponding to the sequence SEQ ID NO: 7. 39. The screening test according to claim 38, wherein said peptide sequences comprise one or more mutations having the effect of inactivating the calcium channels, said peptide sequences being derived by mutation of at least one of the amino acids situated between positions 8 and 19 of the peptide sequence corresponding to the sequence SEQ ID NO: 7, namely of at least one of the amino acids included in the sequence: DKMMEEYSLEKN. 40. A process for screening molecules regulating the state of inactivation of the neuronal calcium channels involved in the release of the neurotransmitters, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: bringing together peptide sequences derived from the III-IV loop of the α1 sub-unit according to claim 37 and the molecules to be tested already selected for their ability to bind specifically to the non-mutated peptide sequences corresponding to said III-IV loops, selecting said molecules binding specifically to the III-IV loops and not binding to said derived peptide sequences, if appropriate, bringing together the molecules selected in the previous stage and cells expressing calcium channels, and observing any effect of the molecules on the regulation of the state of inactivation of the neuronal calcium channels involved in the release of neurotransmitters from said cells. 41. A peptide comprising a peptide sequence chosen from: the sequences SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 in which at least one of Q in position 24, W in position 36, I in position 37, K in position 39, K in position 68, and K in position 69, is substituted by a natural or non-natural amino acid, the sequences SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 in which at least one of R in position 28, R in position 63, and R in position 64, is substituted by a natural or non-natural amino acid, the sequences SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 in which at least one of R in position 28, and E in position 29, is substituted by a natural or non-natural amino acid, in particular R28 is substituted by an alanine or by E, and E29 is substituted by an alanine, the following sequence SEQ ID NO: 15: QQIERELNGYMEWISKAE. 42. A process for screening molecules restoring the number of calcium channels to normal in cell membranes where this number has abnormally reduced, namely screening β-like molecules capable of being used in the treatment of pathologies linked to an abnormal reduction in the number of calcium channels such as epilepsy, or neuronal degeneration, and/or molecules increasing the number of calcium channels in the cell membranes, namely screening β-like molecules capable of being used in the treatment of pathologies against which an increase in the number of calcium channels in the plasma membrane would have a beneficial effect, such as Parkinson's disease, insulin-dependent diabetes, or Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome, and/or molecules restoring the number of calcium channels to normal in the cell membranes where this number has abnormally increased, namely screening molecules capable of being used in the treatment of pathologies linked to an abnormal increase in the number of calcium channels such as cardiac hypertrophy, and/or molecules reducing the number of calcium channels in the cell membranes, namely screening molecules capable of being used in the treatment of pathologies against which a reduction in the number of calcium channels in the plasma membrane would have a beneficial effect, such as epilepsy, hypertension, angina pectoris, or cerebral ischaemia, and/or molecules regulating the state of inactivation of the neuronal calcium channels involved in the release of neurotransmitters, namely screening molecules capable of being used in the stimulation or inhibition of neuronal communication, in particular in the treatment of pathologies against which a regulation of the state of inactivation of the neuronal calcium channels involved in the release of neurotransmitters would have a beneficial effect, such as epilepsy, ataxia, migraine, Parkinson's disease, or cerebral ischaemia, comprising screening molecules with the screening test according to claim 22. |
Controlled wide spectrum compact ultrabrief laser source |
The invention concerns a wide spectrum ultrashort compact laser source including a laser primary source (6) with rare earth ions. This source (6) is pumped by a luminous pump flux (9) centred on a wavelength λD, said flux (9) being emitted by a solid laser pump source (8). The primary source (6) emits a primary luminous flux (7) centred on a wavelength λL of spectral width ΔλL. The latter is injected by means of injection optics (10) into a photonic crystal fibre (2) having a length L, a section d, and a set of cavities (4) of diameter φ. Coupling optics (15) collect the luminous flux (12) at the output of the fibre with phonic crystals (2). This luminous flux (12) is centred on a wavelength λF and has a spectral width ΔλF. The spectrum is subjected inside the photonic crystal fibre (2) to a widening due for more than 50% of the phase self-modulation. |
1-16. (cancelled) 17. A wide spectrum compact ultrashort laser source including: a laser primary source (6) with rare earth ions receiving a luminous pump flux (9) centered on a wavelength λD, said flux (9) being emitted by a solid laser pump source (8), said primary source (6) including an active material and emitting a primary luminous flux (7) centered on a wavelength XL of spectral width ΔλL, a photonic crystal fiber (2) having a length L, a section d, and a set of cavities (4) of diameter φ, injection optics (10) sending the primary luminous flux (7) emitted by the primary source (6) into the photonic crystal fiber (2), coupling optics (15) collecting the luminous flux (12) at the output of the photonic crystal fiber (2), said flux (12) being centered on a wavelength λF and of spectral width ΔλF, characterized in that the spectrum is subjected inside the photonic crystal fiber (2) to a widening due for more than 50% of the phase self-modulation. 18. A wide spectrum ultrashort laser source according to claim 17, characterized in that the contribution to the widening of the spectrum of the phase self-modulation is preferably greater than 80%. 19. A wide spectrum ultrashort laser source according to claim 17, characterized in that the length L of the photonic crystal fiber (2) verifies 5≦L≦40 cm and the power density of the primary luminous flux (7) incident is smaller than 600 Gigawatts/cm2. 20. A wide spectrum ultrashort laser source according to claim 17, characterized in that it includes a wavelength selection device (5). 21. A wide spectrum ultrashort laser source according to claim 20, characterized in that the wavelength selection device (5) comprises a grid of interferential filters. 22. A wide spectrum ultrashort laser source according to claim 21, characterized in that said flux (12) of spectral width ΔλF exhibits amplitude modulations of average period τ and that the pass-band of each filter is adapted to this average period τ. 23. A wide spectrum ultrashort laser source according to claim 17, characterized in that the solid laser pump source (8) is a junction laser. 24. A wide spectrum ultrashort laser source according to claim 17, characterized in that the active material comprises ytterbium ions. 25. A wide spectrum ultrashort laser source according to claim 17, characterized in that the active material comprises neodymium ions. 26. A wide spectrum ultrashort laser source according to claim 17, characterized in that the spectral width ΔλF ranges between 10 and 400 nm. 27. A wide spectrum ultrashort laser source according to claim 17, characterized in that the diameter φ of the cavities (4), the length L and the section d of the photonic crystal fiber (2), the spacing between the cavities (4) are selected so that the dispersion of the primary luminous flux (7) centered on the wavelength λL in said photonic crystal fiber (2) is in absolute value smaller than the dispersion of a homogeneous optic fiber of the same material and of length L for the wavelength λL. 28. A wide spectrum ultrashort laser source according to claim 27, characterized in that the dispersion of the primary luminous flux (7) centered on the wavelength λL in the photonic crystal fiber (2) is nil. 29. A sample measuring device using multiphotonic confocal microscopy comprising: a confocal microscope including a lens, a light source emitting a luminous flux, means capable of directing said luminous flux to a sample through the microscope, means for detecting the intensity of the luminous flux produced by the interaction of the luminous beam emitted by the light source on the sample and collected by the microscope, means for processing the signal produced by the means of detection, characterized in that the light source comprises: a laser primary source (6) with rare earth ions receiving a luminous pump flux (9) centered on a wavelength λD, said flux (9) being emitted by a solid laser pump source (8), said primary source (6) including an active material and emitting a primary luminous flux (7) centered on a wavelength λL of spectral width ΔλL, a photonic crystal fiber (2) having a length L, a section d, and a set of cavities (4) of diameter φ, injection optics (10) sending the primary luminous flux (7) emitted by the primary source (6) in the photonic crystal fiber (2), coupling optics (15) collecting the luminous flux (12) at the output of the photonic crystal fiber (2), said flux (12) being centered on a wavelength λF and of spectral width ΔλF, and in that the spectrum is subjected inside the photonic crystal fiber (2) to a widening due for more than 50% of the phase self-modulation. 30. A sample measuring device using multiphotonic confocal microscopy according to claim 29, characterized in that the contribution to the widening of the spectrum of the phase self-modulation is preferably greater than 80%. 31. A sample measuring device using multiphotonic confocal microscopy according to claim 29, characterized in that the length L of the photonic crystal fiber (2) verifies 5≦L≦40 cm and the power density of the incident primary luminous flux (7) is smaller than 600 Gigawatts/cm2. 32. A sample measuring device using multiphotonic confocal microscopy according to claim 30, characterized in that the length L of the photonic crystal fibre (2) verifies 5≦L≦40 cm and the power density of the incident primary luminous flux (7) is smaller than 600 Gigawatts/cm2. |
Convenience foodstuff package |
A foodstuff package for convenience foodstuff such as hamburgers/sandwiches. The package includes a foodstuff gripping section (10) which has a wall (11b) with projecting upper flap elements (12a and 12b) and corresponding lower flap elements. These enable an item of foodstuff to be gripped. In a preferred embodiment the package also includes a removable wall (11a) which combines with wall (11b) to form a collar. |
1. A foodstuff package including a foodstuff gripping section to (in use) at least partially engage about a peripheral side edge of an assembled item of foodstuff, and means to locate and maintain said gripping section with the foodstuff item prior to consumption of the foodstuff. 2. A package as claimed in claim 1 wherein the locating means is a collar (11). 3. A packaging as claimed in claim 2 wherein the collar (11) is formed at least in part by the gripping section (10). 4. A package as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the collar (11) includes a portion which is removably attached (20) to the gripping section (10). 5. A package as claimed in claim 2, 3 or 4 wherein the collar (11) is formed by an elongate length the ends (14, 16) of which are provided with engagement means (15) whereby the ends can be engaged together. 6. A package as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 5 wherein the gripping section (10) includes a side wall (11b) which, in use, engages about part of the peripheral side of a foodstuff item, and bottom wall (13a, 13b) projecting from the side wall (11b) to, in use, locate with an underside of the foodstuff item and an upper wall (12a, 12b) projecting from the side wall to, in use, locate with an upperside of the foodstuff item. 7. A package as claimed in claim 6 wherein the upper wall is formed by two wall elements (12s and 12b) which are inter-engageable to form said upper wall. 8. A package as claimed in claim 7 wherein each wall element (12a and 12b) is a flap hingedly coupled to the side wall (11b) and moveable to at least partially overlap one another. 9. A package as claimed in claim 8 wherein the wall elements (12a and 12b) when in the partially overlapping position are joined together by adhesive (19). 10. A package as claimed in claim 8 wherein the wall elements (12a and 12b) include joining means (21, 22) whereby the wall elements when in the at least partially overlapping position can be joined together. 11. A package as claimed in any one of claims 6 to 10 wherein the bottom wall is formed by two bottom wall elements (13a and 13b) which are inter-engageable to form said bottom wall. 12. A package as claimed in claim 11 wherein each bottom wall element (13a and 13b) is a flap hingedly coupled to the side wall (11b) and moveable to at least partially overlap one another. 13. A package as claimed in claim 12 wherein the bottom wall elements (13a and 13b) when in the partially overlapping position are joined together by adhesive (18). 14. A package as claimed in claim 12 wherein the bottom wall elements (13a and 13b) include joining means (21, 22) whereby the wall elements when in the at least partially overlapping position can be joined together. 15. A package as claimed in claim 10 wherein the joining means are formed by slits (21, 22) in each flap (12a and 12b). 16. A package as claimed in claim 14 wherein the joining means are formed by a slit (21, 22) in each bottom wall element (13a and 13b). 17. A package as claimed in claim 7 or 11 wherein the wall elements (12a and 12b) and bottom wall elements (13a and 13b) are of substantially oval shape. 18. A package as claimed in any one of the preceding claims when formed by a paperboard blank. 19. A package as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 17 when formed from plastic materials. 20. A foodstuff package substantially as herein described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 or FIGS. 4 to 7, or FIG. 8 of the accompanying drawings. |
<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present invention relates to a package for use with convenience foods more particularly take out food including hamburgers. It is well known that hamburgers obtained from a fast food or convenience food outlet can be difficult to eat in a tidy manner. Frequently hamburger fillings can fall out from between the buns of the burger, even when held with two hands. Most notably, burger fillings are forced out of the rear of the burger as a bite is taken from the front. The problem is most noticeable with respect to large burgers that are ‘piled high’ with a number of fillings. Fillings (including sauce) can end up on the customer's hands, food tray or lap. Likewise when the customer takes a break from eating, the burger can fall apart when temporarily placed on the tray or plate. Reconstruction of the burger may be difficult in order to resume eating. Eating a hamburger in a moving vehicle is an even more difficult undertaking. It is common for a driver to end up with a substantial amount of the filling in his/her lap. Not surprisingly, when a driver approaches a ‘drive-thru’ fast food outlet, the consideration of how messy the food is to eat my affect the purchase decision. This is important as statistics suggest that a significant proportion of purchases are made by drive-thru. In one particular fast food outlet, drive-thru may account for over half of total sales. In an attempt to overcome the sometimes difficult construction of ‘large’ hamburgers by fast food restaurant staff, a collar arrangement can be used to surround the periphery of the bottom bun. Fillings are then systematically added and the collar prevents excess from spilling out of the side of the bun. The collar solution described above does not solve the problem for a customer of actually eating a burger in a tidy manner. |
<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a hamburger package that facilitates the consumption of a hamburger, particularly at least reducing the amount of filling falling out of the foodstuff during eating. In one broad aspect of the invention there is provided a foodstuff package including a foodstuff gripping section to (in use) at least partially engage about a peripheral side edge of an assembled item of foodstuff, and means to locate and maintain said gripping section with the foodstuff item prior to consumption of the foodstuff. It will be appreciated that packaging of the type described herein could be used with a variety of foods, more particularly takeaway foods, e.g. hamburgers, kebabs, sandwiches and the like. |
Positive electrostatic charge control agent and toner for developing electrostatic image |
A positive electrified charge control agent comprises a silicon complex compound bonding with covalent of a central silicon atom and oxygen originated from a hydroxyl group, which bonds to an organic group, and bonding with coordination of the central silicon atom and a carbonyl group of equivalent to the oxygen, the silicon complex compound comprises a trivalent to univalent cation and a trivalent to univalent anion having 1 to 3 equivalents of the oxygen and the carbonyl group to the central silicon atom. |
1. A positive electrified charge control agent comprising a silicon complex compound bonding with covalent of a central silicon atom and oxygen originated from a hydroxyl group, which bonds to an organic group, and bonding with coordination of the central silicon atom and a carbonyl group of equivalent to the oxygen, the silicon complex compound comprises a trivalent to univalent cation and a trivalent to univalent anion having 1 to 3 equivalents of the oxygen and the carbonyl group to the central silicon atom. 2. The positive electrified charge control agent according to claim 1, wherein said silicon complex compound is represented by the following chemical formula (I) in the formula (I), m and j are 1 to 3, n is 3+ to 1+, D is the univalent to trivalent anion, A is a chain organic or cyclic organic residuary group, B is a carbon atom or a nitrogen atom, p is 0 or 1. 3. The positive electrified charge control agent according to claim 2, wherein the chemical formula (I) is a group selected from the groups represented by the following formulas (II) in the formulas (II), R1 to R7, R13 to R17, R19 to R22 are same or different to each other and one thereof is selected from the groups consisting of a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group, a hydroxyalkyl group, a carboxyl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, a formyl group, a halogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkoxyl group, an acyl group, an alkenyl group, a nitro group, a cyano group, an amino group, an alicyclic group being to have substitutional groups, an aralkyl group being to have substitutional groups and an aryl group being to have substitutional groups, or a group had 3 to 7 carbons forming a saturated or unsaturated fused-ring at positions of neighboring group being to have substitutional groups; R8 and R18 are an oxygen atom, a carbonyl group, or an imino group; R9 to R11, R23 to R25 are same or different to each other and one thereof is selected from the groups consisting of a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group, a hydroxyalkyl group, a carboxyl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, a formyl group, a halogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkoxyl group, an acyl group, an alkenyl group, a nitro group, a cyano group, an amino group, an alicyclic group being to have substitutional groups, an aralkyl group being to have substitutional groups and an aryl group being to have substitutional groups; R12 is a methine or a nitrogen atom; R26 is a nitrogen atom or a carbon atom being to have substitutional groups. 4. A toner for developing an electrostatic image including a component of the positive electrified charge control agent comprising a silicon complex compound bonding with covalent of a central silicon atom and an oxygen originated from a hydroxyl group, which bonds to an organic group, and bonding with coordination of the central silicon atom and a carbonyl group of equivalent to the oxygen, the silicon complex compound comprises a trivalent to univalent cation and a trivalent to univalent anion having 1 to 3 equivalents of the oxygen and the carbonyl group to the central silicon atom. 5. The toner for developing the electrostatic image according to claim 4, wherein 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of the positive electrified charge control agent and 100 parts by weight of a resin for the toner are included. 6. A charge control method of the toner for developing the electrostatic image comprising a step for making the toner positively electrify by friction, wherein the toner includes a component of the positive electrified charge control agent comprising a silicon complex compound bonding with covalent of a central silicon atom and oxygen originated from a hydroxyl group, which bonds to an organic group, and bonding with coordination of the central silicon atom and a carbonyl group of equivalent to the oxygen, the silicon complex compound comprises a trivalent to univalent cation and a trivalent to univalent anion having 1 to 3 equivalents of the oxygen and the carbonyl group to the central silicon atom. |
<SOH> BACKGROUND ART <EOH>Electro photography applied to a copy machine, printer or facsimile performs to develop an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive frame with toner having frictional electrification and then the imaged toner is transferred and fixed to copy or print onto paper. The electrification property of the toner is an important factor to raise a development speed of electro photography and form the vivid image. Therefore, a charge control agent is added to the toner so as to control a proper quantity of the electrification stably and quicken a rise speed of the electrification. The charge control agent is for positive or negative electrification. For instance, as the positive electrified charge control agent, it is disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication Nos. 63-206768 and 62-62369. As the negative electrified charge control agent, it is disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 3-276166. The charge control agents disclosed in those publications are organic metal complex compounds which organic ligands are coordinated to a central atom of metal such as aluminum, tin, lead, cobalt, iron, nickel, zinc, chromium, copper, barium, and beryllium. While the charge control agent for negative electrification disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 4-293057 is compound which organic ligands are coordinated to organic ligand to a central atom of silicon. It is required that the toner has more excellent electrification property and stability than prior toner to achieve high speed and high definition in copying and printing. Furthermore it is required that the toner and the charge control agent included thereto have preservation stability and environmental hygiene on the latest trend. Moreover it is required that the charge control agent is able to be used of a powder paint for a electrostatic powder paint method which attracts and bakes the electrified powder paint onto a surface of a frame work having charge, and has the proper electrification property and stability. The charge control agent disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 4-293057 causes the electrification property and stability of the toner, and has excellent preservation stability and environmental hygiene. So the agent has negative electrification property, the toner including the agent is the negative electrified toner. The toner is used for developing of a positive electrostatic image on a photosensitive frame. The present invention has been developed to solve the foregoing problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide the charge control agent which causes excellent positive electrification property of the toner for developing the electrostatic image and the powder paint, and the toner for developing the electrostatic image including the agent which has excellent electrification stability, preservation stability, environmental hygiene and makes high definition of the developed image. It is another object of the present invention to provide the charge control method using the toner. |
<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>FIG. 1 is a figure showing a measurement result by a liquid chromatography mass spectrometric analysis (LC/MS) of an example of the silicon complex compound, which applies this invention. FIG. 2 is a figure showing a measurement result by a field desorption mass spectrometric analysis (FD/MS) of other example of the silicon complex compound that applies this invention. FIG. 3 is a figure showing a measurement result by a liquid chromatography mass spectrometric analysis (LC/MS) of the other example of the silicon complex compound that applies this invention. FIG. 4 is a figure showing a measurement result by a liquid chromatography mass spectrometric analysis (LC/MS) of the other example of the silicon complex compound that applies this invention. detailed-description description="Detailed Description" end="lead"? |
Image display controller |
An image display controlling system of the present invention has an image combining splitting means (2) for splitting a picked-up image input from an imaging means (1), which picks up surrounding images of a vehicle, into a plurality of images, an image deforming means (3) for executing a different deforming process to the plurality of images respectively, and an arrangement controlling means (5) for arranging the plurality of images at predetermined positions and displaying the images. According to this configuration, a wide-range image having a horizontal angle of view of 180 degree is separated into a rear center image positioned at a center of the image and side images separated from the center like a vanity with three mirrors, and a sense of depth is provided by distorting and deforming intentionally the side images in contrast to the rear center image such that the side images can look as if the side images are just looked at. |
1. An image display controlling system comprising: image combining splitting means for splitting a picked-up image input from imaging means into a plurality of images; image deforming means for performing a different deforming process for each of the plurality of images; and arrangement controlling means for arranging the plurality of images at predetermined positions to display. 2. The image display controlling system according to claim 1, further comprising: rendering data generating means for generating rendering data to emphasize the plurality of images or assist in understanding the images, wherein the arrangement controlling means arranges the plurality of images and the rendering data at predetermined positions to display. 3. The image display controlling system according to claim 2, further comprising: a plurality of the imaging means; and image combining means for combining a plurality of images input from the plurality of the imaging means, wherein the image combining splitting means splits an image combined by the image combining means again into at least three images, and the image deforming means deforms the three images such that both side images out of the three images are viewed to be closed toward a center image at a predetermined angle. 4. The image display controlling system according to claim 3, wherein the rendering data generating means generates rendering data to have a thickness in such a manner that at least individual images on both sides look to be both side mirrors of a three-way mirrors in which the both side mirrors half open. 5. The image display controlling system according to claim 4, wherein the rendering data generating means generates rendering data to give three-dimensional effect by shading the thickness. 6. The image display controlling system according to claim 2, wherein the image display controlling system is installed into a vehicle, an object to be displayed is located on a rear side of the vehicle, the rendering data generating means generates a predictive route locus according to a steering angle when the vehicle backs, and the arrangement controlling means superposes the predictive route locus on a deformed image to display. |
<SOH> BACKGROUND ART <EOH>In a prior art, a system described in JP-A-10-257482, for example, etc. are known as the image display controlling system. FIG. 4 is a configurative block diagram of an image display controlling system in a prior art. In the image display controlling system in the prior art, imaging means 41 are installed into a vehicle, and a plurality of picked-up images output from the imaging means 41 are input into an image combining means 42 to combine therein. The vehicle predictive route locus data generated by a rendering data generating means 43 to assist the driving, etc. are superposed with a combined image which was combined by the image combining means 42 , then input into an arrangement controlling means 44 to decide arrangement of the images, and then output onto a displaying means. The imaging means 41 is a CCD camera loaded on the vehicle, for example. As shown in FIG. 5 , (Assume that the front side of the vehicle is indicated by the “front” in FIG. 5 . This is similarly true in the following.), two imaging means 41 are fitted to pick up images in respective imaging ranges 501 , 502 near left and right side mirrors, and one imaging means 41 is fitted to pick up an image in a rear center imaging range 503 . The image combining means 42 combines infinite points in a rear left image 504 , a rear right image 505 , and a rear image 506 together as one infinite point, then applies a viewing transformation to three images to view these images from one virtual viewpoint, and then formulates a display screen 507 composed of a sheet of image by combining three images. This display can show the image picked up by three imaging means 41 , particularly the road surfaces, to the driver in such a way that these images looks as if these images constitute one screen. However, in this arrangement of these imaging means 41 , their viewpoints are different between the imaging means 41 fixed on both sides and the imaging means 41 fixed on the rear center side. In other words, since positions of CCDs for picking up the image are largely different, views of three-dimensional objects that exist at boundaries of the combined display screen 507 are apparently different between respective imaging means 41 . For this reason, it is impossible to assemble such objects that are originally seen as different shapes into identical objects, no matter how the virtual viewing transformation is executed. Thus, the driver feels a sense of incompatibility when the display is provided to the driver as the moving image. For example, a profile of other vehicle is changed suddenly at the boundary of the display screen 507 during when such other vehicle is moving from the rear center to the side portion. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6 , it was considered that a plurality of imaging means 41 should be arranged to locate their viewpoints at almost same positions. In FIG. 6 , two imaging means 41 pick up the image on the rear center portion of the vehicle in imaging ranges 510 , 511 respectively. In this case, since their viewpoints are close and the positions of CCDs for picking up the image are almost equal, three-dimensional objects that exist at boundaries of a combined display screen 514 are viewed almost identically by the imaging means 41 respectively even when the images picked up by the left and right imaging means 41 are combined panoramically. Therefore, images of the three-dimensional objects such as the road surface, the vehicle existing thereon, etc. at the boundary or joint are connected very naturally, and thus the driver seldom feels a sense of incompatibility at the joint. Positional relationships between an own car and other cars, images of which are being picked up, in an example of FIG. 6 is shown in FIG. 7 . A first car 701 , a second car 702 , a third car 703 , and a fourth car 704 are present in order of the farthest position from own car 705 . It is understood that the screen in FIG. 6 can display the image in the visual field range of about 180 degree. The rendering data generating means 43 generates a predictive route locus 515 (e.g., a locus obtained by transferring maximum width lines onto the road surface) as the rendering data when the vehicle backs. Then, the arrangement controlling means 44 controls arrangements of the actual image which was previously adjusted and the locus to produce an image in which two images are superposed as the final display image 514 . As described above, according to the image display controlling system in the prior art, even though the imaging range of each imaging means 41 is narrow, the wide visual field can be implemented on one screen by combining the images picked up by a plurality of imaging means 41 , and thus the driver's blind spot can be reduced. However, the image display controlling system in the prior art having the above configuration has the problems described in the following. That is, in the former of the prior art, as described above, the positions of respective imaging means are largely different. Therefore, even though the images are deformed and then combined, the three-dimensional objects are still viewed to largely deform and thus not only the driver feels a sense of incompatibility but also it is difficult for the driver to know what objects are being displayed. In addition, even if the driver can know what objects are being displayed, it is difficult for the driver to understand which direction the images are in because respective images are simply pasted together two-dimensionally. Also, in the latter of the prior art, since the images can be seen panoramically, the driver can check what objects are present in the wide visual field. However, such a problem existed that the driver is caused to hallucinate such that he or she looks at the screen in the acute visual field that is considerably narrower than 180 degree, as apparent from the image in FIG. 6 , though the screen has the visual field of almost 180 degree, and therefore the driver is caused to lose a sense of direction. For example, as shown in FIG. 7 , actually the forth car 704 should come aside the driver's car essentially when the driver views the car from the rear end of his or her car at which the image is picked up, nevertheless the driver views the car in the obliquely backward direction from the driver's car. |
<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS <EOH>FIG. 1 is a configurative block diagram of an image display controlling system in an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a flow of image synthesis in the image display controlling system in the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an actual display example in the image display controlling system in the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a configurative block diagram of an image display controlling system in the prior art; FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a flow of image synthesis in the image display controlling system in the prior art; FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a flow of image synthesis in the image display controlling system in the prior art; and FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing an example of vehicle arrangement picked up on a screen of the image display controlling system. detailed-description description="Detailed Description" end="lead"? |
Organic polymer film, method for producing the same and semiconductor device using the same |
An organic polymer film of low dielectric constant and high heating resistance which is applicable as insulating layers of semiconductor devices, a method of manufacturing the organic polymer film, and a semiconductor device using the organic polymer film. |
1. An organic polymer film having a specific inductive capacity of 2.5 or less and a weight loss rate of 0.05% or less by weight after heating one hour at 400° C. in an air or inactive gas atmosphere. 2. An organic polymer film having a specific inductive capacity from 2.0 to 2.5 and a weight loss rate of 0.05% or less by weight after heating one hour at 400° C. in an air or inactive gas atmosphere. 3. The organic polymer film of claim 1, wherein said organic polymer film contains fluorinated poly-paraxylylene prepared by subliming a cyclophane compound containing fluorine atoms, pyrolyzing the product of sublimation into paraxylylene monomer, and polymerizing said paraxylylene monomer. 4. The organic polymer film of claim 1, wherein said organic polymer film contains fluorinated poly-paraxylylene prepared by subliming 1,1,2,2,9,9,10,10-octafluoro-2,2-cyclophane in a sublimation zone, pyrolyzing the product of sublimation into paraxylylene monomer in a pyrolyzation zone, and polymerizing and depositing said paraxylylene monomer as poly-paraxylylene on a substrate in a polymerization zone. 5. A method of manufacturing an organic polymer film comprising the processes of: subliming a cyclophane compound containing fluorine atoms at 30 to 70° C. under a pressure of 0.001 to 0.1 mmHg; pyrolyzing the product of sublimation into paraxylylene monomer at 680 to 770° C.; polymerizing said paraxylylene monomer into fluorinated poly-paraxylylene on a substrate at −40 to +20° C. in a polymerization container; and heating said fluorinated poly-paraxylylene to alternately increase and maintain the temperature in a stepwise manner, wherein the final increasing of said stepwise heating increases the temperature of the poly-paraxylylene to from 390 to 410° C. 6. A method of manufacturing an organic polymer film comprising: subliming a cyclophane compound containing fluorine atoms; pyrolyzing the product of sublimation into paraxylylene monomer at 700 to 750° C.; taking out said paraxylylene monomer and polymerizing said paraxylylene monomer into fluorinated poly-paraxylylene on a substrate at −40 to +20° C. in a polymerization containers; and heating said fluorinated poly-paraxylylene to alternately increase and maintain the temperature in a stepwise manner, wherein the final increasing of said stepwise heating increases the temperature of the poly-paraxylylene to from 390 to 410° C. 7. A method of manufacturing an organic polymer film comprising the processes of: subliming a cyclophane compound containing fluorine atoms; pyrolyzing the product of sublimation into paraxylylene monomer at 700 to 750° C.; polymerizing said paraxylylene monomer into fluorinated poly-paraxylylene on a substrate at −40 to +20° C. in a polymerization containers; and heating said fluorinated poly-paraxylylene to alternately increase and maintain the temperature in a stepwise manner, wherein the final increasing of said stepwise heating increases the temperature of the poly-paraxylylene to from 390 to 410° C. 8. The method of manufacturing an organic polymer film of claim 5, wherein said cyclophane compound containing fluorine atoms is 1,1,2,2,9,9,10,10-octafluoro-2,2-paracyclophane. 9. The method of manufacturing an organic polymer film of claim 5, wherein said stepwise heating of fluorinated poly-paraxylylene comprises a first step of heating up to 170 to 220° C. at a maximum rate of 5° C./minute, a second step of heating for at least 10 minutes at 170 to 220° C., a third step of heating up to 350 to 390° C. at a maximum rate of 1° C./minute, a fourth step of heating for at least 30 minutes at 350 to 380° C., a fifth step of heating up to 390 to 410° C. at a maximum rate of 0.5° C./minute, and a sixth step of heating for at least 30 minutes at 390 to 410° C. 10. The method of manufacturing an organic polymer film of claim 5, wherein said stepwise heating of fluorinated poly-paraxylylene comprises a first step of heating up to 190 to 210° C. at a maximum rate of 5° C./minute, a second step of heating for at least 30 minutes at 190 to 210° C., a third step of heating up to 370 to 380° C. at a maximum rate of 1° C./minute, a fourth step of heating for at least 60 minutes at 370 to 380° C., a fifth step of heating up to 390 to 410° C. at a maximum rate of 0.5° C./minute, and a sixth step of heating for at least 60 minutes at 390 to 410° C. 11. The method of manufacturing an organic polymer film of claim 5, wherein fluorinated poly-paraxylylene is heat-treated at a pressure of 0.001 to 0.1 mmHg. 12. The method of manufacturing an organic polymer film of claim 5, wherein said stepwise heating of fluorinated poly-paraxylylene comprises a first step of heating up to 170 to 220° C. at a maximum rate of 10° C./minute, a second step of heating for at least 10 minutes at 170 to 220° C., a third step of heating up to 350 to 390° C. at a maximum rate of 3° C./minute, a fourth step of heating for at least 15 minutes at 350 to 390° C., a fifth step of heating up to 390 to 410° C. at a maximum rate of 1° C./minute, and a sixth step of heating for at least 15 minutes at 390 to 410° C. 13. The method of manufacturing an organic polymer film of claim 5, wherein said stepwise heating of fluorinated poly-paraxylylene comprises a first step of heating up to 190 to 210° C. at a maximum rate of 10° C./minute, a second step of heating for at least 15 minutes at 190 to 210° C., a third step of heating up to 370 to 380° C. at a maximum rate of 3° C./minute, a fourth step of heating for at least 30 minutes at 370 to 380° C., a fifth step of heating up to 390 to 410° C. at a maximum rate of 1° C./minute, and a sixth step of heating for at least 30 minutes at 390 to 410° C. 14. The method of manufacturing an organic polymer film of claim 5 wherein fluorinated poly-paraxylylene is heat-treated in an air atmosphere. 15. A semiconductor device whose semiconductor elements are electrically connected to thin-film wirings formed on an insulating film, wherein said insulating film is an organic polymer film according to claim 1. 16. A semiconductor device comprising: a first wiring layer at least one surface of a semiconductor substrate; an insulating film formed on a surface of said first wiring layer; a thin-film resistance layer which is electrically connected to said first wiring layer through conductive holes formed in said insulating film; and a second wiring layer electrically connected to said thin film resistance layer, wherein said insulating film is an organic polymer film according to claim 1. 17. The semiconductor device of claim 16, wherein said semiconductor substrate is a silicon oxide film, said first and second wiring layers are aluminum wiring layers, and said thin film resistance layer is a Cr/SiO2 film. 18. The semiconductor device of claim 15, wherein said semiconductor device uses organic polymer films prepared by a process according to claim 5. 19. The organic polymer film of claim 1, wherein said organic polymer film contains fluorinated poly-paraxylylene prepared by subliming 1,1,2,2,9,9,10,10-octafluoro-2,2-cyclophane, pyrolyzing the product of sublimation into paraxylylene monomer, and polymerizing and depositing said paraxylylene monomer as poly-paraxylylene on a substrate. |
<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>With the development of high-density integration of semiconductor integrated circuits, the size of features such as wiring lines and space between features has been greatly reduced. As a result, line-to-line parasitic capacitances have become greater and affected the operation speeds of the semiconductor integrated circuits. Various suggestions have been made to solve this problem. One such suggestions is to use a poly-paraxylylene film of a low dielectric constant as the wiring insulating film. For example, a poly-paraxylylene film is prepared by subliming 2,2-paracyclophane at 120° C., pyrolyzing the resulting product into the intermediate of paraxylylene at 650° C., polymerizing the intermediate at 20° C. in a polymerization tank, and depositing the resulting polymer on a substrate. FIG. 1 shows an example of a manufacturing method for a semiconductor device which uses poly-paraxylylene as an insulating layer. This method produces a semiconductor device having multiple wiring layers by the processes of forming a first aluminum wiring layer 11 on a semiconductor substrate 10 , forming an insulating film 12 of poly-paraxylylene prepared by the above method on the aluminum wiring layer 11 of the semiconductor substrate (Process “a”), forming a silicon oxide layer 13 over the above layer by a chemical vapor-phase growth process (Process “b”), grinding the silicon oxide layer 13 by a chemical machine grinding method and forming via-holes in the layer 12 that are filled with tungsten 14 (Process “c”), forming a second aluminum wiring layer 15 on the ground layer 13 (Process “d”), and repeating these processes (a) to (d). The above method can provide a substrate having multiple wiring layers, that is, a semiconductor device having semiconductor elements on the substrate. In production of semiconductor devices, heat-treating processes can be added to the above processes. Such processes include a heat-treating process at about 400° C. during formation of a silicon oxide layer and a tungsten layer and a heat-treating process of 1 hour at 400° C. in an air atmosphere during formation of a resistance layer which is required for production of multiple wiring layers. Therefore, the insulating film material is preferably a material that does not generate degradable gases when heated for one hour at 400° C. in an air atmosphere. The physical properties of the above paraxylylene film degrade when heat-treated at 400° C. As a result, the above paraxylylene film cannot be used as an insulating film for semiconductor integrated circuits that require downsizing of wires and wire pitches. Reducing the dielectric constant is desirable for insulating films of semiconductor devices. Insulating materials having specific inductive capacity of 2.5 or less have been desired. MACROMOLECULES 1999, 32, 7555-7561 discloses an organic polymer film having of a low specific inductive capacity of 2.3 and excellent heat resistance. The film is prepared by subliming 1,1,2,2,9,9,10,10-octafluoro-2,2-cyclophane at 70 to 100° C. at a vacuum pressure, pyrolyzing thereof at 650° C., and depositing the resulting polymer onto a cool substrate. However, a film obtained by pyrolyzation at 650° C. contains many components that become volatile at 250 to 400° C. (Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 1997, Vol. 443, 21-33 and Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 1997, Vol. 476, 213-218). As a result, these material components cannot be completely removed from the film even when the film is heat-treated at 400° C. after formation. No heat-treatment for formation of a resistance layer in an air atmosphere has been disclosed, although some heat-treatments in a gas atmosphere have been described. |
<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>An object of this invention is to provide an organic polymer film of low dielectric constant and high heating resistance which is applicable as an insulating layer for semiconductor devices. Additional objects include a manufacturing method for such organic polymer films, and a semiconductor device using such films. These and other objects and advantages are achieved by an organic polymer film having a specific inductive capacity of 2.5 or less and a weight loss ratio of 0.05% or less by weight after one-hour heating in an air or inactive gas atmosphere at 400° C. In another embodiment, the invention provides an organic polymer film having a specific inductive capacity of 2.0 to 2.5 or less and a weight loss ratio of 0.05% or less by weight after one-hour heating in an air or inactive gas atmosphere at 400° C. This invention also provides a method for forming an organic polymer film containing fluorinated poly-paraxylylene prepared by subliming a cyclophane compound containing fluorine atoms, pyrolyzing the product of sublimation into paraxylylene monomer, and polymerizing said paraxylylene monomer. In another embodiment, an organic polymer film containing fluorinated poly-paraxylylene is prepared by subliming 1,1,2,2,9,9,10,10-octafluoro-2,2-cyclophane as a cyclophane compound containing fluorine atoms in the sublimation zone, pyrolyzing the product of sublimation into paraxylylene monomer in the pyrolysis zone, polymerizing paraxylylene monomer into poly-paraxylylene in the polymerization zone, and depositing the poly-paraxylylene on a substrate. In this embodiment, an organic polymer film containing fluorinated poly-paraxylylene having a specific inductive capacity of 2.5 or less and a weight loss ratio of 0.05% or less by weight after one-hour heating in an air or inactive gas atmosphere at 400° C. is produced. This invention also provides a method of manufacturing an organic polymer film comprising subliming a cyclophane compound containing fluorine atoms at 30 to 70° C. under a reduced pressure of 0.001 to 0.1 mmHg, pyrolyzing the product of sublimation into paraxylylene monomer at 680 to 770° C., polymerizing said paraxylylene monomer into fluorinated poly-paraxylylene at −40 to +20° C., and heating said fluorinated poly-paraxylylene to alternately increase the temperature and to maintain the temperature in a stepwise manner, wherein the final increasing of the temperature in the stepwise heating increases the temperature to 390 to 410° C. The pyrolyzing process thermally decomposes the sublimation vapor into paraxylylene monomer at 700 to 750° C. and the cyclophane compound which contains fluorine atoms is 1,1,2,2,9,9,10,10-octafluoro-2,2-cyclophane. In an embodiment, the stepwise process of heat-treating fluorinated poly-paraxylylene described above comprises one of the following heat-treating methods: (i) a first step of heating up to 170 to 220° C. at a maximum rate of 5° C./minute, a second step of heating for at least 10 minutes to maintain the temperature at 170 to 220° C., a third step of heating up to 350 to 390° C. at a maximum rate of 1° C./minute, a fourth step of heating for at least 30 minutes to maintain the temperature at 350 to 380° C., a fifth step of heating up to 390 to 410° C. at a maximum rate of 0.5° C./minute, and a sixth step of heating for at least 30 minutes to maintain the temperature at 390 to 410° C. (ii) a first step of heating up to 190 to 210° C. at a maximum rate of 5° C./minute, a second step of heating for at least 30 minutes to maintain the temperature at 190 to 210° C., a third step of heating up to 370 to 380° C. at a maximum rate of 1° C./minute, a fourth step of heating for at least 60 minutes to maintain the temperature at 370 to 380° C., a fifth step of heating up to 390 to 410° C. at a maximum rate of 0.5° C./minute, and a sixth step of heating for at least 60 minutes to maintain the temperature at 390 to 410° C. (iii) a first step of heating up to 170 to 220° C. at a maximum rate of 10° C./minute, a second step of heating for at least 10 minutes to maintain the temperature at 170 to 220° C., a third step of heating up to 350 to 390° C. at a maximum rate of 3° C./minute, a fourth step of heating for at least 15 minutes to maintain the temperature at 350 to 390° C., a fifth step of heating up to 390 to 410° C. at a maximum rate of 1° C./minute, and a sixth step of heating for at least 15 minutes to maintain the temperature at 390 to 410° C. (iv) a first step of heating up to 190 to 210° C. at a maximum rate of 10° C./minute, a second step of heating for at least 15 minutes to maintain the temperature at 190 to 210° C., a third step of heating up to 370 to 380° C. at a maximum rate of 3° C./minute, a fourth step of heating for at least 30 minutes to maintain the temperature at 370 to 380° C., a fifth step of heating up to 390 to 410° C. at a maximum rate of 1° C./minute, and a sixth step of heating for at least 30 minutes to maintain the temperature at 390 to 410° C. The heat treatments (i) and (ii) are preferably carried out under a reduced pressure of 0.001 to 0.1 mmHg. The heat treatments (iii) and (iv) are preferably carried out in an air atmosphere. In another embodiment, the invention also provides a semiconductor device whose semiconductor elements are electrically connected to thin-film wirings formed on an insulating film, wherein said insulating film has a specific inductive capacity of 2.5 or less and a weight loss rate of 0.05% or less by weight after heating one hour at 400° C. in an air or inactive gas atmosphere. In still another embodiment, the invention provides a semiconductor device comprising a first layer on a main surface at least on one surface of a semiconductor substrate, an insulating film formed on the surface of said first wiring layer, a thin-film resistance layer which is electrically connected to said first wiring layer through conductive holes formed in said insulating film, and a second wiring layer which is electrically connected thereto on said thin film resistance layer, wherein said insulating film has a specific inductive capacity of 2.5 or less and a weight loss rate of 0.05% by weight or less after heating one hour at 400° C. in an air or inactive gas atmosphere. In an embodiment, said semiconductor substrate is a silicon oxide film, said first and second wiring layers are aluminum wiring layers, and said thin film resistance layer is a Cr/SiO 2 film. Said organic polymer film preferably contains fluorinated poly-paraxylylene prepared by subliming a cyclophane compound containing fluorine atoms, pyrolyzing the product of sublimation into paraxylylene monomer, and polymerizing said paraxylylene monomer. Further, the organic polymer film preferably contains fluorinated poly-paraxylylene prepared by subliming 1,1,2,2,9,9,10,10-octafluoro-2,2-cyclophane in a sublimation zone, pyrolyzing the product of sublimation into paraxylylene monomer in a pyrolyzation zone, and polymerizing and depositing said paraxylylene monomer as poly-paraxylylene on a substrate in a polymerization zone. Furthermore, the organic polymer film preferably is made of fluorinated poly-paraxylylene prepared by the processes of subliming a cyclophane compound containing fluorine atoms at 30 to 70° C. under reduced pressure of 0.001 to 0.1 mmHg, pyrolyzing the product of sublimation into paraxylylene monomer at 680 to 770° C., polymerizing said paraxylylene monomer into fluorinated poly-paraxylylene on a substrate at −40 to +20° C., heating said fluorinated poly-paraxylylene to alternately increase the temperature and to maintain the temperature in a stepwise manner, wherein the final increasing step of the stepwise heating increases the temperature to 390 to 410° C. In an embodiment, said stepwise heat-treating process should preferably contain at least one of the above steps (i) to (iv). Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. |
Integrated alert generation in a process plant |
Operational status information associated with a process entity in a process plant is received. The operational status information is mapped into one of a plurality of status conditions. Then, an alert message associated with the process entity is generated, where the alert message is indicative of the one status condition of the plurality of status conditions. |
1. A method of processing information related to operational status of process entities in a process plant, the method comprising: receiving first operational status information associated with a first process entity in the process plant, wherein the first operational status information is indicative of an operational status of the first process entity, wherein the first operational status information is configured according to a first format; mapping the first operational status information to a status condition associated with the operational status of the first process entity, wherein the status condition associated with the operational status of the first process entity is one status condition of a plurality of status conditions, wherein each status condition of the plurality of status conditions is indicative of a different level of severity; and generating a first alert message associated with the first process entity, the first alert message indicative of the status condition associated with the operational status of the first process entity. 2. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising: receiving second operational status information associated with a second process entity in the process plant, wherein the second operational status information is indicative of an operational status of the second process entity, wherein the second operational status information is configured according to a second format; mapping the second operational status information to a status condition associated with the operational status of the second process entity, wherein the status condition associated with the operational status of the second process entity is one status condition of the plurality of status conditions; and generating a second alert message associated with the second process entity, the second alert message indicative of the status condition associated with the operational status of the second process entity. 3. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising: receiving operational status information associated with a plurality of other process entities in the process plant, wherein the operational status information associated with the plurality of other process entities is indicative of respective operational statuses of the plurality of other process entities, wherein the operational status information is configured according to at least a second format; mapping the operational status information associated with the plurality of other process entities to a plurality of respective status conditions associated with the respective operational statuses of the plurality of other process entities, wherein each respective status condition associated with the respective operational status of the other process entity is one status condition of the plurality of status conditions; and generating a plurality of respective alert messages associated with the plurality of other process entities, each of the plurality of respective alert messages indicative of the respective status condition associated with the respective operational status of the other process entity. 4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first operational status information is received according to a communication protocol chosen from the group of protocols consisting of Fieldbus, HART, PROFIBUS®, WORLDFIPS, DEVICE-NET®, CAN, and Ethernet. 5. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising displaying an indication of the first alert message on a user interface. 6. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising communicating the first alert message to a business system. 7. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising storing the first alert message in a database. 8. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first process entity comprises a field device. 9. A method as defined in claim 8, wherein receiving the first operational status information comprises receiving a message indicative of a device alarm associated with the field device. 10. A method as defined in claim 9, wherein generating the first alert message comprises generating the first alert message based on the device alarm. 11. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first process entity comprises a process control software module. 12. A method as defined in claim 11, wherein receiving the first operational status information comprises receiving a message indicative of a process alarm associated with the process control software module. 13. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein generating the first alert message comprises generating the first alert message based on the process alarm. 14. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first process entity comprises a hardware device from the group consisting of a process controller, an input/output device, an operator workstation, and a network device. 15. A method as defined in claim 14, wherein receiving the first operational status information comprises receiving a message associated a network object. 16. A method as defined in claim 14, wherein receiving the first operational status information comprises receiving a message according to the Simple Network Management Protocol. 17. A method as defined in claim 14, wherein receiving the first operational status information comprises receiving a message indicative of a hardware alarm associated with the hardware device. 18. A method as defined in claim 17, wherein generating the first alert message comprises generating the first alert message based on the hardware alarm. 19. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first process entity comprises rotating equipment. 20. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first process entity comprises power generating equipment. 21. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first process entity comprises power distribution equipment. 22. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein receiving the first operational status information comprises receiving operational status information from a monitoring system. 23. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein receiving the first operational status information comprises receiving operational status information from a diagnostic system. 24. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein receiving the first operational status information comprises receiving operational status information from a model. 25. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein receiving the first operational status information comprises receiving operational status information from an expert system. 26. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein receiving the first operational status information comprises receiving operational status information from an optimization system. 27. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein receiving the first operational status information comprises receiving operational status information from a maintenance system. 28. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the plurality of status conditions comprises an ADVISORY condition, an MAINTENANCE condition, and a FAILED condition. 29. A method as defined in claim 28, wherein the plurality of status conditions further comprises NO COMMUNICATION condition. 30. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first alert message includes an indication of a recommended action. 31. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first alert message includes an indication of a link to text related to detailed help. 32. A method as defined in claim 31, wherein the text includes at least one of a procedure for handling a problem associated with the first alert message, a diagram, a link to a document, and a link to diagram. 33. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first alert message includes an indication of a link to a document. 34. A method as defined in claim 33, wherein the document includes at least one of a procedure for handling a problem associated with the first alert message, a diagram, a link to another document, and a link to diagram. 35. An apparatus for processing information related to operational status of process entities in a process plant, the apparatus comprising: a memory; a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, the processor programmed to receive first operational status information associated with a first process entity in the process plant, wherein the first operational status information is indicative of an operational status of the first process entity, wherein the first operational status information is configured according to a first format; map the first operational status information to a status condition associated with the operational status of the first process entity, wherein the status condition associated with the operational status of the first process entity is one status condition of a plurality of status conditions, wherein each status condition of the plurality of status conditions is indicative of a different level of severity; and generate a first alert message associated with the first process entity, the first alert message indicative of the status condition associated with the operational status of the first process entity. 36. An apparatus as defined in claim 35, wherein the processor is further programmed to receive second operational status information associated with a second process entity in the process plant, wherein the second operational status information is indicative of an operational status of the second process entity, wherein the second operational status information is configured according to a second format; map the second operational status information to a status condition associated with the operational status of the second process entity, wherein the status condition associated with the operational status of the second process entity is one status condition of the plurality of status conditions; and generate a second alert message associated with the second process entity, the second alert message indicative of the status condition associated with the operational status of the second process entity. 37. An apparatus as defined in claim 35, wherein the processor is communicatively coupled to a database, and wherein the processor is further programmed to send the first alert message to the database for storage. 38. An apparatus as defined in claim 35, wherein the processor is communicatively coupled to a user interface, and wherein the processor is further programmed to display an indication of the first alert message via the user interface. 39. An apparatus as defined in claim 35, wherein the processor is communicatively coupled to a business system, and wherein the processor is further programmed to send the first alert message to the business system. 40. A tangible medium storing machine readable instructions, comprising: first software for receiving first operational status information associated with a first process entity in the process plant, wherein the first operational status information is indicative of an operational status of the first process entity, wherein the first operational status information is configured according to a first format; second software for mapping the first operational status information to a status condition associated with the operational, status of the first process entity, wherein the status condition associated with the operational status of the first process entity is one status condition of a plurality of status conditions, wherein each status condition of the plurality of status conditions is indicative of a different level of severity; and third software for generating a first alert message associated with the first process entity, the first alert message indicative of the status condition associated with the operational status of the first process entity. 41. A tangible medium storing machine readable instructions as defined in claim 40, comprising: fourth software for receiving second operational status information associated with a second process entity in the process plant, wherein the second operational status information is indicative of an operational status of the second process entity, wherein the second operational status information is configured according to a second format; fifth software for mapping the second operational status information to a status condition associated with the operational status of the second process entity, wherein the status condition associated with the operational status of the second process entity is one status condition of the plurality of status conditions; and sixth software for generating a second alert message associated with the second process entity, the second alert message indicative of the status condition associated with the operational status of the second process entity. |
<SOH> FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY <EOH>This disclosure relates generally to process control and maintenance systems within process plants and, more particularly, to processing data received from multiple data sources within a process plant. |
<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The integrated priority generation and technique described herein enables operational information associated with various process entities in a process plant to be mapped into a plurality of common status conditions. Because the operational information from the various process entities is converted to the common status conditions, the relative importance of the operational information can be more readily ascertained. A mapping system receives operational information associated with a process entity in a process plant. For example, the mapping system may receive operational information associated with field devices, process control software, hardware devices (e.g., process controllers, input/output devices, operator workstations, etc), monitoring and/or diagnostic systems, etc. The mapping system may then map the operational status condition into one of a plurality of status conditions. The corresponding status condition may be based on the operational status information as well as additional factors (e.g., the location of the process entity or the section of the process plant in which the process entity is located, the rate at which a field device, process control software module, etc. is generating alerts, alarms, status conditions, etc., the type of a field device, etc.). Then, an alert message associated with the process entity may be generated, where the alert message is indicative of the one status condition of the plurality of status conditions. |
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