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Actress Priya Malik speaks up about her recent wedding to her long time boyfriend Karan Bakshi. Here’s what she has to say about getting married.
‘Baby’ and ‘Naam Shabana’ actress Madhurima Tuli wishes fans a happy Diwali, but she has a strong message which everyone must follow for the betterment of humanity.
‘Aashiqui’ actress Anu Aggarwal reveals why this year’s Diwali is so special for her.
Ajay Singh Chaudhary, who is an integral part of ‘Swaran Ghar’ opens up about his bond with actress Sargun Mehta, who has turned producer for the show.
‘Squad’ actress Malvika Raaj speaks up about how she plans to celebrate this Diwali. Her celebrations ensure that the voiceless stray dogs also have a happy and safe festival this year.
‘Ishqiyoun’ producer Himanshoo A Pathak speaks up about how the pandemic has taught everyone a new meaning of celebrating festivals like Diwali.
‘Swarna Ghar’ actor Ajay Singh Chaudhary shares his Diwali plans. He openly tells that life is all about loving your family.
Pranitaa Pandit opens up about celebrating Diwali this year. She also reveals how this Diwali would be the first Diwali that her daughter Anaysha celebrates with her parents.
Om Raut’s directorial ‘Adipurush’ has been in the line of fire for the way they have interpreted the Ramayan with a modern-day touch. Arun Mandola speaks...
Miss Bulgaria Margo Cooper, who recently made her B-Town debut with ‘Apna Villa’, celebrates her first Diwali in India. Here’s what she has to say about...
‘Happu Ki Ultan Paltan’ and ‘Bhabiji Ghar Par Hai’ producer Binaiferr kohli is looking forward to a happening Diwali this year.
Superstar Salman Khan has returned as a host of 'Bigg Boss 16' and unlike last season this time he will be taking classes and assessing the weekly activities...
Yash Patnaik of the famous Yash-Mamta duo speaks up about the differences between an independent producer and a content studio. He speaks about how content...
Popular TV producer Binaiferr Kohli speaks up about the importance of Hindi Diwas for her. She even reveals what her favourite Hindi idiom is.
Sagar Parekh speaks up about how OTT has helped in bettering up the content on Indian Television. He feels that because of OTT, the priority has changed.
Sachin Shroff has replaced Shailesh Lodha as Taarak Mehta in the long running series. However, fans are not happy with the decision.
As the world celebrates International Literacy Day, here are some of your favourite TV stars talking about the importance of education in the lives of everyone.
As the world celebrates Teacher’s Day, Outlook caught up with some of the popular TV celebrities and asked them about the important life lessons they learnt...
Actor Aditya Deshmukh speaks up about how he never had a plan B when it came to his acting career. He reveals how post-Covid everything is uncertain and people...
Rajeev Sen and Charu Asopa tied the knot on June 16, 2019, in Goa. Now after coping with a rough patch, they have decided to not divorce.
Actor Saanand Verma talks about how OTT is turning the game for all actors. Also, he reveals how actors need to always be prepared.
Television personality Nick Cannon has shared that the 34-year-old model is pregnant with their third child together, his tenth.
Producer Rajan Shahi’s ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’ has been changing timelines after every few years to reinvent the interest of the show among the...
Aamir Ali and Sanjeeda Shaikh separated officially after almost 9 years of marriage. They also have a two-year-old daughter Ayra.
Sonali Phogat, a former contestant of the popular reality TV show, ‘Bigg Boss’, died at the age of 41 while she was in Goa with some of her staff members.
Subscribe to get complete access to Outlook Print and Digital Magazines, Web Exclusive stories and the Archive. Attractive gifts with each subscription.Check our Plans

domain: entertainment


(Photo: Gymsport Leiden).
PvdA and the Key City party are preparing a proposal not to demolish the 3 October Hall in Mors, but to sell it to Gymsport Leiden, for example. Many parties support a new investigation into the various options.
“Circumstances have changed,” the two sides said. For example, the location of the gym may not be necessary to expand the sports grounds in Morse, and research may show that Leiden will eventually need space for sports associations.
The second, and perhaps the most important reason for Municipal Sports Council member Spijker to get rid of the old hall, is the construction of the new indoor sports center currently being built on the corner of Tilderskady and Churchillin. If the clubs do not move en masse to the new hall, the exploitation there will be under pressure.
Alderman Spijker has several reasons to demolish the 3 Octoberhal. Ensuring the operation of the new indoor sports center is an important part of this.
The outdated hall, the council decided earlier, It should make way for the creation of a space in the Sportpark de Mors. It is redesigned to accommodate Growth Desire for DIOK, DoCoS and Sporting Leiden who wear their jackets too tight. It now appears that the location of the hall is no longer necessary for the new layout. Alderman Spijker is not there yet. “We are still investigating that.” A year ago, several parties also spoke in favor of retaining the hall, but there was no majority for that at the time. Perhaps a new study.
According to Spiker, October 3rd will be hard to hold anyway. The building is leaky as hard as a basket, which means it consumes a lot of energy. This renovation costs a fortune. “Furthermore, as of 2024 we no longer have resources dedicated to upkeep of the hall,” Spijker also told council members. “After all, I have already decided to demolish it.”
If the hall survives, the building will likely be offered for sale. In this case, the municipality is no longer involved and there is an interested buyer. This is it Leiden gym. The fusion club of all Leiden gymnastics associations was founded in 2016 and has been using the 3 Octoberhal for years.
In the municipality’s plans, the association should move to the new gym, but the club would not have its own space there. As a result, it is necessary to find a second location in the area, for example, to store materials. So buying the existing hall seems an attractive alternative. Tonight we will discuss the circumstances under which we would like to meet our Board of Directors,” Chairman Arthur Hasbrouck said when asked.
“Twitter junkie. Lifelong communicator. Award-winning analyst. Subtly charming internetaholic.”


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If it seems as though I’ve been a bit distant the past couple weeks, well… that’s because I am. Summer is officially here and with it comes the invariable family road trip. This year we’ve scheduled a whopping 17 days of amusement and adventure. With everything from public gardens to water trampolines to cooking demonstrations to shitake mushroom farming, we’ve got it covered. I had an hour this evening to stop up at the Tyler Place Inn and plug into the internet so I thought I’d share a few pictures from our adventure to date. We’re off to New York City on Saturday and then Ocean city, MD for the 4th. I’ll finally step foot back at the homestead on the 5th and hopefully catch up with everything (and everyone) I’ve missed. Until then, enjoy your 4th of July holiday!
Week one of the summer driving tour…. Newark, Delaware for a week of fun with friends.
Drew feeding the goats at the pick-your-own farm
Meeting Dennis from More than a Mountfull at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia
Drew cooling down in the fountains at Longwood Gardens in PA
Alex exploring the topiary gardens
Nick finishing up a week of Camp Invention in Delaware
Week two at the Tyler Place in Northern Vermont. It’s our second year here and it just gets better.
Nick standing at the Ben and Jerry’s graveyard next to his favorite flavor combination. Rest in peace Peanut Butter and Jelly.
Alex Bouncing on the trampolines at The Tyler Place
Drew posing for a shot
And last but not least, my favorite part of the vacation thus far; learning how to inoculate my very own shitake mushroom log (Yes I am easily amused; especially when it involves edible fungus).
One of my fellow classmates drilling holes for our logs
The “Shitake” pellets are placed into the drilled holes
Cheese wax is melted and painted over the filled holes to keep the critters out
The finished logs.
My log is coming home with me. I plan to place it in the crawl space of our home and if all goes well, it will blossom into a flurry of fungus over the next six months. Be assured that you will hear it here first if I meet with success.
Have a memorable holiday weekend and don’t forget to add your name into the hat for the VISA $100 giveaway! The contest runs through the 4th and the winner will be announced on July 5th.

domain: geography


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The National Youth Leader of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Udeh Okoye was on Monday, Sepetember 2nd abducted at his farm in Enugu State.
According to Ebere Amaraizu, the spokesperson for the Enugu Stae Police Command, Okoye was allegedly held at gunpoint and taken away by his assailants.
In his words, “we are on it, but because of the nature of the incident, we would not be able to disclose many details. He went to his farm and was kidnapped, that should do for now.”
Hello.... Contact Dr. Mugwenu. He heals pressure, diabetes, ulcers, gonorrhea, syphilis, TB, manhood weakness among other things. The doctor also solves life’s challenges such as love issues, family problems, hardships in business, increases your luck, that is, winning lottery games and court cases, promotions at work and clears away devilish spirits and dreams. For consultation call: +254 740637248 www.mugwenudoctors.com

domain: politics


A recent potential leak suggests that HP Reverb G2 eye-tracking – and even facing tracking – may arrive in the form of a new model.
Aggiornamenti Lumia is the source behind the supposed leak for what it calls the HP Reverb Omnicept Edition. The image we use below comes from that report. At first glance, it may look like the usual HP Reverb G2, but you can spot one major difference from the off.
On the bottom of the device, between the two front-facing cameras, is what looks like a small tab. The original report notes that this tab includes a face camera, which could well track the movements of the lower half of your head. Feasibly, it could then take that data and relay it onto, say, a virtual avatar of yourself. Aggiornamenti Lumia also reports the headset has eye-tracking, though it’s hard to verify this in the images without having a look inside the headset.
The report also spots a difference in the type of strap on the side of the device and Road to VR also spotted what could be an electrode embedded in the face lining. Companies like Emteq use similar tech to scan muscle impulses as a means of facial replication in VR, accessing a deeper range of realistic emotions than what’s currently possible. Recently, Facebook Reality Labs shared new research for its own photorealistic face tracking that no longer requires a camera, but it’s still very far off.
If this is all true, it’s possible that the Omnicept Edition will be a more expensive version of the Reverb G2 aimed more towards enterprise customers. The original device, set to ship this fall, offers 4K VR and improved design and audio for $599. HP did recently tease it would have more exciting announcements on the VR end, and this could well have been one.
Would you be interested in an HP Reverb G2 eye-tracking headset with a face camera? Let us know in the comments below!


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THE LUCK OF THE BEAN-ROWS Stock code: 8904
First edition. Printed at the Curwen Press. Original paper-covered boards with cloth spine. Colour illustration throughout. A near VERY GOOD copy with some wear to edges. Internally a little darkened and with an inscription to front free endpaper. Pages otherwise clean and illustrations bright and attractive.

domain: artistic


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0622010405 is a type of system that implements location-based services (LBS). It has a broad application field and widely used in many industries, such as navigation, safety, and logistics. In this article, readers will delve into the working principle and potential application field of 0622010405.
0622010405 is based on the global navigation satellite system (GNSS). It uses satellite signals to calculate the position and velocity of vehicles and devices to provide users with highly accurate location information and navigation guides. It also supports specialized software to support applications such as route optimization, map-based positioning, traceability, and geo-fencing.
The application field of 0622010405 is quite wide. It is mainly used in the following industries:
- Navigation: 0622010405 is widely used in navigation applications, such as self-driving cars, smart ships, unmanned aerial vehicles, and intelligent transport. It can provide highly accurate location information and navigation guides to help improve the precision, accuracy, safety, and convenience of navigation.
- Logistics: 0622010405 is a crucial part of logistics services. By integrating multiple 0622010405-based products, users can gain better control of their logistics services and get real-time insights on the location of their goods.
- Safety: 0622010405 is also used to protect people and property. For example, it can be used to monitor vehicles in real time, prevent vehicle theft, and ensure smooth traffic flow.
- Security: 0622010405 can be used in an array of security applications. For instance, it can be employed to insure the safety of VIPs, secure buildings or other key locations, monitor criminals, and detect suspicious activities.
- Utilities: 0622010405 is also widely used in utilities applications, such as water, electricity, and gas distribution. It can be used to accurately monitor utilities and prevent tampering or unauthorized access.
In summary, 0622010405 is a powerful location-based system that has a wide array of applications in many industries, including navigation, safety, logistics, and utilities. It is based on the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and provides users with highly accurate location information and navigation guides. This makes it an invaluable tool for many businesses and organizations.


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From our Archives February 2009
Since our interview with Courtney, she has remarried and is now Mrs. Courtney Santana.
When you think of Courtney Santana, you most likely think of her great musical talent. But when we sat down and did the interview back in 2009, she was working to heal women and children through her work at the women shelter. She wanted to help women understand that you may not stop the abuse from occurring but you can discuss ways to get out of the situation.
At the time, Courtney started the Jonah Ministry back in 2006 because she had lived in the shelter with her two children. She decided that when she got healthy enough, she would return and give back. Jonah was a faith-based non-profit organization to create lasting hope through music and arts.
The one thing I got from the interview was that Courtney is a survivor. She no longer lives in fear of abuse. She still works tirelessly to empower women who have survived or going through an abusive relationship.
She has formed a new foundation called Survive2Thrive. This foundation empowers survivors.
The foundation has 4 Core Values:
1. Safety and Stability
2. Resource Management
3. Confidence Building
4. Self-Sufficiency and Independence
If you need more information or you need assistance, please visit their website at survive2thrivefoundation.com
Ujima salutes and thanks, Courtney Santana for her continued work to help people caught in an abusive relationship find hope and a new beginning.
#courtneysantana #survive2thrive #ujimamagazine #onlinemagazine #magazinelife #collectiveworkandresponsiblilty #ujimaarchives #eightyears #embraceyourcommunity #celebratingthevision #domesticviolence

domain: sociology


When is the best time to see auroras? Where is the best place to go? And how do you photograph them? These questions and more are answered in a new book, Northern Lights - a Guide, by Pal Brekke & Fredrik Broms.
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VOYAGER 1 ENTERS INTERSTELLAR SPACE: Researchers have long waited for one of the Voyager probes to leave the solar system. In a surprising turn of events, NASA announced today that Voyager 1 entered interstellar space a whole year ago! This event sets in motion a new era of exploration of the realm between the stars. Congratulations to the Voyager team! [full story]
In February 2012, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's 5,000-mile-wide Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) made a radio image of Voyager 1's signal. Little did they know, Voyager 1 was already in interstellar space:
Voyager 1's main transmitter radiates around 22 watts, which is comparable to a typical ham radio or a refrigerator light bulb. Though incredibly weak by the standards of modern wireless communications, Voyager 1's signal is bright when compared to most natural objects studied by radio telescopes.
The image is about 0.5 arcseconds on a side. An arcsecond is the apparent size of a penny as seen from 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) away. The slightly oblong shape of the image is a result of the array's configuration.
The VLBA made this image of Voyager 1's signal on Feb. 21, 2013. At the time, Voyager 1 was 11.5 billion miles (18.5 billion kilometers) away.
SOUTHEAST ERUPTION: Solar activity is low, but not zero. Yesterday, Sept. 11th, a magnetic filament snaking around the sun's southeastern limb rose up and erupted. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the action in a movie which spans 3.5 hours:
The filament hurled part of itself into space, and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory recorded a bright CME billowing away from the blast site. Earth, however, was not in the line of the fire. The explosion was too far south and east to target our planet. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
METEOR OUTBURST? European sky watchers have witnessed an outburst of September epsilon Perseid meteors. "The outburst occurred around UT midnight on Sept. 9-10," says Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "During a two hour period, meteors appeared at a rate equivalent to ~50 per hour (ZHR). We did not see the outburst in North America because it was still daylight at the time."
NASA all-sky cameras have been recording epsilon Perseid fireballs for days, albeit at a much lower rate than what the Europeans saw. The shower has been active since early September, allowing Cooke's team to calculate orbits for more than a dozen meteoroids:
In the diagram, orbits are color-coded by velocity. Epsilon Perseid meteoroids hit Earth's atmosphere at a "blue-green" speed of about 62 km/s (139,000 mph). According to NASA data, the debris stream appears to be rich in fireball-producing meteoroids.
The epsilon Perseid shower peaks every year around this time, but the shower is not well known because it is usually weak, producing no more than 5 meteors per hour. In 2008 the shower surprised observers with an outburst five times as active, and this year the shower may have doubled even that. Clearly, the epsilon Perseid debris stream contains some dense filaments of material that Earth usually misses but sometimes hits.
No one knows the source of the September epsilon Perseid meteor shower. Whatever the parent is, probably a comet, its orbit must be similar to the green ellipses shown in the orbit-map above. As NASA cameras continue to gather data on this shower, orbital parameters will become more accurately known, possibly leading to a match.
Meanwhile, sky watchers should be alert for more epsilon Perseids in the nights ahead. The shower is waning but still active and more outbursts are possible.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
[previous years: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011]
Realtime Comet Photo Gallery


|Publication number||US4359282 A|
|Application number||US 06/207,168|
|Publication date||Nov 16, 1982|
|Filing date||Nov 17, 1980|
|Priority date||Nov 17, 1980|
|Publication number||06207168, 207168, US 4359282 A, US 4359282A, US-A-4359282, US4359282 A, US4359282A|
|Inventors||Marvin C. Garrison|
|Original Assignee||Ampex Corporation|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (4), Referenced by (13), Classifications (9), Legal Events (3)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for monitoring vertical surface variations of specimens on a microscopic scale and more particularly to such a method and apparatus wherein the monitoring function is carried out in a non-destructive manner with respect to the specimen.
There are many situations where it is essential to accurately measure or assess vertical dimensions or variations in surfaces of specimens on a microscopic scale. For example, such techniques are of importance in surface treatment of recording elements, thin film measurements required in connection with various semiconductor devices and the like. In such devices, it is important to be able to obtain accurate measurements of vertical dimensions in the surface in a non-destructive manner. Otherwise, the simple measurement step itself could produce unacceptable surface blemishes on the specimen or could interfere with operating integrity of the specimen.
Other uses will also be immediately apparent for the method and apparatus of the present invention. For example, in many applications, it is necessary to determine whether scratches or other surface blemishes are of sufficient depth to interfere with proper operation or functioning of the specimen or device. In other applications, it is necessary to accurately measure or monitor the depth of features such as scratches which may be on the order of less than 50 microinches in width and one to ten microinches deep. One of the devices most commonly employed in the past for such measurements included a diamond stylus moved across the surface of the specimen with transducer means indicating variations encountered by the diamond stylus. However, because of the hardness of the diamond stylus, it tended to penetrate portions of the surface of the specimen thereby preventing accurate measurement while also leaving undesirable marks upon the specimen surface. In any event, such surface profile measuring microscope do not have the resolution necessary for measuring features of the type described above. Similarly, multiple beam interferometry devices have been employed for such measurements but, at a typical magnification of one hundred to two hundred times (100-200X), they are not capable of sufficient resolution for accomplishing such measurements.
More recently, other optical or non-destructive techniques have been employed for measuring or monitoring vertical displacement or dimensions on a microscopic scale. For example, reference may be had to an article entitled "A Topographic Microscope" by Samuel Tolansky appearing at pages 54-59 in the August 1954 issue of Scientific American magazine. The device disclosed in that article relied on the use of an offset or oblique source of illumination for casting a shadow line across the entire surface of a specimen to be analyzed. Variations in vertical displacement could then be detected or assessed from observing non-linearities in the shadow line itself. However, even though relatively high resolution is possible with such techniques, it is necessary in each instance to calculate vertical displacement from the particular non-linearity of the shadow line observed for selective surface features as well as the angular relation of the light or illumination source to the surface of the specimen.
Other prior art devices have been disclosed for accomplishing similar measurement techniques but they have been based on generally similar operating parameters as those described above. Accordingly, there has been found to remain a need for a non-destructive method and apparatus for measuring or assessing vertical displacement or dimensions on a microscopic scale in various specimen surfaces or devices.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for measuring vertical surface variations of a specimen on a microscopic scale in a non-destructive manner.
More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide such a method and apparatus wherein a reticule is arranged at a focal plane of an objective means or lens assembly movable relative to a specimen, relative movement between the specimen and objective means, necessary to maintain the reticule in focus upon different surface portions of the specimen, being measured in order to determine vertical displacement between the different surface portions of the specimen.
Preferably, the invention contemplates the use of an optical profile measuring microscope including a vertical illuminator and a beam splitter for optically coupling the objective lens assembly with both the vertical illuminator and an eyepiece or viewing means, the reticule preferably being arranged at a principal focal plane formed within the vertical illuminator. With such an arrangement, the light source of the vertical illuminator is capable of casting a precise image of the reticule upon any selected surface portion of the specimen when that surface portion is brought into precise focus with the objective lens assembly. Accordingly, the present invention particularly contemplates such an optical profile measuring microscope wherein the objective lens assembly is formed with a relatively shallow depth of field in order to permit more precise focusing of the reticule image upon the selected surface portions of the specimens. Other variations are possible in addition to those described immediately above. For example, the profile measuring microscope may also be adapted for use with a transparent specimen, the transparent specimen being arranged between the objective lens assembly and the illuminator. The reticule would be arranged at a focal plane of the illuminator and accordingly at a focal plane relative to the objective lens assembly in the same manner described above.
With an arrangement of the type described above, vertical displacement or spacing between various surface features could be determined directly from a scale indicating relative movement between the objective lens assembly and the specimen. For example, a vernier scale of the type used with conventional microscopes could be employed for that purpose. Even further, it will be apparent from the preceding summary of the invention that the method and operation of the present invention could be accomplished by employing a microscope having suitable resolution and depth of field characteristics while modifying the microscope to include the combination of an objective lens assembly, a movable mounting for the specimen and a suitable reticule arranged at a focal plane of the objective lens assembly.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an optical profile measuring microscope of the type described above which is adapted for operation as a topographic microscope capable of optically detecting or recording the profile of a specimen surface along a selected path. For this purpose, the invention further contemplates a combination as described above together with additional translating means for laterally shifting the specimen in order to cause an image of the reticule to track across the surface of the specimen. The reticule specimen may then be accurately focused upon different surface portions of the specimen in order to produce a reading corresponding to vertical displacement for those surface portions. As will be described in greater detail below, automatic focus means could be employed in place of a conventional viewing lens and coupled with the translating means and the focusing means of the profile measuring microscope so that the invention would function as a generally automatic topographic microscope.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an optical profile measuring microscope of the type described above preferably including a filtered, monochromatic or coherent illuminator in order to further enhance accurate focusing of the reticule image upon selected surface portions of the specimen.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for accurately assessing whether vertical surface dimensions of a specimen are within predetermined microscopic limits wherein a specimen is supported relative to an objective means or lens assembly, a three-dimensional reticule being arranged at or adjacent a focal plane of the objective with portions of the reticule being focused upon first and second vertically spaced-apart surface portions of the specimen, characteristics of the three-dimensional reticule being selected to provide an indication of the vertical spacing between the first and second surface portions being within acceptable limits.
In one embodiment of the invention, movement between the specimen and the objective lens assembly serves to assure that a reference surface of the specimen lies within the focal range for the reticule in order to focus the microscope.
In connection with both embodiments of the invention, it will also be apparent that suitable scale means may be employed within the reticule itself in order to provide a direct reading corresponding to vertical dimensions or displacement.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention are made apparent in the following description having reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a generally schematic representation of an optical profile measuring microscope of the type contemplated by the present invention and having a reticule arranged at a focal plane of the profilometer lens system.
FIG. 2 is a representation of a surface portion of a specimen of a type adapted for inspection of its surface by the optical profile measuring microscope of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary representation of a helical coupling and associated vernier scale employed for monitoring movement between the objective lens assembly and the specimen.
FIG. 4 is a schematic representation, similar to that of FIG. 1, of another embodiment of a profile measuring microscope according to the present invention including a three-dimensional reticule extending continuously between spaced-apart points on the axis of the focal plane to which the reticule is adjacent.
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view taken along section line V--V of FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is also a schematic representation of yet another embodiment of a profile measuring microscope according to the invention and including another variation of a three-dimensional reticule.
Referring now to the drawings, it may be seen that the apparatus of the present invention is preferably embodied in an optical device generally similar in many respects to a conventional microscope. The method of the invention is also adapted to be carried out by such an optical device. Referring for example to FIG. 1, an optical profile measuring microscope according to the present invention is generally indicated at 10 and includes an objective or objective lens assembly 12 and a relatively movable mount 14 for supporting a specimen of the type indicated at 16. It would of course also be possible to fix the mount 14 with the optical components of the microscope being movable to accomplish the same purpose.
Various components of the profile measuring microscope 10 are arranged within a conventional housing, only portions of which are illustrated as described below. The objective lens assembly 12 is commonly fixed within the housing in precise alignment with an eyepiece or viewing lens 18 and the vertical illuminator generally indicated at 20. The vertical illuminator includes a beam splitter in the form of an inclined glass plate reflector 22 arranged intermediate the objective lens assembly 12 and the eyepiece 18 for simultaneously transmitting light from the illuminator 20 to the specimen 16 and transferring an image of the specimen to the eyepiece.
Relative movement between the objective lens assembly 12 and the movable mount 14 for the specimen 16 is provided by relatively movable portions of the housing as may be seen in the fragmentary representation of FIG. 3. The objective lens assembly 12 is axially fixed within a cylindrical housing member 24, the movable mount 14 and specimen 16 being carried by a relatively movable housing member 26. The housing members 24 and 26 are interconnected by helical threads and provided with vernier scale means 28 in order to provide a precise indication of relative movement between the specimen 16 and the objective lens assembly 12.
Within such a combination, the present invention contemplates the mounting of a reticule 30 at or adjacent a focal plane of the optical profile measuring microscope system 10. With the objective lens assembly 12 and the vertical illuminator 20 being in fixed relation to each other, the reticule may be mounted at a focal plane in either of those components. However, the invention preferably contemplates mounting the reticule 30 within the vertical illuminator as indicated in FIG. 1 so that the reticule is not interposed between the eyepiece 18 and the specimen 16. The reticule may be in any of a variety of configurations depending upon a particular application in which it is to be employed. For example, the reticule could be formed as cross hairs, as a series of dots or as a planar pattern of selected geometric configuration. As is specifically illustrated in FIG. 1, the reticule 30 may also be in the form of a simple line entirely arranged within a focal plane of the objective. Even a line of this type is sufficiently two-dimensional for purposes of the present invention to permit movement of the specimen 16 relative to the objective lens assembly 12 in order to focus the reticule upon a selected surface portion of the specimen and obtain an accurate indication of vertical displacement or dimension.
The vertical illuminator illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a number of diaphragms indicated respectively at 32, 34, 36 and 38. These diaphragms in combination with a plurality of lenses 40, 42 and 44 transmit light from a suitable source 46 into the objective lens assembly 12 by means of the beam splitter 22 for illumination of the specimen 16. Preferably, the light source 46 may include filter means or otherwise be adapted to provide monochromatic or coherent light in order to enhance precise operation of the profilometer.
As may be seen in FIG. 1, the diaphragm 38 is a conventional aperture diaphragm while the adjacent diaphragm 36 is a field diaphragm defining the geometric outline of the light transmitted through the objective lens assembly to the specimen. The field diaphragm is accordingly arranged at a principal focal plane 48 and the reticule 30 is preferably arranged within that focal plane as indicated in FIG. 1. Thus, the reticule 30 may be in the form of a grid or transparent plate mounted upon the field diaphragm.
It will be apparent from the following description of the method of operation that it is necessary to place an image of the reticule in focus upon different surface portions of the specimen. In some applications, it may even be desirable to laterally move the specimen so that the image of the reticule is tracked along a selected path on the surface of the specimen. Accordingly, the optical profile measuring microscope 10 preferably includes a mechanical stage translator 50 which is interconnected with the movable mount 14 so that the specimen may be moved laterally according to a predetermined pattern. However, it will also be apparent that lateral movement of the specimen may be accomplished for example by simple manual manipulation. In some applications for the optical profilometer 10, it may be desirable to provide for automatic operation of the profile measuring microscope in order to produce a series of dimensional readings taken along a preselected path along the surface of the specimen. For example, an image of the reticule 30 could be moved along a path formed on the surface of the specimen by appropriate operation of the mechanical stage 50. At the same time, the simple eyepiece or viewing lens 18 could be replaced by an auto-focusing device coupled by suitable servo-mechanisms interconnected with the movable coupling between the objective lens assembly 12 and the movable mount 14 as well as with the mechanical stage translator 50. With such a combination, which is not illustrated in the drawings, it would be possible to produce a series of readings corresponding to vertical dimensions or displacement between various surface portions of the specimen. For example, the specimen could be a semiconductor device having depositions of various types on different surface portions. Through an arrangement of the type referred to above, the optical profilometer of the present invention could be adapted to provide a reading corresponding to the depth of deposition for the various surface portions.
Returning again to the specific embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, a fragmentary portion of the specimen 16 is shown in FIG. 2 having a surface 52 with another surface portion 54 in the form of a scratch extending across the specimen. The profile measuring microscope of the present invention could be employed for measuring the depth of the crack or the vertical displacement between the surface portions 52 and 54 by first focusing an image of the reticule 30 upon the main surface portion 52 of the specimen. Thereafter, the reticule image could be focused upon the surface portion 54, the vertical distance between the two surfaces being directly indicated by the respective readings on the scale means 28 for the two focused positions. Accordingly, this embodiment of the invention provides a particularly accurate and precise means for measuring vertical displacement of surfaces on a specimen in a non-destructive manner. It will be further apparent that in the embodiment of the invention as described above, it is particularly desirable to form the optical profile measuring microscope with a minimum depth of field so that focusing of the reticule image upon any selected surface portion of the specimen is particularly sensitive to the position of the specimen relative to the objective lens assembly.
Before leaving the embodiment of FIG. 1, it is again noted that the reticule 30 may be arranged at or adjacent any principal focus of the profile measuring microscope system. Furthermore, the specific configuration of FIG. 1 is adapted for viewing surfaces of opaque specimens. The combination of the present invention could also be adapted for example to biological microscopes for viewing transparent specimens. In such an application, the profile measuring microscope 10 could have an illuminator of a type conventionally employed within such biological microscopes where the transparent specimen would be supported upon a movable mounting in the same manner as described above, the illuminator however being arranged beneath the specimen mount and in fixed optical relation to the objective assembly as described above. Accordingly, it will be immediately apparent that such a combination would include the same relative arrangement of components, with the addition of a second "objective" to focus the reticule image, as described above in connection with FIG. 1. However, in FIG. 1, the objective serves a double purpose. First as a projector to project an image of the reticule and then, as the light comes from the other direction (from below a transparent specimen), to act only as a microscope objective to inspect the reticule image. In a biological microscope with a transparent specimen, the light rays traverse the optical system in only one direction and the objective does not serve a dual function. The reticule could still be arranged at or adjacent any principal focus of the system, even within the illuminator disposed beneath the transparent specimen. Such a variation of the invention would be particularly suitable to accurately measure various dimensions of biological specimens or other transparent specimens, given their respective refractive index.
Yet another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 6 which each include a three-dimensional reticule as will be described in greater detail below. Otherwise, the optical profile measuring microscope of FIGS. 4 and 6 is indicated at 10' and includes similar components as were described above in connection with FIG. 1.
In FIG. 4, a three-dimensional reticule 60 is arranged at or generally adjacent the principal focal plane 48' within the illuminator system of the profile measuring microscope. The three-dimensional reticule 60 is also illustrated in FIG. 5. Referring to both of FIGS. 4 and 5, the reticule 60 is formed in a transparent plate 62 as a line which is inclined or slanted relative to the principal focal plane 48'. In other words, the linear reticule 60 of FIGS. 4 and 5 is slanted or inclined so that various points along its length are spaced apart along the axis 64 for the focal plane 48'. Here again, the three-dimensional reticule of the present invention may be in any of a variety of configurations. Furthermore, although the linear reticule 60 would in itself appear to be only two-dimensional, it may be seen that any point along the line is sufficiently two-dimensional in order to permit its image to be focused upon a surface portion of the specimen in the same manner described above. Accordingly, with various point portions of the linear reticule 60 being at different locations along the axis 64, it may be seen that the reticule 60 is of a three-dimensional nature at least for purposes of the present invention.
As may be best seen in FIG. 5, gradations 66 of predetermined spacing are formed along the linear reticule 60 in order to further adapt the profile measuring microscope for providing an immediate reading corresponding to vertical displacement between various surface portions. For example, the specimen 16' could be laterally positioned so that different point locations along the linear reticule 60 would be focused upon different surface portions of the specimen. With such a combination, the gradation 66 would then provide an immediate indication as to the spacing between those surface portions.
Similarly, a three-dimensional reticule 70 is illustrated in FIG. 6. Referring now to that FIGURE, the three-dimensional reticule 70 is again formed within a transparent plate 72 disposed adjacent the principal focal plane 48' of the illuminator system. Within the plate 72, two linear or planar reticule elements 74 and 76 are arranged in spaced-apart relation along the axis 64 of the focal plane 48'. Such a combination could be employed generally in the same manner as described for the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 4 but in applications for determining whether different surface portions of a specimen are at a predetermined vertical dimension. For example, if the specimen of FIG. 2 were a semiconductor device with the surface portion 54 being a base surface and the surface 52 being a coating formed thereupon, the reticule element 74 could be focused upon the base surface portion 54, focusing of the other reticule element 76 upon the surface portion 52 then indicating that the vertical displacement between the two surfaces corresponds to spacing between the reticule elements 74 and 76. Accordingly, an optical profile measuring microscope with such a three-dimensional reticule could be operated as a go-no-go gauge for determining whether vertical dimensions are at a predetermined vertical displacement. Again, it will be apparent that the profile measuring microscope could be employed for determining whether such a vertical spacing between different surface portions is within a satisfactory range if the depth of field for the optical profile measuring microscope were increased sufficiently to permit focusing of the reticule element 74 and 76 on the different surfaces as long as the vertical displacement between the two surfaces were within predetermined limits.
In each of FIGS. 4 and 6, the adjustable mounting for varying the distance between the specimen and the objective lens assembly could be employed in generally the same manner as described above in connection with FIG. 1. For example, referring to FIG. 6, the position of the specimen could be adjusted relative to the objective lens assembly so that one of the reticule elements is in precise focus upon a base surface portion of the specimen. The two-dimensional character of the reticule of FIG. 6 would then provide an indication of vertical displacement in the manner described above.
Additional variations within the method and apparatus of the present invention will be apparent from the preceding description. For example, it will be apparent that a three-dimensional reticule effect of the same type described in connection with FIGS. 4 and 6 could also be achieved with the embodiment of FIG. 1 including the linear or planar reticule 30. Within the combination of FIG. 1, a three-dimensional effect could be achieved by sufficiently increasing the depth of field for the optical profilometer 10 so that its two-dimensional reticule 30 would be capable of being focused upon different surface portions of the specimen 16 as long as the vertical displacement between those surface portions were within predetermined limits corresponding to the depth of field for the profile measuring microscope.
Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined only by the following appended claims.
|Cited Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US2607270 *||Aug 29, 1949||Aug 19, 1952||Northrop Aircraft Inc||Depth measurement microscope|
|US3191490 *||Nov 30, 1961||Jun 29, 1965||Control Data Corp||Multi-level transparency projector for searching stored data|
|US3449715 *||Mar 17, 1965||Jun 10, 1969||Philips Corp||Transmitting arrangement for the transmission of compatible single sideband oscillations|
|US3804523 *||Sep 29, 1972||Apr 16, 1974||American Hydrophilics Corp||Radiuscope thickness adaptor|
|Citing Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US4564296 *||Sep 24, 1981||Jan 14, 1986||Hitachi, Ltd.||Plate thickness measuring method and apparatus|
|US4792669 *||Dec 30, 1986||Dec 20, 1988||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Focus detecting device having two selectively movable lenses|
|US4873653 *||Sep 9, 1988||Oct 10, 1989||Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung||Microscope system for providing three-dimensional resolution|
|US4884880 *||Sep 14, 1988||Dec 5, 1989||Washington University||Kit for converting a standard microscope into a single aperture confocal scanning epi-illumination microscope|
|US4884881 *||Sep 14, 1988||Dec 5, 1989||Washington University||Single aperture confocal scanning epi-illumination microscope|
|US5020891 *||Dec 5, 1989||Jun 4, 1991||Washington University||Single aperture confocal scanning biomicroscope and kit for converting single lamp biomicroscope thereto|
|US5099354 *||Oct 29, 1990||Mar 24, 1992||Washington University||Kit for converting a slit lamp biomicroscope into a single aperture confocal scanning biomicroscope|
|US5235457 *||Nov 30, 1990||Aug 10, 1993||Washington University||Kit for converting a standard microscope into a single aperture confocal scanning epi-illumination microscope|
|US5675406 *||Oct 17, 1995||Oct 7, 1997||Hughes Electronics||Portable device for ensuring that a center thickness of a lens is within a predetermined tolerance|
|US5953126 *||Jul 16, 1997||Sep 14, 1999||Lucid Inc||Optical profilometry|
|US7242485 *||Mar 19, 2004||Jul 10, 2007||Keyence Corporation||Displacement gauge and displacement measuring method|
|US7958643 *||Jun 14, 2011||John Wu||Reticle|
|US20050030553 *||Mar 19, 2004||Feb 10, 2005||Yuji Akishiba||Displacement gauge and displacement measuring method|
|U.S. Classification||356/609, 33/297, 359/368|
|International Classification||G01B11/06, G01B11/24|
|Cooperative Classification||G01B11/0608, G01B11/24|
|European Classification||G01B11/24, G01B11/06B|
|Nov 17, 1980||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: AMPEX CORPORATION, REDWOOD CITY, CA., A CORP. OF,
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:GARRISON MARVIN C.;REEL/FRAME:003846/0703
Effective date: 19801111
|Nov 30, 1992||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: AMPEX SYSTEMS CORPORATION A DE CORP., CALIFORNIA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNOR:AMPEX CORPORATION A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA;REEL/FRAME:006334/0371
Effective date: 19920724
|Apr 26, 1995||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: AMPEX CORPORATION, CALIFORNIA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:AMPEX SYSTEMS CORPORATION, A DE CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:007456/0224
Effective date: 19950426


LRL Home - Legislation - Legislative archive system - Advanced search - Search results - Bill details
HB 298, 83rd Regular Session
Relating to prohibiting employer retaliation against employees who seek recovery of unpaid wages and procedures in wage claim hearings conducted by the Texas Workforce Commission; providing administrative penalties.
Last action: Left pending in committee
Author: Eddie Rodriguez
Joint Author: Mary González | Naomi Gonzalez
WORKFORCE COMMISSION, TEXAS
House Committee: Business & Industry (René Oliveira, Dwayne Bohac, Rob Orr, Eddie Rodriguez, Jason Villalba, Armando Walle, Paul Workman)
February 26 2013
Index to Sections Affected
Texas Legislature Online
The Legislative Archive System is a work in progress. Complete information is not available for all bills and all sessions. Visit the Legislative Archive System status page for details. Please contact the Legislative Reference Library at 512-463-1252 if you have any questions.
Information on this website is provided as a public service by the Legislative Reference Library. The Legislative Reference Library makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy and makes no warranty in regard to its use. Users assume all risk of reliance on the information included on this site.


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*Available for Microsoft Windows® only


New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ashwani Upadhaya’s plea, seeking a complete ban on liquor across the nation.
A division bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and also comprising Justice N V Ramanna, after finding no merit in his plea, dismissed it.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Upadhyay said liquor consumption is not in consonance with the Directive Principles of State Policy, under which improving public health is among the primary duties of the state. This would include prohibition of intoxicating drinks and drugs which are injurious to health.
In his petition, the BJP leader said the use of alcohol should be restricted to medical purposes and sale of liquor and intoxicating drinks and drugs must be prohibited completely or allowed with strict conditions.
In his petition, Upadhyay also said that liquor is the root cause of most road accidents, road rages, crime against women, domestic violence, rape and murder and many other social evils.


text:
When October hits, it seems everything in sight has to do with pumpkins. Whether it’s the abundance of pumpkin food in grocery stores, pumpkin spice scented candles, or physical pumpkins on porches, they’re hard to miss.
So, here’s how to embrace pumpkin season and utilize your pumpkin to its fullest potential.
Carving is the most traditional use for pumpkins. Whether you carve with friends or family, it’s a bonding experience that spices up any doorstep. Sasha Dymant ’16 started the tradition of having friends over to carve pumpkins last year and plans on doing the same for the next two years.
“My tips are not to choose a really challenging design because although you want your pumpkin to look impressive, you don’t want to work really hard and end up having a not-so-great design on your pumpkin!” Dymant said. Templates for designs can be found in books or printed from online.
2. Baked pumpkin seeds:
In order to carve pumpkins, the stringy insides and seeds need to be scooped out. But the seeds don’t have to go to waste. Seeds can be transformed into a crunchy, healthy snack by baking them. Seeds should be boiled in salt water for ten minutes, and then drizzled with olive oil and placed on a baking sheet. Then bake them in a 400 degree oven for 10-20 min or until golden brown.
3. Pumpkin food:
Pumpkin flavored food is a favorite of many. People obsess over it so much that Starbucks’ famous seasonal pumpkin spice latte came out in August this year, before people could even think about fall.
“My favorite part of the pumpkin season is trying all of the pumpkin-flavored foods around town like Trader Joe’s stocked corner of the store or pumpkin pastries from The Fresh Market,” Marisa Patel ’18 said. “Once we made pumpkin pie from scratch!”
To avoid the taste of artificial pumpkin flavors, fresh pumpkins can be roasted, cut up, and then pureed to give recipes a seasonal feel.
4. Pumpkin inspired games:
A fun way to get in the fall spirit is by playing pumpkin inspired games.
“One year my cousins came over and we competed in a pumpkin toss inspired by Modern Family where you try to launch pumpkins as far as you can,” Everett Sussman ’15 said.
It’s only pumpkin season for a little while longer, so it’s the last chance to make the most of pumpkins.

domain: food


An inverse design method has been developed to obtain an optimum mold-wall-temperature history that produces an injection-molded part with minimum residual-stress distribution. Optimization has been formulated within the framework of nonlinear least squares and a modified Gauss-Newton method with a zeroth-order regularization technique. The transient temperature field has been generated based upon a purely viscous formulation of the filling and post-filling stages, and the cooling-induced residual stresses have been calculated employing a thermo-rheologically simple, linear viscoelastic model. The present study shows that, with an optimum cooling history, maximum residual-stress levels can be reduced significantly for both unconstrained and constrained vitrification with holding pressure.
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Materials Science(all)
- Condensed Matter Physics


|Publication number||US5652543 A|
|Application number||US 08/500,005|
|Publication date||Jul 29, 1997|
|Filing date||Jul 10, 1995|
|Priority date||Jul 8, 1994|
|Also published as||EP0691734A1, EP0691734B1|
|Publication number||08500005, 500005, US 5652543 A, US 5652543A, US-A-5652543, US5652543 A, US5652543A|
|Inventors||Josef Fenk, Helmut Herrmann, Stefan Heinen|
|Original Assignee||Siemens Aktiengesellschaft|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (6), Referenced by (7), Classifications (24), Legal Events (5)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
The invention relates to an amplifier array for high-frequency signals, including a differential amplifier array having at least two transistors with emitters being coupled through a coupling element and base terminals each receiving a signal to be amplified. The invention also relates to a multiplexer configuration having at least one such amplifier array.
In amplifier arrays which have been described heretofore, for instance in the textbook by Tietze and Schenk, entitled: "Halbleiterschaltungstechnik" [Semiconductor Circuitry] 9th edition, 1991, pp. 66-73, differential amplifier stages with or without slight negative resistive feedback of the emitters are used. The input transistors are coupled directly to the input signals.
Those amplifier stages have a disadvantage which is that the amplification is effective over a wide frequency bandwidth. In principle, that bandwidth ranges from the equisignal component to the limit frequency of the amplifier, which is dictated essentially by the parasitic effects of the components. That means that not only the high-frequency useful signal but also low-frequency noise signals in the base band are amplified. Such noise signals can be coupled-in, for instance, as a result of preceding signal processing circuits, logic circuits or leakage pickup. If the amplifier stages are followed by mixers or modulators, then the noise signals in the base band are also superimposed on the useful signal in the carrier band. That is undesirable, since it reduces both the useful-signal-to-noise ratio and the dynamics.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an amplifier array for HF signals and a multiplexer configuration including the amplifier array, which overcome the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type, which suppress undesired noise components and which essentially only amplify the HF useful signal.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, an amplifier array for high-frequency signals, comprising a differential amplifier array including: configurations with high-pass characteristics, each configuration having one capacitive element with a first terminal for receiving a signal to be amplified and a second terminal, and an ohmic element having a first terminal connected to the second terminal of the capacitive element and a second terminal for a reference potential; at least two transistors having bases and emitters, the bases of the transistors each being connected to the second terminal of a respective one of the capacitive elements for receiving a respective one of the signals to be amplified; at least one capacitor coupling the emitters of the transistors; a terminal for a first supply potential, and a terminal for a second supply potential; current sources each connecting the emitter of a respective one of the transistors to the terminal for the first supply potential; first and second further current sources connected to the terminal for the first supply potential, a resistor connected between the first further current source and the terminal for the second supply potential, another transistor having an emitter and a collector defining an emitter-to-collector path connected between the second further current source and the terminal for the second supply potential; the other transistor being connected as an emitter follower transistor relative to the resistor; the emitter of the other transistor being a pickup for the reference potential; and the current sources and the further current sources being controllable by a common control signal.
Through the use of the amplifier array according to the invention, signal components below a limit frequency, which is adjustable through the dimensioning of the components, are damped at 40 decibels (dB) per decade. Due to the parasitic effects of the components, there is an upper limit frequency for the amplifier. The amplifier array functions overall as a bandpass filter.
By coupling two signal paths to the capacitively coupled emitters, either upstream of the differential amplifier stage or at the output of these emitters, it is possible in a simple way to attain an analog multiplexer in which one of two HF signals can be connected to the output.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in an amplifier array for high-frequency signals and a multiplexer configuration including the amplifier array, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic circuit diagram of a first embodiment of an analog multiplexer with two amplifier stages according to the invention;
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a second embodiment of an analog multiplexer; and
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a third embodiment of an analog multiplexer.
Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first, particularly, to FIG. 1 thereof, there is seen an analog multiplexer which includes two amplifier stages according to the invention, that are coupled at the output side, for HF signals. An amplifier stage 1, which will be described in detail, includes a differential amplifier 2 with two emitter-coupled transistors 10, 11. Emitters of the transistors 10, 11 are coupled capacitively through a capacitor 12. Each emitter is connected through a current source 13, 14 to a terminal 15 for a ground potential GND. Collectors of the transistors 10, 11 are each connected through a respective operating resistor 16, 17 to a terminal 18' for a positive supply potential VCC. Input signals of the differential amplifier 2, which are fed to base terminals of the transistors 10, 11, are each fed through a respective filter 3a, 3b with high-pass characteristics. The filter 3a, which is connected to the base terminal of the transistor 10, includes a capacitor 18 by way of which an input signal SIG1 is coupled to the base of the transistor 10, and a resistor 19 by way of which a terminal of the capacitor 18 that is connected to the base of the transistor 10 is connected to a reference potential V1. Correspondingly, a signal SIG1X, which is complementary to the signal SIG1, is coupled to the base of the transistor 11 through the high-pass filter 3b, which includes a series capacitor 20 and parallel resistor 21. In order to generate the reference potential V1, a current path including a resistor 22 with a ground-side current source 23 is connected between the potentials VCC and GND. Connected to the resistor 22 is an emitter follower transistor 24, which is connected on the emitter side through a current source 25 to the ground terminal 15. The reference potential V1 can be picked up at the emitter of the transistor 24. The current sources 13, 14 and 23, 25 are preferably connected to a common control potential BIAS1. The reference potential BIAS1 can, for instance, be derived from a reference current through a current/voltage converter.
The amplifier 1 according to the invention functions as described below. The HF useful signals SIG1, SIG1X are filtered through the use of the high-pass filter 3a, so that low-frequency noise signals are damped. The limit frequency of the high-pass filters can be adjusted by suitable dimensioning of the resistors 19, 21. The capacitors 18, 20 have relatively low capacitances, so that they can also be made in integrated form. The signals SIG1, SIG1X that are high-pass-filtered by the filters 3a, 3b trigger the amplifier 2 differentially in the push-pull mode. The capacitive emitter coupling 12 assures that the emitters of transistors 10, 11 are well coupled, at HF signal components. At low-frequency signal components, the emitters of the transistors 10, 11 are virtually uncoupled. Accordingly, the amplifier 2 has high gain for HF signal components and low gain for low-frequency signal components. The differential amplifier 2 having the capacitively coupled emitters thus acts as a further high-pass filter, having a limit frequency which is adjusted through the suitable dimensioning of the operating resistors 16, 17 in conjunction with the capacitor 12. The amplified, twice high-pass-filtered differential signal can be picked up at outputs 26, 27 that are connected to the operating resistors. The useful signal is present in low-resistance form at emitter follower transistors 29, 30, which follow the aforementioned outputs and each have one emitter-side current source 33, 34.
In other words, two respective high-pass filters 3a or 3b, 2, are connected into the input-output signal path of the signals SIG1, SIG1X, so that a damping of 40 dB per decade is obtained for low frequencies. Through the use of the emitter follower transistors 29, 30 and the parasitic elements, particularly the use of the differential amplifier 2, a practical gain up to an upper limit frequency is obtained. Thus the overall circuit is in the nature of a bandpass filter. Since the capacitors 12, 18, 20 which are used have relatively low capacitances, these capacitors can be integrated. The entire circuit can therefore be made in a single integrated circuit, without using discrete components.
In an advantageous application of the amplifier stage, an analog multiplexer can be made, as is shown in FIG. 1, from the amplifier stage 1 and an amplifier stage 4. The amplifier stage 4 receives input signal pairs SIG2, SIG2X and a control voltage BIAS2. One of the push-pull input signal pairs SIG1, SIG1X or SIG2, SIG2X can be connected to outputs 31, 32 of the multiplexer. In the case of the switchover, only one of the control voltages BIAS1 and BIAS2 is switched to be active for the current sources of the various signal paths. The collectors of the transistors of the various differential amplifiers are coupled in such a way that the operating resistors 16, 17 are common to both amplifier stages. The emitter-side current sources of the emitter follower transistors 29, 30 are triggered by a further control potential BIAS3.
Another embodiment of a multiplexer containing an amplifier stage according to the invention is shown in FIG. 2. One of the differential input signals SIG1, SIG1X or SIG2, SIG2X is connected to push-pull outputs 74, 75 as a function of control signals PD1, PD2. To that end, the signals SIG1, SIG1X are each delivered through a respective high-pass filter 66, 71 or 67, 70 to a first differential amplifier 63. This differential amplifier has transistors that have emitters coupled to one another. Instead of being connected to a current source with an impressed current, the emitters are connected to ground GND through a resistor 72. The signals SIG2, SIG2X are each supplied through a respective high-pass filter 64, 69 or 65, 68 to a second differential amplifier stage 62, having coupled emitters which are connected through a resistor 73 to ground. On the output side, collector branches of the transistors of the differential amplifiers 63, 62 are coupled to a common pair of operating resistors 76, 77. The push-pull signals that can be picked up at the resistors 76, 77 are each supplied through a further high-pass filter 58, 60 or 57, 59 to an output-side differential amplifier (50 . . . 56) with capacitively coupled emitters. The respective output signal terminals 75 and 74, are connected to operating resistors 53, 54 of this differential amplifier. The emitters of this last differential amplifier are also each connected to ground through a respective resistor 55, 56. Since the emitters are connected to ground through resistors 55, 56, 72, 73, instead of being connected to a current source with impressed current, the supply voltage to the entire circuit can be selected to be lower.
In order to adjust the operating point of the high-pass filters, one circuit for each is provided and identified by reference numeral 61. The circuit includes a current source 80, which is connected to the supply potential VCC and is in series with a collector-to-emitter path of a transistor 81 having an emitter-side resistor 82. A base-to-emitter path of a further transistor 83 is connected between the collector and the base of the transistor 81. A reference voltage for adjusting the operating point of the high-pass filters 57, 59 and 58, 60 can be picked up at the emitter of the transistor 83. Reference voltage sources 84, 85 for the remaining high-pass filters are constructed in corresponding fashion. These last reference voltage sources can each be turned off through a respective transistor 86 and 87, at which the respective signals PD1 and PD2 are applied. It is thus possible to select one of the pairs of push-pull signals SIG1, SIG1X or SIG2, SIG2X.
In the multiplexer shown in FIG. 2, three high-pass stages are incorporated into one input-output signal path. Specifically, these are the high-pass filters 67, 70; 66, 71 and 65, 68; 64, 69, the high-pass filters 58, 60 and 57, 59, and the differential amplifier 5 with emitters being coupled through the capacitor 52. In other words, the multiplexer of FIG. 2 can be used especially advantageously for low supply voltages. Even greater damping of 60 dB per decade for the signal components in the base band is achieved.
A further embodiment of an analog multiplexer, using an amplifier array according to the invention, is shown in FIG. 3. It differs from the embodiment of FIG. 2 in that instead of push-pull signals, asymmetrical signals SIG1, SIG2 are supplied. To that end, a single differential amplifier 100 is provided preceding an output-side differential amplifier stage 110 with capacitively coupled emitters and preceding high-pass filters 111, 113; 112, 114. The signals SIG1, SIG2 are coupled-in through respective high-pass filter configurations 102, 104 and 101, 103. A single reference voltage generator 107 is provided for adjusting the operating point of all of the RC high-pass filters. One of the filtered signals SIG1, SIG2 can again be picked up as push-pull signals at outputs 105, 106 of the multiplexer. It is required that only one of the signals SIG1 or SIG2 be active at a time. The other must then be switched off. This can be accomplished by suitable circuitry provisions at the circuit input. The corresponding transistor of the differential amplifier 100 is then controlled by a constant signal derived from the reference voltage generator 107. This circuit is suitable as an especially space-saving multiplexer variant for input signals with a high signal-to-noise ratio.
|Cited Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US3473137 *||Jan 5, 1967||Oct 14, 1969||Burroughs Corp||Gain stabilized differential amplifier|
|US4274060 *||Nov 13, 1979||Jun 16, 1981||Pioneer Electronic Corporation||Signal change-over amplifier|
|US5045804 *||Nov 14, 1989||Sep 3, 1991||Nec Corporation||Amplifying circuit|
|US5237526 *||Aug 29, 1991||Aug 17, 1993||The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy||High speed electronic analog computers using low-gain amplifiers|
|DE1226160B *||Jun 18, 1965||Oct 6, 1966||Siemens Ag||Differenzverstaerker mit komplementaeren Transistoren|
|GB2242089A *||Title not available|
|Citing Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US5734284 *||Oct 11, 1996||Mar 31, 1998||Northern Telecom Limited||RC circuit|
|US6337585 *||Oct 23, 2000||Jan 8, 2002||Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)||Transconductor|
|US7547993 *||Jul 16, 2003||Jun 16, 2009||Autoliv Asp, Inc.||Radiofrequency double pole single throw switch|
|US7737684||Jun 21, 2007||Jun 15, 2010||Mts Systems Corporation||Isolated magnetostrictive buffered liquid level sensor|
|US8044657||May 10, 2010||Oct 25, 2011||Mts Systems Corporation||Isolated magnetostrictive buffered liquid level sensor|
|US20050012400 *||Jul 16, 2003||Jan 20, 2005||M/A Com, Inc.||Radiofrequency double pole single throw switch|
|US20070240504 *||Jun 21, 2007||Oct 18, 2007||Mts Systems Corporation||Isolated magnetostrictive buffered liquid level sensor|
|U.S. Classification||330/51, 330/306, 330/295, 330/147, 330/252, 327/407|
|International Classification||H03F3/45, H03F3/19|
|Cooperative Classification||H03F2203/45458, H03F2203/45542, H03F3/45085, H03F2200/165, H03F2203/45702, H03F2203/45464, H03F3/19, H03F2203/45722, H03F3/45098, H03F2203/45596, H03F2203/45471, H03F2203/45544, H03F2203/45202|
|European Classification||H03F3/45S1A2, H03F3/45S1A1, H03F3/19|
|Mar 31, 1997||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, GERMANY
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:FENK,JOSEF;HERRMANN,HELMUT;HEINEN, STEFAN;REEL/FRAME:008428/0057;SIGNING DATES FROM 19950714 TO 19950721
|Dec 11, 2000||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4
|Feb 16, 2005||REMI||Maintenance fee reminder mailed|
|Jul 29, 2005||LAPS||Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees|
|Sep 27, 2005||FP||Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee|
Effective date: 20050729


Richmond Hill in housing
The Richmond Housing Authority RHA provides decent affordable housing for low and very low-income residents of Richmond through our federally funded housing programs:. Claims against the Richmond Housing Authority are filed in the City Clerk's Office, and must be filed within six months of the incident. Home Departments Housing Authority. Claims Claims against the Richmond Housing Authority are filed in the City Clerk's Office, and must be filed within six months of the incident.
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text:
Hopium - Cut
New music you should get around.
After the mysterious Golden Features released an EP a couple of weeks ago with little more than his name and some quality sounds, we're all about the unknown at the moment. So when Melbourne duo Hopium sent us Cut, with its beautiful, striking video clip and brooding, post-industrial/darkwave beats, we got pretty excited. We can't wait to hear more from these guys, but for now take in Cut in all its glory below, and follow Hopium on FACEBOOK // SOUNDCLOUD.


text:
review by Maryom
One day a man walks into a bank and holds up the staff and customers at gun point. He isn't interested in taking their money or jewellery but demands that they each hand over an item of sentimental value - "the most significant, memory-laden, gushingly sentimental object in your possession." The items offered are various - an old watch, an envelope, photographs...the narrator's wife Stacey hands over a calculator that she's used to make all the important decisions in her life. With them he claims to be taking 51% of the victims souls - and if they don't grow them back, they will die.
Following the robbery strange things begin to happen to the victims -all related in some way to the items they handed over: a tattoo comes to life; a man is buried when his family home collapses; and the narrator's wife Stacey begins to shrink - at first it's hardly noticeable
I'm coming to Andrew Kaufman's work in reverse order - having started by reading his latest novel Born Weird. I'd read reviews and discussions about The Tiny Wife on the web with some readers adoring it while others found it too strange, and had it on my 'track down and read list' so was delighted to be offered a review copy. I'm definitely in the 'adored it' camp as it appealed to my love of the short, quirky and thought-provoking.
It's rather difficult to discuss the Tiny Wife without giving away too much. I think the best way to describe it is as a modern fable or even fairy tale. In fairy tales, it's a wicked witch or goblin that steals away souls and the victims must travel to the ends of the earth to regain them; here souls are stolen in a very modern way - a bank robbery - and the victims find the answers to their plight within themselves. It isn't a cosy, comforting story but rather dark in the way some older fairy tales can be; the sort that makes the reader question what they would do in such a situation; what's your most treasured possession? and what does that say about you? There are probably as many interpretations of this book as there are readers!
It's a short book - 88 pages - so quick to read but providing food for thought long after it's finished. As with the Tiny Wife herself, size isn't everything!
Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - The Friday Project
Genre - Adult fiction, Folk tales
Buy The Tiny Wife

domain: library


text:
: Complete License, Single seat
*Please contact us for multi-seat licensing
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- Edit the colors of shapes (smart objects).
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domain: design


text:
Production of Nano Adsorbent to Measure Environmental Poisons
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian researchers from University of Mohaqqeq Ardebili succeeded in the measurement of fenitrothion in various samples of soil, water, plasma, etc. by producing hydrophobic nano adsorbents and reducing fenitrothion.
Fenitrothion is an insecticide and anti-rodent material which is widely used in farms and fields.
"Being aware of the difficulty in the measurement of organo-phosphorous poisons, we tried to present more suitable and cost-effective methods for this purpose," Dr. Habibollah Eskandari, one of the researcher, stated. "Therefore, the purpose of the study was to propose a simpler method with lower facility costs in order to measure very low amounts of fenitrothion. The method should have the necessary sensitivity and the required selectivity in order to measure fenitrothion in various samples."
According to Dr. Eskandari, the ratio of surface to volume has increased significantly in the particles due to the preparation and the implementation of polymeric adsorbent nano-spheres. In addition, the extraction and rinsing processes were carried out at the least possible time with higher performance.
Among the characteristics of the research, mention can be made of the addition of small amount of magnetite to the environment containing the magnetized polymer in order to overcome the low magnetization of the polymer. Moreover, the drying of the adsorbent phase collected after the extraction is among the other characteristics of the research. It minimizes the uncertainty in the rinsing phase volume in order to carry out the measurement, and it also prevents the repeated rinsing in order to separate the dye derivative component from the adsorbent phase.

domain: literature


text:
Asheville council members voted to maintain police funding for at least another three months, setting up a tense clash with protesters.
Police made at least four arrests in Asheville Sunday as protestors continued to fill the streets following the City Council’s rejection of major funding cuts to the city’s police department.
On June 30, the City Council voted to fully fund the Asheville Police Department for three months. Following the vote, protesters angered by the council’s decision marched in the streets calling for APD to have their funding cut in half.
“Police, the way that it’s militarized, represents … a visualization of the systematic oppression that’s been going on against Black people,” a demonstrator told WLOS.
The crowd, initially 50-people strong, swelled as cyclists provided a protective perimeter around marchers. The demonstrators blocked downtown streets and ultimately shut down Interstate 240, which surrounds the mountain city, before disbanding. Organizers vowed to hold more demonstrations.
Organizers made good on their promise over the weekend.
Demonstrations on Saturday resulted in minor injuries to four law enforcement officers plus the arrests of six protestors.
Activists returned on Sunday, assembling in Pack Square Park in downtown Asheville. Standing with interlocked arms, the protestors occupied the park until 1 a.m.
Earlier in the evening, the Asheville Police Department posted on Twitter that they had spoken with the event’s organizers, and notified them that anyone who obstructed streets, trespassed or caused injury to anyone would be arrested.
Police told WLOS they made four arrests during the protest Sunday, citing demonstrators’ reported use of bicycles and vehicles to block streets.
Tense Moments Saturday
The most tense moment of the protests, however, came Saturday night, when police received a call from a downtown hotel reporting that demonstrators were blocking guests from entering the hotel and were breaking front windows, APD spokesperson Christina Hallingse told The Asheville Citizen Times.
When officers arrived, the demonstrators moved into the streets. Bicyclists surrounded one APD vehicle, Hallingse stated. The vehicle’s driver warned protestors that they would be arrested if they failed to move. When they did not move, officers started making arrests.
“When they began doing so, a group of protestors jumped on top of officers and began assaulting them,” Hallingse said. “Four officers received minor injuries.”
Police arrested six demonstrators, ranging in age from 19 to 29 years old. Police records indicated that of the six, four were from Asheville, one was from Swannanoa and one was from West Virginia.
Five of the protestors were charged with misdemeanors, including failure to disperse on command, resisting a public officer, impeding traffic and disorderly conduct. One demonstrator, Auden David Miller of Asheville, was charged with assaulting a government official, which is a class A1 misdemeanor.
Similar to other “defund the police” demonstrations across the country, Asheville advocates seek to cut the police department’s budget and reallocate funds to community arbitrators and mental health experts, who they say can defuse situations before they spiral into criminal activities and arrests.
According to WLOS, the Asheville City Council voted 5 to 2 on June 30 to only fund city operations for the first quarter. By doing so, the council hoped to give themselves and the city time to decide how to handle the police department budget for the rest of the year.
Council members told WLOS, that for the most part, they all agreed that policing procedures need to change in Asheville. That said, they didn’t want to rush their decision.
“It would be completely irresponsible just to cut the police budget by 50% and figure it out later,” Councilwoman Julie Mayfield said.
“If you don’t want the police to respond to maybe an attempted suicide, someone needs to be identified. Who will go and try and help that person? And, right now, there’s no plan for any of that,” Vice Mayor Gwen Wisler said.
Wisler added that a community input and engagement session will be held sometime in the coming weeks.


With just two months to go before the launch of the much-anticipated Green Line light-rail route that will connect the Twin Cities' downtowns, construction crews are back at work fixing faulty concrete work.
Drivers along the University Avenue route on the new Central Corridor route can expect traffic delays through mid-May as the work is under way, the Pioneer Press reports.
The work at 11 St. Paul intersections from Hamden Avenue to Rice Street began Monday at Vandalia Street at University Avenue. The works affects University Avenue intersections at: Hampden, Vandalia, Prior, Fry, Snelling, Pascal, Griggs, Lexington, Grotto, Dale and Rice.
Crews will be working 10 to 12 hours a day, Monday through Saturday, the Met Council says.
At issue are recently laid concrete panels that are already showing cracks. Construction was to have been complete by now. Test runs of the trains began in February.
Metropolitan Council officials say Chicago-based Walsh Construction is at fault, and the company had offered to seal the cracks, but the Council demanded that contractor entirely replace the damaged panels. Walsh, not the Met Council or taxpayers, will pay for the repairs, the Star Tribune reports.
The grand opening of the 11-mile, $957 million light-rail route is still scheduled for June 14. Met Council officials have estimated that by 2030 more than 40,000 passengers will board the Green Line every weekday.


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NAGPUR: Amid coal sector complaining of environment laws hampering country's energy security, private players allotted coal blocks are reportedly recklessly felling trees to clear the area for mining and not undertaking the mandatory afforestation to compensate the loss.
Such cases came up during a meeting held by Ministry of Coal's Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment at Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL) headquarters on Friday. Many members cited such instances by private coal block owners. This committee is headed by union minister of coal, with members of parliament from different mining areas being the members. The issue of private players was raised by representatives from Orissa, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Jharkhand. It was also pointed out that the private miners in these states had simply cleared the area of trees but there is no sign of any plantation in lieu of it, said a source. However, no such instance was found in Vidarbha where WCL operates.
Sources said there was also hints of involvement of NGOs in the racket. PSUs get the plantations done through state forest development corporations. However private companies employ NGOs. In the latter case, the plantation often happens only on paper, said the source. At the same time, coal PSUs have been asked to increase their quantum of compensatory afforestation to at least 3-4 times the number of trees felled for mining against double at present. A hike in the quantum of compensatory afforestation could lead to a larger area under green cover.
The committee decided to seek PMO's help in allowing partial expansion of mines without environmental clearance. Apart from starting new projects, expanding existing ones also needed an approval from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF). Coal PSUs have been insisting that expansion of at least 25% from the existing capacity should be allowed without any approval. The proposal has already been submitted to the PMO and now the union coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal will be again taking it up for early consideration.
Given the falling coal output, it is necessary to have early approvals but expansion of some of the key mines is pending for want of a green signal from MOEF, said a source. The proposal to allow upto 25% of capacity expansion was mooted almost year ago with the PMO being intimated too. However it has not been considered yet. If approved, it may lead to a sizable increase in coal production, sources said.

domain: news