The present invention relates to covers and in particular covers for beds which are characterized by the presence of two or more groups of strips, wherein each group comprises two or more strips arranged relative to one another in different directions and in particular woven together.

Currently covers are known from the prior art which are characterised e.g. by a casing of finely woven cotton material, and which are filled with feathers and/or down. Also known are covers with which small balls of synthetic fibres are used as a filler material. In addition there are so-called quilted covers with which a more or less voluminous layer of non-woven fabric as a filling is quilted with outer woven layers. Moreover, in particular in southern countries, simple covers, e.g. made of wool, folded into bed sheets are used as covers.
All of these variations of covers have in common a uniform and continuous outer casing and outer boundary surfaces.
This basic design principle was broken away from for the first time by the ClimaBalance product range according to EP 1 499 221. This innovative cover concept is characterised by the presence of a number of ventilation openings which are respectively spanned by meshwork with a defined air permeability. However, these are also a constant and continuous layer of a flexible insulating material, even if it is interrupted by ventilation openings.
This feature of known cover designs comprising a continuous layer of flexible insulating material results in the cover only being able to adapt to the body contours of the person sleeping under it to a certain extent. Moreover, the quantity of filler required in order to achieve a specific insulation effect is unsatisfactorily high. Furthermore, the appearance of the covers of the prior art is consistently understated, and at best determined by the geometric arrangement of the quilting seams and ribs. Apart from the aforementioned ClimaBalance covers, with the covers from the prior art there is no satisfactory dissipation of the heat and moisture generated by the body.
With regard to the prior art discussed above, the object forming the basis of the present invention is to provide a cover which allows improved adaptability, e.g. to the body contours of a person sleeping underneath. A further object underlying the present invention is to provide a blanket which allows a reduction of the filler weight while maintaining the same insulation effect. Furthermore, the present invention is based upon the object of providing a cover which guarantees satisfactory warmth and moisture dissipation, and so provides air-conditioning of the space taken up by the sleeper under the covers. In addition, the present invention has set itself the object of providing a cover which is characterised by a clearly different appearance from the present prior art. Moreover, the present invention is based upon the object of providing a cover which when used in hospitals offers advantages in practical use. Finally, the object underlying the present invention is to provide all of the advantageous properties described in this paragraph in equal measure without any associated disadvantages relating to handling or cleaning.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to the provision of sleeping bags and cushions which also have improved air-conditioning and adaptability to the body contours of the person sleeping in or on them.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to the provision of items of clothing which are based upon the design principle according to the invention and also have the aforementioned advantageous properties essential to the invention (contour adaptation, reduction of the filler weight, air-conditioning and attractive visual appearance).
In addition, the object underlying the present invention is to provide methods of producing the aforementioned products.

Cover and related products, and production thereof


A bone material for hydration with a liquid is provided, the bone material comprising a coherent mass of milled and demineralized bone fibers, the coherent mass having no binder disposed in or on the coherent mass. In some embodiments, a bone material for hydration with a liquid is provided, the bone material comprising a coherent mass of cartridge milled, lyophilized and demineralized bone fibers, the coherent mass having no binder on the coherent mass. In some embodiments, a method of implanting a bone material is provided, the method comprising contacting the bone material with a liquid, the bone material comprising a coherent mass of cartridge milled, lyophilized and demineralized bone fibers, the coherent mass having no binder disposed in or on the coherent mass; molding the bone material into a shape to implant the bone material; and implanting the bone material at the target tissue site.

It is estimated that more than half a million bone grafting procedures are performed in the United States annually with a cost over $2.5 billion. These numbers are expected to double by 2020. Both natural bone and bone substitutes have been used as graft materials. Natural bone may be autograft or allograft. Bone substitutes include natural or synthetic materials such as collagen, silicone, acrylics, calcium phosphate, calcium sulfate, or the like.
There are at least three ways in which a bone graft can help repair a defect. The first is osteogenesis, the formation of new bone within the graft by the presence of bone-forming cells called osteoprogenitor cells. The second is osteoinduction, a process in which molecules contained within the graft (e.g., bone morphogenic proteins and other growth factors) convert progenitor cells into bone-forming cells. The third is osteoconduction, a physical effect by which a matrix often containing graft material acts as a scaffold on which bone and cells in the recipient are able to form. The scaffolds promote the migration, proliferation and differentiation of bone cells for bone regeneration.
Demineralized bone matrix (DBM) has been shown to exhibit the ability to induce and/or conduct the formation of bone. It is therefore desirable to implant and maintain demineralized bone matrix at a site which bone growth is desired.
Bone fiber based-demineralized bone matrices for implantation exhibit improvements in mechanical properties, including cohesiveness, fiber length, fiber diameter or width, fiber aspect ratio, or a combination of multiple variables.
Oftentimes, when DBM fibers are made they lack cohesiveness and tend to fall apart or become loose in the package or during processing. In order to reduce this tendency, a binder (e.g., glycerol) is commonly added to keep the DBM fibers together. The inclusion of a binder can lead to additional manufacturing expenses and further complicate regulatory approval processes.
Therefore, there is a need for DBM compositions, devices and methods that allow osteogenesis, osteoinduction and/or osteoconduction. DBM compositions, devices and methods that can be made from bone material that does not need a binder would be beneficial. Furthermore, DBM compositions, devices and methods that easily allow hydration of the demineralized bone matrix would be beneficial.

Milled bone graft materials and methods of use


A double balun circuit is provided by connecting two pairs of circut types. The first circuit, a distributed divider circuit, includes first and second pluralities of field effect transistors, a common input transmission line, and a first and second output transmission lines. The common input transmission line is disposed to successively couple the input electrodes of each transistor of both the first and second pluralities of transistors. The output lines are disposed to successively couple the output electrodes of the respective ones of the plurities of transistors. Each output transmission line is coupled to one of the pair of output terminals of the circuit. A pair of inverter circuits comprised of an input transmission line, a plurality of field effect transistors, and an output transmission line having input and output electrodes successively coupled by respective input and output transmission line networks are coupled between the output electrodes of each one of a pair of divider circuits, such that an input electrode at the input side of the inverter circuit is coupled to one of the outputs of the divider circuit, whereas an input terminal coupled to the output side of the inverter is coupled to the output of the second one of the divider circuits. This particular arrangement provides an active double balun which may be used in a double baluns mixer.

This invention relates generally to monolithic microwave integrated circuits and more particularly to circuits which provide balanced to unbalanced transitions.
As is known in the art, a balun is a circuit which provides a balanced to unbalanced transition or vice versa. A balun generally has four ports, a common port, two branch ports, and an isolated port which is usually shorted or terminated in a resistance for isolation. As a type of transformer, two of such baluns can be used in place of a pair of transformers in a broadband microwave doubly balance mixer. An input balun ideally produces in response to a single input signal two equal magnitude output signals which differ from each other by 180.degree. of phase, whereas an output balun combines two input signals with a 180.degree. phase difference to produce a single output signal.
Passive baluns which are known in the art include planar and non-planar baluns. Non-planar baluns, however, are most often used to construct doubly balanced mixers because most planar balun circuits such as hybrids are very limited in bandwidth. Examples of non-planar baluns include a strip conductor disposed over a dielectric substrate having underlying said strip conductor a tapered ground plane conductor. A pair of such sections when placed between a diode ring will provide a double balanced mixer, generally referred to as a ring mixer. A star mixer uses a second type of non-planar balun which includes an input r.f. strip conductor and an input L.O. strip conductor bridged over a diode mixer and spaced from a common patterned microstrip ground plane conductor. The problems with these particular approaches is that they are not easily fabricated using monolithic microwave integrated circuit techniques, since MMIC fabrication is a planar process and such approaches are non-planar in nature.
One technique of providing planar or MMIC compatible balanced mixer circuits other than the limited bandwidth hybrid approach is to simulate a center tap transformer by using center tap, double wound, spiral or rectangular microstrip inductors. Such elements at microwave frequencies, however, have relatively low values of Q (i.e. lossy elements), which increase overall mixer noise figure. Moreover, isolation, magnitude, and phase characteristics of such mixers degrade at microwave frequencies particularly above X-band.
Another approach to a MMIC balanced mixer is an extension of the r.f. push-pull amplifier as shown in a paper entitled "A Monolithic GaAs FET R.F. Signal of Generation Chip" by Van Tuyl, ISSCC Digest of Technical Papers Feb. 14, 1980, pp. 118-119. Such a circuit uses the inherent 180.degree. phase shift produced by a field effect transistor to create two 180.degree. out of phase signals which then are used to drive a push-pull amplifier stage that acts as a mixer when a local oscillator signal is provided as a gain modulating control. Since the above described circuit uses active devices such as the field effect transistors to produce balanced signals, the circuit provides overall gain and noise performance characteristics which are acceptable at low r.f. frequencies. However, at microwave frequencies where the physical dimensions of various electrical connections between the active devices become a significant fraction of a wavelength, the balanced performance quickly degrades with increasing frequency. Thus, it is difficult for such a circuit to provide good isolation or balanced operation above a few GHz.


Core 1 β3-galactosyl transferase specific molecular chaperones (Cosmc-1) and nucleic acids encoding the core 1 β3-galactosyl transferase specific molecular chaperones or proteins having core 1 β3-galactosyl transferase specific molecular chaperone activity are described. The polynucleotides encoding Cosmc-1 can be used to transform or transfect host cells for producing substantially pure forms of active forms of core 1 β3-galactosyl transferase and/or for use in an expression system for post-translational core 1 glycosylation of proteins or peptides produced within the expression system, for example, glycosylation via a β3-linkage, of an N-acetylgalactosamine linked to a serine, threonine or other linking amino acid on peptides or proteins requiring O-, N-, or S-linked glycosylation.

The present invention is related to core 1β3-galactosyl transferase specific molecular chaperones ("Cosmc-1"), and nucleic acids encoding the Cosmc-1 proteins, and to methods of use thereof.
The O-glycans in human glycoproteins and mucins are important in many aspects of cellular metabolism and cellular interactions, including those involved in leukocyte trafficking (1,2). The biosynthesis of mucin-type O-glycans in animal mucins and other glycoproteins is orchestrated by a set of N-acetylgalactosaminyl-transferases that transfer GalNAc to specific serine and threonine (Ser/Thr) residues to generate the sequence GalNAcα1-Ser/Thr, also known as the Tn antigen (3). Subsequently, this precursor is acted upon by the core 1 β3-galactosyltransferase (C1β3Gal-T) to generate the core 1 disaccharide O-glycan Galβ1-3GalNAcα1-Ser/Thr (4,5), also known as the T antigen or Thomson-Friedenrich antigen. Unlike most glycosyltransferases, which occur in gene families, a single human gene on 7p14-p13 encodes the C1β3Gal-T (4). Other core structures for mucin-type O-glycans are known, but core 1 is the common core structure found on human erythrocytes and most lymphocytes and it serves as a precursor for the branched core 2 O-glycans Galβ1-3(GlcNAcβ1-6)GalNAcα1-Ser/Thr found on human leukocytes (6). The factors regulating expression of core 1 are being intensely studied, since expression of Tn antigen is recognized as a tumor-associated antigen for breast and colon carcinomas (7,8), and the inability to generate the core 1 O-glycan is potentially a contributing factor to several autoimmune diseases, including IgA nephropathy (9), Tn-Syndrome (10), and Henoch-Schönlein purpura (11).
The human T leukemic cell line Jurkat cells lack C1β3Gal-T activity and generates truncated O-glycans bearing the Tn antigen (12, 13). Thus, a potential alteration in the expression of the C1β3Gal-T is predicted to have global changes on the O-glycan structures in multiple glycoproteins. As a result, there has remained a need in the field for complete identification of all steps and requirements for formation of fully active core 1 β3-galactosyl transferase. Such a need is hereby fulfilled as demonstrated hereinbelow.

Core 1 β3-galactosyltransferase specific molecular chaperones, nucleic acids, and methods of use thereof

The Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma


This disclosure describes techniques for generating relatively low regulated power supply voltages over a relatively wide range of input voltages. The techniques for generating the regulated voltages may include using at least two different pass transistors to regulate an output voltage of a voltage regulator. Both the turn-on threshold voltage and the maximum drain-to-source voltage rating of the first pass transistor may be greater than the corresponding characteristics of the second pass transistor. Using two different pass transistors with two different turn-on threshold voltages and two different maximum drain-to-source voltage ratings may increase the range of voltages over which a voltage regulator can generate a relatively low output voltage relative to the range of voltages that would be allowable if a single type of pass transistor were used.

On-chip power supplies are used to power a variety of circuits, such as, e.g., digital cores. An on-chip power supply may include a linear voltage regulator that uses a relatively large input voltage to generate a lower output voltage that is stable for use by a digital core. As the speeds of digital cores continue to increase, the supply voltages used by digital cores continue to decrease. Designing power-efficient power supplies for low-voltage digital cores and other types of low-voltage loads can present significant challenges.

Wide input range, low output voltage power supply


Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, devices and a system for automatic device failure recovery. The method mainly includes: sending a recovery request message to a management device or a server; obtaining a program file used for failure recovery from the management device or the server; and performing the failure recovery by using the program file. With the implemention of the present invention, a device may recover from a failure fully automatically. No intervention of a local user is needed in the whole failure recovery process. Therefore, the implementation of the recovery is more convenient and more flexible. Meanwhile, the failure emergency recovery of the device may be implemented automatically, which makes the failure recovery processing safer and more reliable, and effectively reduces the cost of the local maintenance of a device.

A device, such as a device at a Central Office of an operator or a device of a user at home, when the device is in operation, may be managed by a management device in operation. The management device communicates with the device with a management protocol to manage and maintain the device. The management and maintenance of the device include software upgrading, failure diagnosing, and configuration management.
In general, a device in operation may also establish a connection with a server, and request downloading upgrading software, or request data configuration. Such a server may merely be a file storage server without any management function.
The connection between the device and the management device or between the device and a server is shown in FIG. 1. The device is directly connected to the management device or the server via a Wide Area Network or a Local Area Network. The device communicates with the management device or the server via a communication protocol.
All firmware or programs needed for operation by the device are stored in a memory, such as a FLASH memory. Data stored in the memory will not be lost when the memory is powered off. The firmware or a program includes a boot program (BOOTP) and application firmware or an application program. When the device is powered on or reset, the BOOTP solidified in the FLASH memory is first executed, and then an application program is executed.
To ensure the security of a device, the BOOTP of the device should not be changed by being software upgraded on line. However, application firmware or an application program may be upgraded on line in general. Therefore, the device is able to start with the BOOTP except that a hardware failure occurs in the device.
In practical application, when the firmware or the program of a device is upgraded by the management device, or the device requests a server for downloading the firmware or the program and upgrades with the firmware or the program, the device may not start normally using the newly-upgraded firmware or the program if an error occurs in a file transmission process or in an upgrade process. The error in the file transmission process may be caused by insufficient file checkout. The error in the upgrade processes may happen when writing the firmware or the programs into the FLASH memory of the device.
Besides the errors occur in the file transmission process or in the upgrade processes, the firmware or the program needed for operation by the device may also be damaged if there is a writing operation to the FLASH memory while the device is in operation. As a result, the device may not start normally.
Therefore, dual backups are generally adopted for the firmware or the program to be upgraded in a device to ensure a reliable startup of the device. When one copy of the dual backups is damaged, the device may operate with the other copy of the dual backups.
Since the dual backups of the programs occupy much space of the FLASH memory, the space of the FLASH memory is required to be large enough, which increases the cost of the hardware of the device.
For solving the problems mentioned above, another solution is adopted at present. The solution includes restoring the device with a local emergency restoration measurement when the device starts abnormally. For example, a WEB emergency page is popped up in the BOOTP of the device to request the user to re-upgrade the programs.
It is easy to find that the device is required to have the interface and means of local maintenance and management, and the emergency restoration of the device may not be fulfilled automatically without the cooperation of the user. Therefore, it is required that the user should know correlative techniques well, i.e. the restoration processing for a failure of the device may be implemented only if the user masters certain network knowledge. If the user may not carry out the corresponding restoration, an operator is required to offer an on-site maintenance service. Therefore, the maintenance cost increases greatly.

Method, device and system for automatic device failure recovery


The present invention provides cotton plants, cotton tissues, and cotton seeds that include the MON15985 event, which confers resistance to Lepidopteran insect damage. Also provided are assays for detecting the presence of the MON15985 event based on the DNA sequence of the recombinant construct inserted into the cotton genome that resulted in the MON15985 event and/or the genomic sequences flanking the insertion site.

This invention relates to a previously commercialized Lepidopteran resistant cotton plant event, known as MON531, expressing a chimeric form of a Cry1A insect inhibitory protein. Cotton plants are susceptible to insect infestation in all areas of the world in which the plants are cultivated. Recombinant DNA technology has been applied to cells of the cotton plant for about a decade, and cotton plants which exhibit improved characteristics as a result of the insertion of heterologous DNA sequences have been produced using recombinant DNA technology since about the early 1990's. Some of the improvements exhibited by recombinant cotton plants includes herbicide tolerance, improved fiber characteristics, and resistance to insect infestation.
The first recombinant cotton plants protected from Lepidopteran insect infestation were produced, approved by regulatory agencies for commercial distribution, and subsequently commercialized in 1996. These cotton plants contained a DNA sequence encoding a chimeric Cry1A lepidopteran insect inhibitory protein, primarily from the MON531 event. This particular trait, along with an adjacent linked DNA sequence encoding a selectable marker, has been transferred by conventional breeding into a number of cotton varieties, each of which are particularly suited for enhanced production of cotton in diversified geographic locations throughout the world. These recombinant varieties have enjoyed a tremendous commercial success for a number of reasons. One reason is that yields per acre of cotton production have on average improved dramatically because of reduced insect infestation as a result of the presence of the insect inhibitory protein present within each cell of the cotton plant. Another principle reason for the commercial success has been the reduced labor and expense due to the reduction in applications of chemical pesticides required to protect the crop from insect infestation. In addition, the reduction in chemical pesticide applications improves the overall health of the environment by avoiding the annihilation of insects or arachnids and other species which present no material threat to the crop in the field, reduces the load of chemical pesticide toxins applied to the environment, and allows the farmer to avoid the risks associated with the potentially harmful effects of exposure to chemical pesticides.
It soon became apparent that a product with a broader range of efficacy against insects would be desirable. While it may be seen as simple in view of the chemical arts to provide a combination of insect inhibitory proteins for this purpose and possibly to delay or prevent toxin resistance from being developed in the target insect population, in reality the development of a plant meeting these characteristics is problematic, and requires a great deal of resources, technical ability, and trial and error experimentation in order to obtain a single recombinant plant transformation event which results in a morphologically normal plant exhibiting the desired combination of insect inhibitory proteins produced in sufficient levels and at appropriate times during the plant growing season and in the tissues upon which target pest species feed.
Thus, there existed a need for the development and characterization of cotton plants exhibiting the characteristics of enhanced insect resistance as a result of the presence of two or more insect inhibitory proteins produced from DNA sequences incorporated into the genome of the plant cells. Furthermore, it would be desirable for the insect inhibitory traits (i) to segregate independently of one another, (ii) to not cause any adverse effects upon the physiology and metabolism of the plant, and (ii) to have little if any adverse effect upon the yield or quality of the fiber produced from said plant.
It is advantageous to be able to detect the presence of a particular event in order to determine whether progeny of a sexual cross contain a transgene of interest. In addition, a method for detecting a particular event may be helpful for complying with regulations requiring the pre-market approval of the sale of seeds to produce transgenic crop plants and foods derived from such plants, for example, or for use in environmental monitoring, monitoring traits in crops in the field, or monitoring products derived from a crop harvest, as well as for use in ensuring compliance of parties subject to regulatory or contractual terms.
It is possible to detect the presence of a transgene by any nucleic acid detection method known in the art including but not limited to thermal amplification (PCR™) or DNA hybridization using nucleic acid probes. Typically, for the sake of simplicity and uniformity of reagents and methodologies for use in detecting a particular DNA construct that has been used for transforming various plant varieties, these detection methods generally focus on frequently used genetic elements, such as promoters, terminators, marker genes, etc., because for many DNA constructs, the coding sequence region is interchangeable. As a result, such methods may not be useful for discriminating between separate events produced from the same DNA construct or very similar constructs. These methods can be used, however, if the sequence of chromosomal DNA adjacent to the inserted DNA ("flanking DNA") is known. An event-specific thermal amplification (PCR™) assay is discussed, for example, by Windels et al. (Med. Fac. Landbouww, Univ. Gent 64/5b:459-462, 1999), who identified glyphosate tolerant soybean event 40-3-2 using a thermal amplification primer set spanning the junction between the insert and flanking DNA. Specifically, one primer included sequence from within the insert and a second primer included sequence from flanking DNA. Such a method was also developed for event MON531 and is the subject of a separate patent application. It would be desirable to have such a method that would detect the presence of the new event of the present invention, even in the presence of event MON531. These and other advantageous advances have been achieved by the present invention.

Cotton event MON15985 and compositions and methods for detection thereof


Novel inhibitors of cathepsin S, K, B, and L, the pharmaceutically acceptable salts and N-oxides thereof, their uses as therapeutic agents and the methods of their making.

Cysteine proteases represent a class of peptidases characterized by the presence of a cysteine residue in the catalytic site of the enzyme. Cysteine proteases are associated with the normal degradation and processing of proteins. The aberrant activity of cysteine proteases, for example, as a result of increased expression or enhanced activation, however, may have pathological consequences. In this regard, certain cysteine proteases are associated with a number of disease states, including arthritis, atherosclerosis, emphysema, osteoporosis, muscular dystrophy, inflammation, tumor invasion, glomerulonephritis, periodontal disease, metachromatic leukodystrophy and others.
An increase in cathepsin activity such as, for example, cathepsin S, contributes to the pathology and/or symptomatology of a number of diseases such as, for example, autoimmune disorders, including, but not limited to, juvenile onset diabetes, multiple sclerosis, pemphigus vulgaris, Graves' disease, myasthenia gravis, systemic lupus erythemotasus, irritable bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis and Hashimoto's thyroiditis, allergic disorders including but not limited to, asthma, and allogeneic immune responses, including, but not limited to, organ transplants or tissue grafts. Cathepsin S is also implicated in disorders involving excessive elastolysis, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (e.g., emphysema), bronchiolitis, excessive airway elastolysis in asthma and bronchitis, pneumonities and cardiovascular disease such as plaque rupture and atheroma. Cathepsin S is implicated in fibril formation and, therefore, inhibitors of cathepsin S may be of use in treatment of systemic amyloidosis.
The activity of, for example, cathepsin B in synovial fluid is significantly elevated in osteoarthritis models (F. Mehraban Ann. Rheum. Dis. 1997; 56, 108-115). Similarly, cathepsin K is a critical protease in synovial fibroblast-mediated collagen degradation (W.-S. Hou (et al.) Am. J. Pathol. 2001, 159, 2167-2177). Thus, inhibition of Cathepsin B and K, for example, is a useful method for the treatment of degenerative joint diseases such as, for example, osteoarthritis. Cathepsin K inhibition, for example, leads to inhibition of bone resorption (G. B. Stroup (et al.) J. Bone Mineral Res. 2001, 16, 1739-1746). Cathepsin K inhibitors are, therefore, useful for the treatment of osteoporosis.
It is known in the art that cathepsins play an important role in the degradation of connective tissues, the generation of bioactive proteins and antigen processing. They have been implicated in osteoporosis, muscular dystrophy, bronchitis, emphysema, viral infection, cancer metastasis and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease. Recently, increased interest in cathepsin inhibitors has been generated with potential therapeutic targets, such as cathepsin K or cathepsin L for osteoporosis and cathepsin S for immune modulation (W. Kim., K. Kang. Expert Opin. Ther. Pat. 2002, 12, 419-432). An increase in cathepsin K or B activity contributes to the pathology and/or symptomatology of a number of diseases. Accordingly, molecules that inhibit the activity of cathepsin protease are useful as therapeutic agents in the treatment of such diseases.

Compounds and compositions as cathepsin inhibitors


A solid-state laser device includes a neodymium laser pump source capable outputting a pump beam of about 1.1 .mu.m wavelength, and a holmium laser being pumped by said 1.1 .mu.m pump beam to generate an output laser beam of about 3 .mu.m wavelength.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of solid-state lasers and, more specifically, to a holmium laser pumped with a neodymium laser.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In solid-state lasers, a light-emitting element is added as a dopant to a compound that serves as a crystalline or amorphous host. The characteristics of the solid-state laser depend on the dopant and crystalline compounds that are selected. The best light emitting dopant materials include chromium, neodymium, erbium, holmium, cerium, cobalt and titanium. One of the most common types of solid-state lasers is that which is made from the neodymium dopant.
All laser materials have characteristic energy levels and transitions so that light is emitted on certain transitions when they drop from excited states. Likewise, the materials absorb light at characteristic wavelengths when they are in the ground state or other low levels.
Absorption can be at a narrow or broad range of wavelengths depending on the transitions involved. Laser operation on the holmium .sup.5 I.sub.6 to .sup.5 I.sub.7, and .sup.5 I.sub.7 to .sup.5 I.sub.8 transitions have been reported at near 2.9 and 2.1 .mu.m in several different host crystals. Holmium has few absorption bands for pumping in the visible and near-IR (infrared). Consequently, laser performances using broad spectral emission pump sources have been poor except where additional sensitizer ions have been used. The .sup.5 I.sub.8 to .sup.5 I.sub.6 holmium absorption spectra for a typical laser host material (Yttrium Ortho-Aluminate) is shown in FIG. 1. In the example, the crystal is 7.8 cm long and contains 2% (atomic %) holmium. Due to the potential medical applications and other commercial uses of 3 .mu.m wavelength lasers, a need exists for an efficient, high power, solid-state pumping source for a holmium laser.

Holmium laser pumped with a neodymium laser

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


There are provided a flux-cored wire for welding different materials, a method for laser welding of different materials and a method for MIG welding of different materials which can improve tensile shear strength of a welded joint portion and peeling strength of a welded portion interface in welding aluminum or an aluminum alloy material and a steel material. The flux-cored wire has a cylindrical sheath comprising an aluminum alloy which contains Si in an amount of 1.5 to 2.5% by mass and Zr in an amount of 0.05 to 0.25% by mass, with the remainder being aluminum and inevitable impurities, and a flux filling inside this sheath and containing cesium fluoride in an amount of 20 to 60% by mass, and the packing fraction of the flux being 5 to 20% by mass of the total mass of the wire.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flux-cored wire for welding different materials for use in welding different materials, for example, transport machinery such as automobiles and components for building materials and the like, and a method for laser welding of different materials and method for MIG welding different materials using this flux-cored wire for welding different materials, especially to a flux-cored wire for welding different materials suitable for use in welding between aluminum or an aluminum alloy material and a galvanized steel plate, a method for laser welding of different materials and a method for MIG welding of different materials.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, in transport machinery such as automobiles, steel materials are used as materials for vehicle bodies and the like. Since steel materials used as components of transport machinery and the like are exposed to rain water and the like during use, antirust galvanizing is performed on their surfaces. Accordingly, a waterproof effect is provided by an oxide film formed on the galvanized surface, while zinc is corroded (sacrificial protection) preferentially to iron even when there are flaws, pin holes or the like on the surface of a steel material.
Recently, from the perspective of protecting the environment, research and development of hybrid automobiles, electric automobiles and the like has been rapidly conducted, weight reduction of vehicle bodies and the like of these automobiles are required to improve fuel efficiency and for other purposes. Moreover, in order to achieve weight reduction of vehicle bodies and other parts, constituting part of steel materials used as materials by aluminum or aluminum alloy materials (hereinafter aluminum materials and aluminum alloy materials are collectively referred to as aluminum alloy materials) has been studied.
Therefore, producing vehicle bodies and the like requires different-material bonding between a steel material and an aluminum alloy material. Examples of different-material bonding techniques between a steel material and an aluminum alloy material include a method of bonding by MIG welding or laser welding between base materials while feeding a flux-cored wire (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-68290).
In this prior art, the compositions of the outer sheath of the flux-cored wire is defined to be Si: 1 to 13%, and a fluoride-based flux containing no chloride is charged into the outer sheath at a packing fraction of 0.3 to 20% by mass.
In addition, in order to improve the bonding strength of a bonded structure of different materials, a filler metal in which the amount of Si contained is 1.5 to 6.0%, and further Zr is contained as an additive component in an amount of 0.1 to 0.2% by mass has been suggested (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-224145).
MIG (Metal Inert Gas: MIG) welding is a method of feeding an inert gas such as argon or helium to the vicinity of a site to be bonded as a shielding gas and generating an arc between a welding wire and the site to bond a steel material and an aluminum alloy material. This MIG welding is characterized in that welding operation is carried out in a state of being blocked from the atmosphere, and therefore welding proceeds without being affected by oxygen in the air. In contrast, laser welding comprises feeding a welding wire to a joint portion while this welding wire and joint portion are irradiated with laser light so that the welding wire and the joint portion are thermally fused by the laser light.
However, the aforementioned prior art has the following problems: in a structure such as a vehicle body of an automobile, in the case where a steel material and an aluminum alloy material are butt-welded, tensile stress acts between base materials when an external force is applied to the welded joint portion. Meanwhile, in the case where, for example, a steel material and an aluminum alloy material are overlapped and welded, and when an external force is applied to the welded joint portion, tensile stress acts between the base materials, and at the same time peeling stress which pulls the two base materials away from each other acts on the weld interface. Therefore, when different materials are welded, not only tensile shear strength but also high peeling strength (peel strength) is required for the welded joint portion. However, when a steel material and an aluminum alloy material are bonded by welding as in a conventional case, a highly brittle intermetallic compound is produced at the bonded portion, which causes the problem that the tensile shear strength and peeling strength of the bonded portion are lower than in the case where the same type of components are welded.
In contrast, in the case where different-material welding is performed by using the flux-cored wire disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-68290, production of this highly brittle intermetallic compound can be suppressed, and the thickness of the intermetallic compound layer can be reduced.
However, the tensile shear strength after welding is increased in an area where the amount of Si contained in the filler metal is high, but peeling strength is disadvantageously lowered. Moreover, although peeling strength is improved in an area with a low amount of Si and peeling does not occur in the intermetallic compound layer, when there is a large difference in heat expansion between the aluminum material and the steel material (for example, the case where the thickness of the aluminum material is larger than that of the steel material, etc.), cracks disadvantageously occur in the welded portion (welded metal portion) due to the thermal shrinkage of the welded portion.
In contrast, as in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-224145, it is also possible to keep the amount of Si in a solid filler metal to a relatively low level of 1.5 to 6% and further add Zr as an optional component as appropriate.
However, when the amount of Si is relatively high, or depending on the main compositions and packing fraction of the flux in the flux-cored wire, formation of an intermetallic compound layer cannot be effectively suppressed, and high peeling strength cannot be obtained.

Flux-cored wire for welding different materials, method for laser welding of different materials and method for MIG welding of different materials


A semiconductor wafer and its manufacturing method are provided where the current driving capability of a MOS transistor can be sufficiently enhanced. An SOI layer wafer in which an SOI layer (32) is formed has a <100> crystal direction notch (32a) and a <110> crystal direction notch (32b). The SOI layer wafer and a supporting substrate wafer (1) are bonded to each other in such a way that the notch (32a) and a <110> crystal direction notch (1a) of the supporting substrate wafer (1) coincide with each other. When bonding the two wafers by using the notch (32a) and the notch (1a) to position the two wafers, the other notch (32b) of the SOI layer wafer can be engaged with a guide member of the semiconductor wafer manufacturing apparatus to prevent positioning error due to relative turn between the wafers. Thus an MOS transistor with a sufficiently improved current driving capability can be fabricated on the semiconductor wafer with the two wafers positioned in crystal directions shifted from each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a conventional SOI (Silicon On Insulator or Semiconductor On Insulator) wafer, an oxide film layer resides on one main surface of a supporting substrate wafer made of, e.g. a silicon substrate, and an SOI layer resides on the top surface of the oxide film layer. Such SOI and oxide film layers are formed by bonding to the supporting substrate wafer an SOI layer wafer that has a silicon substrate with an oxide film formed on its main surface and then removing part of it.
After the supporting substrate wafer and the SOI layer wafer are bonded together, an unwanted portion of the SOI layer wafer is removed by adopting a method such as SMART CUT(Registered Trademark) or ELTRAN(Registered Trademark); refer to Patent Document 1 shown below.
When a MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistor is formed in the SOI layer, it is arranged so that its channel direction is parallel to a <100> crystal direction of the SOI layer, for example. It is known that arranging the channel direction in parallel with <100> crystal direction enhances the current driving capability of the P-channel MOS transistor by about 15 percent and also reduces the short-channel effect.
It is thought that the current driving capability is enhanced because the hole mobility in <100> crystal direction is larger than that in <110> crystal direction, and that the short-channel effect is reduced because the value of the boron diffusion coefficient in <100> crystal direction is smaller than that in <110> crystal direction.
Now, with SOI wafers, the SOI layer wafer, in which SOI and oxide film layers are formed, may be bonded to the supporting substrate wafer with their crystal directions shifted at 45° (or 135°) with respect to each other. Specifically, the two wafers are bonded together in such a way that a <100> crystal direction of the SOI layer and a <110> crystal direction of the supporting substrate wafer coincide with each other. The reason is shown below.
(100) wafers cleave along {110} crystal planes. Accordingly, when the SOI layer wafer and the supporting substrate wafer are bonded together so that the <100> crystal direction of the former coincides with the <110> crystal direction of the latter, the wafer can be cleaved, for experiments and studies, along {110} cleavage planes of the supporting substrate wafer 1 that forms a large part of the wafer thickness. On the other hand, in the SOI layer whose crystal direction is shifted, an MOS transistor can be formed so that its channel direction is parallel with a <100> crystal direction.
Thus, when cleaved, the supporting substrate wafer 1 breaks along <110> crystal direction, while the SOI layer breaks along <100> crystal direction. In this way, bonding the two wafers with their crystal directions shifted from each other provides the advantage that a section along the MOS transistor channel direction can be easily exposed.
The following list shows prior art reference information related to the present invention:
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-134374,
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-153603 (1997), and
Non-Patent Publication 1: G. Scott et al., "NMOS Drive Current Reduction Caused by Transistor Layout and Trench Isolation Induced Stress," (US), IEDM, 1999.
A conventional SOI wafer is manufactured by a method shown below, for example.
First, an SOI layer wafer and a supporting substrate wafer are prepared, both of which are a (100) wafer having a (100) plane as a main surface. Next, a notch (or an orientation flat) is formed at a <100> crystal direction edge of the SOI layer wafer and a notch (or an orientation flat) is formed at a <110> crystal direction edge of the supporting substrate wafer. Then, the two substrates are bonded together in such a way that the <100> crystal direction of the SOI layer and the <110> crystal direction of the supporting substrate wafer coincide with each other.
In this bonding process, the two wafers are bonded so that the notch of the supporting substrate wafer and the notch of the SOI layer wafer coincide with each other. However, when the two wafers are positioned by utilizing these notches only, the SOI layer <100> crystal direction and the supporting substrate wafer <110> crystal direction may not be precisely aligned.
With such a positioning error between wafers, the MOS transistor channel direction cannot be precisely aligned with the SOI layer <100> crystal direction and a deviation is caused between the two. This is because MOS transistors are formed on the basis of the position of the supporting substrate wafer.
Then the current driving capability of the MOS transistors cannot be enhanced satisfactorily. Furthermore, electric characteristic variations will occur among MOS transistors formed on the surfaces of different SOI wafers.

Semiconductor wafer and manufacturing method thereof


A liquid crystal display (LCD) of high visual quality and having a high density wiring arrangement is provided. The LCD can accommodate up to four addressing and/or control conductors placed across the display and between columns and rows of display electrodes. If four conductors are utilized, those conductors can be arranged as a stacked pair placed between rows and a stacked pair placed between columns of display electrodes. At areas where one stacked pair of conductors intersect the other, a plurality of cross-over regions exists which provide vias for routing the conductors through the region as well as for connecting the conductors to a control circuit within each region. Each control circuit includes a pass-gate transistor for receiving two addressing conductors and a memory element capable of receiving two power conductors. Thus, by using stacked pairs of conductors, the LCD hereof provides complete routing of two addressing conductors and two power conductors in the stacked pairs to their respective destinations in order to achieve buffered, long-term charge at each display electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a liquid crystal display of high visual quality and more particularly to a high density wiring arrangement for controlling the liquid crystal display.
2. Background of the Relevant Art
The visual quality of an image depicted upon a liquid crystal display (LCD) is often determined by several factors such as contrast, resolution and speed. Operating as light modifiers, pixels within the LCD act to either transmit a remote, ambient light source or block that source. The difference between the amount of light transmitted versus that which is blocked is often called the "contrast ratio." A LCD having a higher contrast ratio is capable of producing images that are sharper and clearer than LCDs having lower contrast ratio. High contrast ratio can be achieved by ensuring the control circuit for each pixel area is either completely on or completely off. Recent advances in thin-film transistor (TFT) technology allows the control circuitry for each pixel to fully drive the corresponding pixel to either an on or off state. A LCD having TFTs placed adjacent each pixel to enduce full operational range of the pixel is often referred to as an "active matrix" display.
TFTs are also advantageously used to increase the speed of an object depicted on the LCD. A quickly moving object or image can be registered without "ghosting" or "smearing" the image only if the amount of current and/or voltage to the TFT is carefully controlled. Furthermore, attention must be paid to minimizing cross-coupling between control conductors or wires feeding the TFTs. One method in which to improve the visual quality of a moving image and thereby reduce ghosting and smearing is to ensure the TFT associated with each pixel turns on and off quickly. While the speed of any particular LCD is somewhat dependent upon the amount of time it takes the liquid crystal media to respond to an electric field, speed is more so dependent upon the rapidity by which the control circuit or LCD operates. By maintaining TFT operation within its linear range, the pixel or display electrode attached to the source-drain path of the TFT can be modulated more quickly to ensure rapid appearance or disappearance of corresponding electric field. It is important that the TFT not be driven deeply into the saturation region, for operation in the saturation region will lengthen the response time of the display electrode.
For many LCD applications such as flat screen televisions and computer monitors, it is important that the display exhibit high resolution. To increase resolution, pixel area or display electrode area associated with high resolution LCDs must be extremely small. In some instances, the pixel area must be maintained below 0.024 sq. mm. It is equally important that a large number of display electrode are placed in the smallest area possible. Further, the conductors or wires which control the plurality of TFTs must be both transparent and extremely small in diameter or cross-sectional area. Transparent conductors are well known and are generally made of indium tin oxide. Even though the conductors are transparent, densely placed display electrodes generally require more conductor area in order to accommodate the increased number of pixels. Even if only a couple conductors are needed per pixel, the conductors will nevertheless occupy a substantial portion of the LCD total area. This leaves less area available for the pixel or display electrodes which are often forced to occupy the same plane as the conductors. Each display electrode must be spaced further from adjacent electrodes and must also be reduced in size in order to accommodate the control conductors placed between the electrodes. An increase in spacing can cause a noticeable reduction in the viewing quality. The image boundary may appear granular instead of being sharp and focused.
To more fully understand some of the concepts and problems outlined hereinabove, FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded view of LCD 10 according to a prior design. LCD 10 includes a pair of substantially transparent glass panels 12 and 14, and on the outer surface of each glass panel is a polarizer filter. Polarizer filter associated with panel 12 is denoted as reference numeral 16, and polarizer filter associated with panel 14 is denoted as reference numeral 18. On the inside surface of glass panel 12 is a common electrode 20, often called the backplane of the LCD, which extends across virtually the entire display surface. On the inside surface of glass panel 14 is a lithography produced topography comprising a matrix or grid of orthogonally placed conductors, active devices (or TFTs), and separate electrodes (or display electrodes). The conductors are used to carry video data and addressing signals sent from a remote source. Specifically, electrodes which receive video data are designated as bit lines 22, wherein the bit lines are shown spaced parallel from each other. Video data on one bit line can be read into a select display electrode 26 by a word line 24 spaced parallel to other word lines and substantially perpendicular to each bit line. Word lines 24 are thereby used to randomly address a select display electrode 26 with video data contained with a respective bit line 22. The addressing scheme and methodology is well known and generally follows standard dynamic random access memory (DRAM) multiplexing techniques. Placed adjacent each display electrode 26 is a pass-gate transistor 28 which, depending upon the voltage state upon its gate terminal, transmits bit line video data to electrode 36. Additional details regarding the layout and configuration of bit lines 22, word lines 24, display electrodes 26 and pass-gate transistors 28 are provided hereinbelow.
Placed over the inside surface topography of conductors 22 and 24, over transistors 28 and over display electrodes 26 is a dielectric layer (not shown) of sufficient insulative quality to electrically isolate bit lines 22, word lines 24, and transistors 28 from each other and from an adjacent liquid crystal medium 30. When brought together, liquid crystal medium 30 is in contact with the dielectric material and is in electric field contact with display electrodes 26 which are voided of dielectric material immediately thereabove by standard etching techniques. It is understood that alignment coatings and/or passivation coatings (not shown) are generally placed between electrode 20 and liquid crystal medium 30 as well as between each display electrode 26 and liquid crystal medium 30 to ensure current flow will not occur through the medium and that only electric field will be selectively present.
LCDs operate by either allowing the transferral of light or by blocking the transferral of light between the panels at select regions, often called "pixel regions" generally represented by the geometric size of individual display electrodes 28. Incoherent ambient light can be transmitted or reflected into one surface of LCD 10 allowing filter 18 to polarize light 32 to a coherent, linearly polarized state. The polarized light can either be re-aligned such that it passes through second filter 16 or, if electric field is present, the light can be blocked by second filter 16. Accordingly, sections of light or pixel regions can present themselves as relatively light or relatively dark areas necessary for visual contrast detection.
Referring now to FIG. 2, a three-dimensional circuit schematic of the active control matrix, including pass-gate transistors associated with a prior design LCD is shown. A plurality of cells forming a matrix are shown, each cell having a display electrode 26 connected to the source-drain path of pass-gate transistor 28. Each pass-gate transistor is activated by an appropriate voltage level upon its gate. Pass-gate transistors are manufactured upon glass panel 14 according to standard semiconductor processing and may be configured as thin-film, n-channel, enhancement-type MOSFETs. Once the voltage upon word line 24 exceeds a threshold amount, pass-gate transistor 28 allows video data within respective bit line 22 to pass through the source-drain path and onto display electrode 26. Common electrode 20 provides a uniform voltage state upon one side of liquid crystal media 30 such that electric field selectivity is entirely controlled by the voltage state of respective display electrodes 26 and its associated bit line 22 voltage.
Referring now to FIG. 3, a two-dimensional circuit schematic of the prior design active control matrix of FIG. 2 is shown. By activating a select word line 24, respective pass-gate transistor 28 allows a conductive path to form between an activated, associated bit line 22 and display electrode 26. Absent a buffering source placed on the charged terminal of the pass-gate transistor adjacent each display electrode, the data placed thereon may slowly discharge from its charged state to an illegible voltage state. Thus, many conventional control matrices must be periodically refreshed to ensure legible charge remains on the display electrode. Refresh generally forces, for example, a VGA controller to continuously update unchanged pixels thereby consuming valuable bandwidth access into the DRAM and reducing high performance LCD drawing operations.
In an effort to overcome the problem of having to continuously refresh unchanged pixels, a memory element 34 may be placed between pass-gate transistors 28 and display electrode 26 as shown in FIG. 4. As described in co-pending patent application Ser. No. 08/055,174 filed concurrently herewith, memory element 34, capable of receiving power, not only provides static memory but also buffers charge to the display electrode thereby increasing contrast and speed of the LCD. Coupled to each memory element 34 are a pair of conductors 36 and 38 capable of receiving power signals such as VDD and ground. Thus, each power signal or supply requires a conductor to extend a spaced distance from respective bit and word lines 22 and 24. Memory element consumes relatively small amounts of real estate when compared with the total area taken by the added power conductors extending across numerous, densely packed pixel elements. To compensate for the added conductor area, each pixel within the array or matrix must be reduced in size and the spacing between pixels increased. As described above, reduction in pixel size and increase in spacing adds to the granularity of the image and reduces the sharpness and fine line detail at the image boundary. Unless a solution can be found, high quality, high resolution LCDs having static memory and charge buffering capability cannot be obtained.

Liquid crystal display device with octagonal cell providing increased wiring density


A vehicle door check is provided including an arm connected with the door along a first end and with the vehicle along a second end, the arm adjacent the second end having a slot with first and second ends; a track of the vehicle for receiving the arm second end having a striker plate and an entrapment section; a rotary detent plate slidably mounted in the arm slot having its own first and second arms and a locking member; a spring for biasing rotation of the detent plate in a first angular direction and toward the slot first end; a contact surface fixed upon the arm interacting with the detent plate second arm whereby motion of the door from a closed position to a checked open position causes the detent plate locking member to contact the striker and pivot the detent plate in a second angular direction opposite the first angular direction and to move the detent plate toward the slot second end and wherein further movement of the door toward a checked open position causes the detent plate to pivot again in the first angular direction to place the locking member in the track entrapment section of the track with a low threshold of force on the door in the opening direction; and wherein the door is thereafter checked open even when the vehicle is on a declining surface toward the first end of the slot.

Most van- or minivan-type automotive vehicle have a sliding side door on the passenger side of the vehicle. Typically, this door has an upper arm and a lower arm which connect the sliding side door with the vehicle. The lower arm has one end fixed with the door and a second end with a roller which rides within a track provided on the side of the vehicle. To keep the door in an open position when the door has been fully opened, typically the track in which the lower arm roller rides will have a slight mound or hump so that once the door is opened, it will remain in the opened position. The above-noted detent system works well, with the exception when the van is parked on declining terrain wherein the gravitational force exerted on the door will often cause it to close, even after it has been pulled back to a fully open position.
A second type of detenting system provides a positive acting latch which will hold the door in its open position even on an incline. However, this type of detenting system requires that there be a release handle which is activated by the vehicle operator when the operator wishes to close the door. Therefore, the door cannot return to the closed position by a simple pull upon the door. Efforts are now being made to offer automatically opening and closing doors on van-type vehicles. With an automatically opening van door, typically there is a power latch which retains the van door in the open position. To close the door automatically or manually, the latch must again be manipulated before the door can be pulled closed. Therefore, if a vehicle operator automatically opens the door to the checked position and then exits the vehicle, there must be some manual means to unlatch the door to allow it to return to the closed position. The automatic latching and unlatching for the check position or the latch for the manual-type system to allow door checking require the added expense of a release mechanism. It would be advantageous if a door checking system was arranged wherein the door would automatically be detented in the open position, would maintain that detented position even when the vehicle is parked on a steep slope and would allow the use of manual or automatic door opening systems wherein the door could then be closed without the expense of an added automatic release system or handle and would also allow the door to close by simply manually pulling the door closed.


A circuit for regulating an electrical parameter to be servo-controlled by transferring electricity between two networks (11, 12), wherein the circuit (10) is a bidirectional current circuit providing electrical isolation between the two networks (11, 12). The circuit is particularly applicable to space applications.

The invention relates to a circuit for regulating an electrical parameter while transferring energy between two networks.
The circuit of the invention may be used whenever an electrical parameter needs to be servo-controlled by means of a transfer of energy. It is applicable, in particular, to consumer, aeronautical, and space applications. In space, this type of servo-control is used for platforms (power conditioning), BAPTA control (for "Bearing and Power Transfer Assembly"), attitude control by means of inertia wheels, etc. . . . ), and also for payloads (electrical power supply, aiming control, active thermal control, etc.).
The following functions may be mentioned, inter alia:
platform:
charging/discharging batteries;
energy conditioning by inertia wheels;
power conditioning; and
controlling DC stepper type motors; and
payload:
converters and regulators for equipment;
low voltage electronic power conditioner (EPC) using a solid state power amplifier (SSPA) and high voltage EPC using a traveling-wave tube amplifier (TWTA);
radar and altimeter power supply; and
motor control in pointing mechanisms for antennas, radio meters, lasers, etc. . . . .
There are two ways in which a parameter may be regulated by an electrical structure:
by series or parallel resonance using a transistor or thyristor H bridge; and
pulse width modulation (PWM) control.
In both cases, energy is transferred without metallic isolation whenever it is necessary to combine the advantages of static and dynamic transfer (energy efficiency of better than 90%).
Resonant structures associate an LC circuit with a set of switches constituting H-bridges, with each bridge being connected to the electricity network exchanging energy flow.
In one possible embodiment, the switches are thyristors ("Series-Resonant Energy Convergence With Multi-Segment Current Waveforms For Bipolar Energy Flow" by J. B. Klaassens and J. Van Duivenbode, published in PESC 88 RECORD, April 1988). The LC resonant network is the link between the two networks exchanging energy, with the other networks being disconnected by the switches.
The servo-controlled parameter is generally the voltage of the energy-receiving network.
Another type of application described in the above-mentioned document (PESC 88) defines an energy conditioner between two inertia wheels. Each wheel is represented by an inductor and a current source. The resonant network is completed by capacitance C common to both networks.
These applications are characterized by the flow of sinewave type currents.
PWM structures are characterized by controlling the width of switch pulses and by a flow of triangular wave type currents.
The object of the invention is to reduce electrical losses as much as possible in circuits of this type.
In another prior art document entitled "A Bidirectional High Power Cell Using Large Signal Feedback Control With Maximum Current Conduction Control (MC.sup.3) For Space Applications", published in IEEE 1986, the principle of bidirectional energy transfer is analyzed and control by means of a state variable in a high signal system is described for "smart" PWM, with the advantages of this technique being described for a battery regulator. The large signal analysis and the mathematical module are described by using a DC state variable model over one sampling period. The behavior under MC.sup.3 current control is tested and its equivalent model is verified by simulation.
However, such a circuit provides no metallic isolation: there is no ground decoupling, and this is very important, in particular for obtaining noise immunity.

Electrical regulation and energy transfer circuit


Various embodiments provide for the creation and validation of resource templates that may be used to provision or launch resources or resource instances. In various embodiments, a user can use values for various resource instance parameters to create a resource template, and can request validation of that template. A validation service can perform multiple validations, including independent validation of all template parameters, as well as validations of cross-parameter dependencies. If any errors are detected that cause the template to be invalid, information for those errors can be returned to the user such that the user can make the appropriate changes to enable the template to be valid. Templates can be re-validated at future times, such as at launch time or for use with a new service, to ensure the template remains valid under those circumstances.

As an increasing number of applications and services are being made available over networks such as the Internet, an increasing number of content, application, and service providers are turning to technologies such as remote resource sharing and cloud computing. Cloud computing, in general, is an approach to providing access to electronic resources through services, such as Web services, where the hardware and/or software used to support those services is dynamically scalable to meet the needs of the services at any given time. A user or customer typically will rent, lease, or otherwise pay for access to resources through the cloud, and thus does not have to purchase and maintain the hardware and/or software to provide access to these resources. The resources can be physical resources or virtual resources provided through virtualization. In some instances, a user can utilize a template for new resources to be launched in such an environment, in order to enable multiple resources to be launched consistently and without a manual configuration each time. In the event of an incorrect or invalid template, however the user often must spend a significant amount of time on the complex task of debugging the template.

Template validation for virtualized resources


An archery peep sight cover envelops an archery peep sight to keep the archery peep sight clean of debris and prevents misalignment of the peep sight during transportation or storage for an archery bow. The archery peep sight cover includes a sight-cover body, a first string-attachment extrusion, a second string-attachment extrusion, and a string-receiving slit. The sight-cover body envelops the peep sight. The first string-attachment extrusion and the second string-attachment extrusion secure the archery peep sight cover to a bow string of the archery bow. The string-receiving slit receives the bowstring and the attached peep sight such that the peep sight is positioned within the sight-cover body and the bowstring frictionally engages the first string-attachment extrusion and the second string-attachment extrusion.

Archery peep sights are a very popular aiming device used by archers. A peep sight, which is usually string mounted to the user's bow, allows the user to improve performance and effectiveness with their bow, allowing the archer to see through where a bowstring would be for a more accurate shot. Peep sights need to be installed correctly in order for the user to maximize the use of the peep sight. However, due to weather conditions, incidental contact, or other external factors, the peep sight can be misaligned due to these external factors.
The present invention is an archery peep sight cover. The present invention is used to protect the peep sight aperture from inclement weather, debris and incidental contact that would obscure or misalign the peep sight. The present invention attaches to a bow string for an archery bow to cover the peep sight during transportation or storage of the archery bow. The present invention is made from silicone, thermoplastic or similarly flexible materials and is available in multiple colors in preferred embodiments.


The present disclosure relates to host cells containing a recombinant polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide where the polypeptide transports cellodextrin into the cell. The present disclosure further relates to methods of increasing transport of cellodextrin into a cell, methods of increasing growth of a cell on a medium containing cellodextrin, methods of co-fermenting cellulose-derived and hemicellulose-derived sugars, and methods of making hydrocarbons or hydrocarbon derivatives by providing a host cell containing a recombinant polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide where the polypeptide transports cellodextrin into the cell. The present disclosure relates to host cells containing a recombinant polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide where the polypeptide transports a pentose into the cell, methods of increasing transport of a pentose into a cell, methods of increasing growth of a cell on a medium containing pentose sugars, and methods of making hydrocarbons or hydrocarbon derivatives by providing a host cell containing a recombinant polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide where the polypeptide transports a pentose into the cell.

Biofuels are under intensive investigation due to the increasing concerns about energy security, sustainability, and global climate change (Lynd et al., 1991). Bioconversion of plant-derived lignocellulosic materials into biofuels has been regarded as an attractive alternative to chemical production of fossil fuels (Lynd et al. 2008; Hahn-Hagerdal et al. 2006). Lignocellulosic biomass is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin.
The engineering of microorganisms to perform the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol efficiently remains a major goal of the biofuels field. Much research has been focused on genetically manipulating microorganisms that naturally ferment simple sugars to alcohol to express cellulases and other enzymes that would allow them to degrade lignocellulosic biomass polymers and generate ethanol within one cell. However, an area that has been less well studied is that of sugar transporters. An understanding of the regulation of sugar transport and the genetic engineering of microorganisms to have improved sugar-uptake ability will greatly improve efficiency (Stephanopoulos 2007). Furthermore, other types of proteins involved in the regulation of cellulase expression and activity remain to be fully explored.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, also known as baker's yeast, has been used for bioconversion of hexose sugars into ethanol for thousands of years. It is also the most widely used microorganism for large scale industrial fermentation of D-glucose into ethanol. S. cerevisiae is a very suitable candidate for bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels (van Maris et al., 2006). It has a well-studied genetic and physiological background, ample genetic tools, and high tolerance to high ethanol concentration and inhibitors presented in lignocellulosic hydrolysates (Jeffries 2006). The low fermentation pH of S. cerevisiae can also prevent bacterial contamination during fermentation.
Unfortunately, wild type S. cerevisiae cannot utilize pentose sugars (Hector et al., 2008). To overcome this limitation, pentose utilization pathways from pentose-assimilating organisms have been introduced into S. cerevisiae, allowing fermentation of D-xylose and L-arabinose (Hahn-Hagerdal et al., 2007; Brat et al., 2009; Wisselink et al., 2007, 2009; Wiedemann and Boles 2008; Karhumma et al., 2006). However, efficient conversion of pentose sugars into biofuels is limited by multiple issues including cellular redox imbalance, low influx of pentose phosphate pathway, and lack of efficient pentose transport into the cell (Hector et al., 2008).
In addition, both natural and engineered microorganisms show reduced ethanol tolerance during xylose fermentation as compared to glucose fermentation (Jeffries and Jin 2000). Combined with the lower fermentation rate, the reduced ethanol tolerance during xylose fermentation poses a significant problem in fermentation of sugar mixtures containing the high concentrations of glucose (˜70-100 g/L) and xylose (˜40-60 g/L) present in cellulosic hydrolysates. Since microorganisms utilize glucose preferentially, at the time of glucose depletion (when cells begin to use xylose), the ethanol concentration is already high enough (˜35-45 g/L) to further reduce the xylose fermentation rate. As a result, sequential utilization of xylose after glucose depletion because of "glucose repression" is a significant challenge to be overcome in order to successfully utilize mixed sugars in cellulosic hydrolysates.
Thus, a need exists for the identification of additional genes that are critical for the degradation of lignocellulose and for their use in the engineering of microorganisms for improved growth on lignocellulose and uptake of compounds resulting from lignocellulose degradation. A further need exists for improved methods of efficient conversion of pentose sugars into biofuels and of mixed sugar fermentation for the production of biofuels.

Methods and compositions for improving sugar transport, mixed sugar fermentation, and production of biofuels

The Regents of the University of California

The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois


A semiconductor die package having an elastomeric substrate with a first support frame and a second support frame. The first support frame has a cavity within which a semiconductor die is placed. The second support frame may have an optional cavity. The optional cavity in the second support frame may have an optional rigid structure. The rigid structure may have a heating element formed within it.

Integrated circuits, including a semiconductor die such as charge-coupled-devices (CCD) and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors have commonly been used in photo-imaging applications. Such sensors typically contain thousands of pixel cells in a pixel array on a single chip. Pixel cells convert light into an electrical signal that can then be stored and recalled by an electrical device such as, for example, a processor.
Semiconductor dies are typically packaged and inserted into imaging devices such as, for example, a digital camera. FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one conventional semiconductor die package 100. The semiconductor die package 100 includes a ceramic substrate 10 attached to a molded frame 16. A semiconductor die 14 containing an array of pixels is typically placed on the ceramic substrate 10, within a cavity 12 defined by the molded frame 16. The molded frame 16 supports an infrared (IR) lens 18 and a lens holder mount 20. The lens holder mount 20 supports a lens barrel 22, which ultimately includes at least one lens 32.
In operation, light radiation enters the lens 32 of the semiconductor die package 100. Harmful IR radiation is filtered out by the IR lens 18. Light radiation is then adsorbed and image signals created by the array of pixels of the semiconductor die 14, which converts the photons from the light radiation to electrical signals. Wire bonds 13 conduct electrical output signals from the semiconductor die 14 to external circuitry (not shown). The external circuitry may include processing circuits for storing, compressing, manipulating, or displaying an acquired image.
While the package illustrated in FIG. 1 works well, the ceramic substrate 10 is expensive, and adds to the overall cost of the semiconductor die package 100. Additionally, the ceramic substrate 10 is fragile due, in part, to its rigidity. The package 100 is also prone to breaking during processing and handling, thereby lowering yield. Additionally, because the ceramic substrate 10 is rigid, it restricts the compactness of the semiconductor die package 100. Thus, a semiconductor die package which is more cost effective while preserving the rigidity of the overall semiconductor die package is desired.

Method of forming a support frame for semiconductor packages


To provide a wound dressing having absorbability and improved so as not to be adhere to wounds, a wound dressing 10 is provided, which includes a perforated material 20 having a top face and a bottom face and having plural through-holes 21, and an absorbent material 30 disposed on the top face of the perforated material, and in which at least the bottom face of the perforated material 20 is coated with a silicone resin 40 except leaving at least a part of the through-holes so as not to block up all the through-holes, and at least a part 31 of the absorbent material facing the through-holes of the perforated material is coated with the silicone resin 40, and to allow fluid penetration from the bottom face side of the perforated material into the inside of the absorbent material.

In treatment for burns, pressure ulcers and other injury, heretofore used are wound dressings such as gauze, cotton, multilayer pads and so on comprising layers of absorbent fibers, for the purpose of protecting the wounds and for absorbing body fluid from the wounds.
However, these wound dressings may damage the wound surface in changing after their application thereto, thereby often causing pain, bleeding and delayed cure of wounds.
On the other hand, wound dressings preferably adhere to the wound area and the wound-surrounding skin for their good handleability for fixation to the area and for the purpose of preventing the wound-surrounding skin from maceration owing to leakage of body fluid.
However, the adhesion of wound dressings comprising a conventional adhesive layer (for example, acrylic adhesive, rubber-base adhesive) tends to be too strong, and therefore they may firmly adhere to the wound area in their exchange and may thereby damage the fragile, neogenetic epidermal tissue to cause delayed cure of the tissue.
Under the background, the material of a wound dressing to be in direct contact with a wound area is preferably one having a low adhesion to body tissues. Especially preferred is a material of a silicone resin having a low affinity for bodies.
Examples of wound dressings comprising an adhesive silicone resin are described. For example, Patent Reference 1 discloses a wound dressing in which a silicon gel seals around all components of a network of an elastic net-like reinforcement but leaving through-holes of the reinforcement. According to the technique of Patent Reference 1, the silicone resin constituting the wound contacting material solves the problem of adherence to wounds.
However, the wound dressing described in Patent Reference 1 has no absorbability, and is therefore troublesome since it must be combined with some absorbent material. In case where an absorbent material is combined with the wound dressing, the absorbent material may be exposed out through the part of the through-holes of the wound dressing. Therefore, the wound dressing involves a risk of easy adhering to the neogenetic tissue of the wound area in that part of the through-holes thereof.
Patent Reference 2 teaches a wound dressing produced by coating one surface of an air-impervious and body fluid-impervious perforated layer material (carrier material) with a silicone gel. This wound dressing comprises an absorbent material and is therefore free from the trouble in Patent Reference 1 where the wound dressing must be combined with an additional absorbent material. However, in the wound dressing described in Patent Reference 2, the applied absorbent material is kept exposed out through the part of the through-holes, like in the wound dressing described in Patent Reference 1, and therefore, Patent Reference 2 could not still solve the problem of easy adhering of the wound dressing to neogenetic tissues.    Patent Reference 1: Japanese Patent 2525215    Patent Reference 2: Japanese Patent 3677283

Wound dressing and method for producing it


An answer support system generates a target cause to aid in solving a current problem. Upon receiving known problem symptoms of the current problem from the customer, a search of problem causes is conducted in a knowledge database to find potential causes corresponding to the known problem symptoms. If conventional techniques cannot determine the target cause of the current problem, an attribute is selected which is not among the attributes associated with the known problem symptoms in the database. The attribute selection is based on the attribute deemed most likely to identify the target cause of the current problem from among the potential causes found in the knowledge database.

1. Technical Field
Various embodiments of the present invention relate to computer support services, and more particularly, to an answer support system to provide customer service support.
2. Description of Related Art
As computer and software products become increasingly complex many organizations have established customer support departments to solve problems and answer questions about their products and services. The customer support department strives to collect information from the customer, quickly determine the nature of a customer's problem, and communicate a solution to the customer. The efficiency of the customer support department depends largely on the skills and experiences of the first line support staff. However, the junior support staff directly interfacing with customers must typically spend considerable time honing their skills and gaining experience before they can provide satisfactory technical support.
FIG. 1 depicts a typical customer support process of a software enterprise. In step 103, first line support staff collect information related to the question by means of, for example, calling the customer. The collected information typically includes the type of problem the customer has encountered, in what environment the software product in running, what is seen by the customer, what is reported in the log, what changes are made before the problem happens, and other such information. The method proceeds to 105 where the first line support staff analyzes the collected information. In step 107 the first line support staff determines whether the collected information is enough for determining the cause of the problem. If more information needs to be collected the method proceeds to step 109 and the first-line support staff collect more information by conversing with the customer. But if the collected information is sufficient the method proceeds to step 111.
If, in step 111, the first-line support staff determines that they cannot answer the customer's question the method proceeds to step 113 to transfer the problem to second line senior staff for a solution. However, if first-line support staff is able to answer the customer's question then the method proceeds to step 115. In step 115, the first-line support staff forms a solution, and then provides the solution to the customer in step 117. If it is determined in step 119 that the problem is not solved the method proceeds back to block 107 to collect further information. However, if step 119 determines that the problem has been solved the method proceeds to 121 and the process ends.
One problem with this conventional method is that the senior technical staff who have gained the requisite experience and skills often find it tedious to repeat such processes day after day. This often results in attrition of the senior technical staff to other, more challenging jobs. As the senior support staff leaves the customer support department over time, the enterprise loses their valuable insights and experiences.
Automated assistant tools have been proposed in an attempt to assist support staff work. For example, U.S. patent application US20060078862 presents an answer support system which stores and uses past query cases to automatically provide proper answers to a customer's questions. However, since this system relies on information provided by the customer its effectiveness is limited by the customer's ability to describe the problem.

International Business Machines Corporation


A zoom lens having less distortion and exhibiting good imaging performance is provided. A zoom lens includes a first lens unit provided at the extremity of an enlargement conjugate side and having a negative refractive power, and a final lens unit provided at the extremity of a reduction conjugate side and having a positive refractive power. The final lens unit includes a cemented lens at the extremity of the reduction conjugate side. The cemented lens has a positive refractive power. The zoom lens satisfies specific conditional expressions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a zoom lens, and more particularly to a retrofocus zoom lens.
2. Description of the Related Art
A projector is an apparatus that projects an image formed on a personal computer, a video camera, or the like to a large screen for viewing, and is widely used in situations such as meetings, presentations, and movie watching at home. There are several demands on projectors. For example, zoom lenses (projection lenses) intended for projectors are in general desired to have sufficient lengths of back focus, to be telecentric on the reduction conjugate side thereof, and to have less lateral chromatic aberration and less distortion.
Zoom lenses intended for projectors are also desired to have shorter projector distances for the convenience of installation. Accordingly, a retrofocus lens configuration is employed in which, with respect to the stop, a front lens unit provided on the enlargement conjugate side has a negative refractive power and a rear lens unit provided on the reduction conjugate side has a positive refractive power.
A retrofocus lens, however, is asymmetric with respect to the stop and therefore often causes negative distortion and/or lateral chromatic aberration. This particularly applies to projector lenses desired to be telecentric on the reduction conjugate side. As such an asymmetric characteristic become more pronounced, the refractive powers of positive lens elements included in the rear lens unit increase. Consequently, spherical aberration and longitudinal aberration, such as longitudinal chromatic aberration, become more difficult to correct.
With the recent recognition of a problem of television (TV) distortion of the projected image, it is also desired to reduce distortion. Moreover, with a recent increase in resolution, it is desired to suppress chromatic aberration more strictly.
To correct the distortion occurring in a retrofocus lens, it is general to produce positive distortion by providing a positive lens element at a position in the front lens unit where the marginal ray height is large so that rays are converged. In such a configuration, lateral chromatic aberration is also corrected. However, since the level of correction of lateral chromatic aberration varies with the wavelength, rays of short wavelengths tend to be overcorrected.
To solve such a problem, several techniques of correcting the overcorrected lateral chromatic aberration caused by short-wavelength rays are disclosed in which an element causing a large chromatic dispersion is provided at a position in the rear lens unit where the marginal ray height is large.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-100100, the final lens is made of anomalous high-dispersion glass. However, the effect of correction produced by this technique is limited. In Japanese Patents Laid-Open No. 2001-154091 and No. 2002-048974, a "chromatic" cemented lens is provided as the final lens element. Although this technique may be more effective than the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-100100, the cemented surface is large and the combination of lens elements employed therein causes spherical aberration. Therefore, even if lateral chromatic aberration is reduced, the resolution is not increased. Considering the above, the techniques disclosed in Japanese Patents Laid-Open No. 2001-100100, No. 2001-154091, and No. 2002-048974 do not provide performance sufficient for meeting the recent demands on zoom lenses intended for projectors.


The present invention provides a low battery trouble signal delay circuit for a smoke detector configured for periodically measuring environmental conditions and for producing a fire alarm signal when smoke is detected in the environment. The trouble signal delay circuit has a battery, a comparator configured for receiving a voltage measurement signal from the battery and a reference voltage measurement signal and sending a resulting signal to an activator circuit, at least one activator in the activator circuit that is user activated upon receiving a first input; and at least one low battery trouble signal annunciator connected to the activator circuit and configured for indicating that the voltage measurement signal is below the reference voltage measurement after receiving a signal from the comparator. The activator temporarily disables the low voltage trouble signal when activated for a silencing time period, while maintaining the operation of the fire alarm signal.

Common smoke detectors are designed to provide a warning by generating a visual and/or audible alarm. Smoke detectors are powered by alternating current (AC), batteries or a combination of both. AC-powered smoke detectors with battery backup are typically considered to be the primary detectors, while smoke detectors powered by batteries alone are considered to be supplemental detectors.
Both smoke detectors powered only with a battery, as well as AC-powered smoke detectors with battery backup usually generate a low battery trouble signal once the battery power diminishes below a prescribed level. The low battery trouble signal is typically a single short horn beep emitted at regular intervals, such as every minute. A benefit of the low battery trouble signal is that it alerts the home dweller or user that the battery power is low and that the battery needs to be replaced. In most cases, there is a time period ranging from days to a week of battery power remaining before the detector is inoperable on battery power alone. Thus, there is ample time for the user to replace the battery after being alerted by the low battery trouble signal.
One drawback with conventional AC-powered with battery backup type smoke detectors is that once the low battery trouble signal is initiated, the trouble signal continues until the battery is replaced. This situation can occur if there is no new battery on hand. In a battery-powered detector, removing the battery will stop the signal, but renders the detector useless in a fire situation. In an AC-powered detector with battery backup, the detector will typically continue to emit the trouble signal once the battery is removed. Thus, in the AC-powered with battery backup case, the only recourse to stop the trouble signal is to shut off the AC power to the detector or disconnect the detector.

Low battery trouble signal delay in smoke detectors


A laminate has a substrate layer, an intermediate layer, and a fluorine-based resin layer in that order, in which the substrate layer contains any one or more kinds of a polyolefin-based resin, a polyester-based resin or a vinyl-based resin, the intermediate layer contains a polyethylene resin and a modified polyethylene resin, and the intermediate layer has a thickness of 5 μm or more and 50 μm or less.

A film laminate having a high barrier property is used in packaging materials for foods, medicaments, and the like. In the field of medicament, for individual packaging of tablets or capsules, a press-through package (hereinafter may be referred to as "PTP") is used.
For suppressing deterioration in contents, a barrier property to water vapor is required for a resin film that is a material for forming PTP. Generally, PTP is manufactured by deep drawing, so that good formability is required for a resin film that is a material for forming PTP. For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe a laminate in which fluorine-based resin films are laminated in order to improve the barrier property to water vapor.

Laminate, blister pack, press-through package, and laminate manufacturing method


The present invention relates to equipment used to manufacture PV cells or modules. In some embodiments, a support structure is provided that provides support for substrates used in the manufacture of PV cells or modules. The support structure provides support for the substrate at the edge, allows access to the rear of the substrate and is composed of materials that do not contaminate the substrate during processing.

Solar energy is widely accepted as being an excellent source of renewable energy. Photovoltaic (PV) cells which can convert sunlight into electricity have been studied for the past ˜70 years. The adoption and wide spread use of PV cells has been slow because they have exhibited poor conversion efficiency and have been expensive to manufacture. Therefore, the economics ($/Watt) of using PV cells to generate electricity have not been competitive with traditional sources such as coal, oil, natural gas, etc. The $/Watt metric represents the total system cost to generate a Watt of energy. Lower PV solar cell efficiencies and higher PV solar cell system costs increase this metric and lowers the competitiveness of the PV solar cell system relative to traditional energy generation systems.
Recent advances in the design and manufacture have improved the efficiency of the PV solar cells and lowered the manufacturing cost such that PV based solar energy systems have improved economics. It is a goal that PV based solar energy systems will be able to generate electricity at costs that are competitive with traditional electricity generation methods in the near future. For this goal to be realized, advances must be made to continue to improve the conversion efficiency of the PV solar cells and to lower the manufacturing costs.
In the manufacture of PV solar cells or TF modules, substrates are often processed in equipment configured in an "in-line" structure. That is, the substrates move through the equipment in a continuous manner or in small steps. The input portion of the equipment is positioned at one end of the system and the output portion is positioned at the opposite end. This type of equipment is to be distinguished from "batch" systems wherein the substrates are generally processed in large batches and the input and output portions of the equipment are generally found at the same end of the system. In the in-line equipment, an automation system is used to translate the substrates from the input end to the output end. The automation system may comprise a conveyor, a belt, discrete pallets, rollers, a "walking beam" system, chains, strings, or cables, among others.
Current in-line equipment for the manufacture of PV based solar cells or TF modules suffer from a number of problems. Examples of these problems may be high equipment cost, low throughput, large footprint, poor performance, contamination of the substrate by the automation system, shadowing of the backside of the substrate by the automation system, movement of the substrate during processing, and others. These problems may act individually or in combination to lower the efficiency of the PV solar cells or TF modules or increase the cost of manufacturing the PV solar cells or TF modules. This will increase the $/Watt economic metric used to evaluate energy system performance and slow the adoption of PV solar energy systems. Therefore, there is a need for automation systems to be used in in-line equipment used to manufacture PV solar cells or TF modules that address these problems.

Apparatus for manufacture of PV solar cells or thin film solar modules