A lighting system includes a fluorescent lamp 4 and a main body 1 for attaching the fluorescent lamp 4 thereto. The main body 1 is provided with a socket assembly 6 for the attachment of the fluorescent lamp 4, and an electronic ballast 7 for operating the fluorescent lamp 4 at dimmed levels (as well as at the full light level). The fluorescent lamp 4 is composed of a discharge tube formed of four U-shaped glass tubes that are connected together to form a square in plan view. Each glass tube has an inner diameter of 13.5 mm, and the discharge tube is filled with a rare gas containing neon and argon (at 50:50 ratio by volume). When operating the fluorescent lamp 4 at the full light level, the electronic ballast 7 applies the nominal lamp current of 0.43 A.

This application is based on an application No. 2002-096611 filed in Japan, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lighting system for operating a fluorescent lamp with dimming control, and also to a fluorescent lamp.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Compact single-capped fluorescent lamps (hereinafter simply referred to as xe2x80x9cfluorescent lampsxe2x80x9d) are becoming prevalent for their high lamp efficiency as a light source of a lamp apparatus provided at commercial facilities and offices in a buried condition in a ceiling (hereinafter, such a lamp apparatus is referred to as a xe2x80x9cdownlightxe2x80x9d).
There are various types of fluorescent lamps with different lamp powers for various locations and purposes of use. The fluorescent lamps are uniform in the outside diameter of a glass tube constituting a discharge tube and in a nominal lamp current. Each fluorescent lamp, however, differs from others in the lamp power due to a different length of the discharge tube and a different ratio by volume of neon and argon contents sealed within the discharge tube.
For example, when a fluorescent lamp is composed of a discharge tube having an inside diameter of 10.5 mm and a nominal lamp current of 0.32 A, the lamp power maybe made to differ within the range of 16-57 W by varying the length of discharge tube within the range of 68-165 mm and the neon content by volume within the range 30-90%.
Further, when used with an electronic ballast, a fluorescent lamp maybe xe2x80x9cdimmedxe2x80x9d so as to produce a smaller light output over a full range in response to reduction in the lamp current applied thereto. Such a dimmable lighting system is now in wider use.
Generally, electrode filaments of a fluorescent lamp are designed to reach an optimal temperature for thermoelectronic emission upon application of the maximum lamp current (approximately equal to the nominal value). In other words, when the lamp current is reduced for dimming, the temperature of electrode filaments is reduced. To compensate for the temperature reduction, a filament current is supplied to the electrode filaments additionally to the lamp current, so that the temperature of electrode filaments is maintained within an appropriate range.
Unfortunately, when operated at a dimmed level, above fluorescent lamps with high lamp-power (hereinafter, referred to as high-output fluorescent lamps) have following problems although such problems do not occur in fluorescent lamps with low lamp-power. That is, when operated at a dimmed level, ends of the discharge tube are blackened, and the electrode filaments are exhausted, which shortens life of the lamp.
These problems are caused in the following mechanism. In the case of a high-output fluorescent lamp, the neon content is high and thus the cathode voltage drop is large. In synergy with this, the temperature of electrode filaments rises excessively. Because of the excessively high temperature, the thermoelectronic emission material (hereinafter referred to as emitter) coated over the electrode filaments evaporates, and charged particles present around the electrodes are accelerated to cause sputtering of the electrode filaments to a greater extent. As a result, the electrode filaments are more quickly exhausted. In addition, when the lamp current is reduced for dimming, it equally means that the electronic current is reduced as well. As a result, electrons emitted from the surface of the electrode filaments are reduced, so that less cooling effect is achieved.
In view of the above problems, a first object of the present invention is to provide, without upsizing a discharge tube, a lighting system with high lamp-power that free from blackening of the discharge tube ends or loss of the lamp life even when operated at a dimmed level. A second object of the present invention is to provide a fluorescent lamp that is free from blackening of discharge tube ends or loss of the lamp life when used in a lighting system for dimming.
The first object stated above is achieved by a lighting system including a fluorescent lamp and an electronic ballast. The fluorescent lamp is composed of a discharge tube that is formed of at least one glass tube which is bent, and filled with a rare gas containing at least argon. The electronic ballast is for operating the fluorescent lamp with dimming control. An inside diameter of the glass tube is within a range of 12-15 mm. An overall size of the discharge tube is such that a maximum diameter is within a range of 55-70 mm and a maximum length is within a range of 120-220 mm. The electronic ballast applies a nominal lamp current to operate the fluorescent lamp at a full light level. The nominal lamp current is within a range of 0.4-0.5 A. With this construction, the lamp power is increased without involving increase in the ratio of neon content by volume. Therefore, the fluorescent lamp is free from blackening of the discharge tube ends and loss of the lamp life even when operated at a dimmed level. Further, an overall size of the discharge tube is such that a maximum diameter is within a range of 55-70 mm and a maximum length is within a range of 120-220 mm, and thus the discharge tube is applicable to a lighting system employing a downlight. Note that the term xe2x80x9coperation at a full light levelxe2x80x9d means that the lamp is operated by applying the nominal lamp current.
Further, the rare gas may additionally contain up to 75 vol % of neon. With this construction, blackening of the discharge tube ends and loss of the lamp life are suppressed even when the fluorescent lamp is operated at a dimmed level.
Further, each glass tube may be bent to form a substantially U-shape. The discharge tube may be formed of a plurality of the U-shaped glass tubes connected together, and the glass tubes may be arranged to form a polygonal shape in plan view. With this construction, there is no inconsistency in light radiation in the circumferential direction of the discharge tube, so that light is distributed substantially uniformly in the circumferential direction. Here, the term xe2x80x9cplan viewxe2x80x9d refers to the state that the discharge tube is seen from the direction in which the straight portions of the U-shape extend.
Further, the discharge tube may be formed of four U-shaped glass tubes. With this construction, a longer discharge path is formed to improve the lamp output with a size substantially same as a discharge tube formed by, for example, three U-shaped glass tubes.
The second object of the present invention stated above is achieved by a fluorescent lamp that is composed of a discharge tube. The discharge tube is formed of at least one glass tube which is bent, and filled with a rare gas containing at least argon. An inside diameter of the glass tube is within a range of 12-15 mm. An overall size of the discharge tube is such that a maximum diameter is within a range of 55-70 mm and a maximum length is within a range of 120-220 mm. A nominal lamp power at a full light operation is within a range of 0.4-0.5 A.
With this construction, the lamp power is increased with out increasing the ratio of neon content by volume. In addition, the fluorescent lamp is free from loss of the lamp life even when operated at a dimmed level.
Further, the rare gas may additionally contain up to 75 vol % of neon. With this construction, the fluorescent lamp is free from blackening of the discharge tube ends and loss of the lamp life even when operated at a dimmed level.

High lamp-power lighting system and fluorescent lamp

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Disclosed is a HDMI-free display device, which includes a TypeC interface, a TypeC protocol chip, a switching chip, a DP switch and a monitor main control chip with a DP receiving end and a HDMI receiving end; the TypeC interface is connected to the DP receiving end and the HDMI receiving end of the monitor main control chip via the switching chip and the DP switch; a CC pin of the TypeC interface is connected with the TypeC protocol chip and configured for the TypeC protocol chip to determine whether a transmission signal is a HDMI signal or a TypeC signal and to determine whether the transmission signal is in a positive or negative plug-in state; the TypeC protocol chip is further configured to control the switching chip to transfer the transmission signal to be in a positive plug-in state.

With the increasing number of TypeC (USB Type-C) signal devices, portable display devices are becoming more and more popular. Because a TypeC interface is small in size and can supply power and output signals simultaneously, the portable display devices all use the TypeC interface.
However, the existing display devices are also provided with HDMIs, so that the display devices are large in size and inconvenient to carry.

HDMI-free display device and method for type interface being compatible with HDMI


Disclosed are compounds that can modulate DDAH and the amount of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) in a subject. Also provided are pharmaceutical compositions comprising these compounds, as well as methods of using these compositions to treat and/or prevent diseases associated with elevated or low levels of DDAH and ADMA.

Asymmetric dimethyl arginine (ADMA) produced in the body as a result of degradation of arginine methylated proteins is an inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis [Franceschelli et al., Int. J. Mol. Sci. 14: 24412 (2013)]. During the disease states where protein degradation rates are high or the mechanisms of ADMA clearance are impaired, high levels of ADMA accumulate in the tissues and blood [Leiper and Nandi. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov., 10:277 (2011)].
In some conditions such as kidney disease, there may be 3- to 9-fold increase in plasma levels of ADMA. ADMA in high concentrations is known to contribute to disease states by inhibiting nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and the cationic amino acid transporter for arginine. ADMA also inhibits phosphorylation of endothelial NOS, thereby reducing its activity. High ADMA can uncouple nitric oxide synthase leading to production of damaging oxygen free radicals. Deficiency of NO production which may be caused by ADMA is associated with a wide range of vascular diseases including hypertension, heart failure, pulmonary arterial hypertension, erectile dysfunction, coronary and peripheral arterial disease, renal, disease, insulin resistance, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, sickle cell disease, organ damage, sepsis, and tissue regeneration.
By reducing NO bioavailability, high levels of ADMA can promote endothelial dysfunction, vasoconstriction, pro-inflammatory, fibrotic and pro-thrombogenic state. A persistent dysfunction of vascular endothelium can lead to a variety of disease states and death. An association of high ADMA levels has been documented with vascular diseases such as retinal venous occlusive disease, early autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, proteinuria, secondary amyloidosis, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, pre-eclampsia, chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, diabetes, insulin resistance, obesity, pulmonary arterial hypertension, lung injury, COPD, sickle cell disease, encephlopathy, depression, congestive heart failure, Alzheimer's disease, cardio-renal syndrome, hyperhomocysteinaemia, hypertension, atherosclerosis and stroke [reviewed in Leiper and Nandi. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov., 10:277 (2011)]
A major pathway for reducing ADMA is through metabolism by the enzyme dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH) which eliminates more than 80% of ADMA. [Achan, V. et al. Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 23:1455 (2003)]. Two isoforms of DDAH are encoded by separate genes located on human chromosome 1 (DDAH-1) and 6 (DDAH-2). Both enzymes metabolize ADMA. DDAH can hydrolase both the NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) and ADMA, therefore it can reduce the inhibitory concentrations of the methylamines and allow more NO generation.
DDAH gene deletion and transgenic animal studies have shown that DDAH levels and activity regulate ADMA levels. Heterologous deletion of gene DDAH−/+increased ADMA level and impaired vascular responses. Conversely, transgenic expression of DDAH-1 reduced plasma ADMA, increased NO production, and decreased arterial blood pressure and systemic vascular resistance [Hu, X. et al. Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 31:1540 (2011); Jacobi, J. at al. Am. J. Pathol. 176:2559 (2010)]. Thus, ADMA levels in plasma can be modulated by the level of DDAH-1 gene expression.
In disease states where DDAH expression or activity is impaired, ADMA clearance is reduced leading to its accumulation in tissues and blood. For example, in pathological conditions such as diabetes, atherosclerosis or inflammation, DDAH-1 gene expression is reduced and ADMA is increased. In lung diseases such as pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), DDAH mRNA and protein expression are reduced and ADMA levels are increased [Dimitroulas, T. et al. Rheumatology, 47:682 (2008)]. High levels of ADMA are observed in patients with COPD. Therefore, methods that can modulate enzyme levels in the body would modulate ADMA and produce therapeutic benefit in prevention or treatment of disease.
In some disease state the DDAH levels may be high leading to low ADMA. Low ADMA in specific tissues is associated with disease such in pain and migraine [D'Mello, R. et. at. Pain, 156, 2052 (2015)], sepsis [Wang, Z. et al Biochem J. 460:309 (2014)], angiogenic eye disease such as diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration [Lange, C. et al. Exp. Eye Res. 147:148 (2016)] and kidney disease [Tomlinson, et al. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., 26: 3045, (2015)]. Decreasing DDAH by modulation may be efficacious in these diseases.
Similarly, in certain cancers, high expression of DDAH may increase metastatic potential of tumors and therefore lowering of DDAH may prevent cancer spread [Ye, J. et al. Mol. Oncol., 1:1208 (2017), Hulin, J. A. et al. Biomed. Pharmacother., 111:602 (2019), Boult, J. K. et al. J. Pathol., 225:344 (2011)].
Modulation of DDAH in tissue and organ selective manner has been documented [Dayal, S. et al. Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. 295: H816 (2008); Sydow, K. el al. PLOS ONE, 7:e48150 (2012)]. Therefore, a DDAH modulator may enhance or reduce DDAH levels depending upon its expression in the disease state for the organ.
Accordingly, compounds and methods for modulating DDAH and ADMA levels are needed to prevent or treat these diseases.

Compound for modulating DDAH and ADMA levels, as well as methods of using thereof to treat disease


A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a plurality of semiconductor layers on a semiconductor substrate, and forming a plurality of gate structures spaced apart from each other on the semiconductor layers. The semiconductor layers are patterned into a plurality of patterned stacks spaced apart from each other, wherein the plurality of patterned stacks are under the plurality of gate structures. The method also includes forming a plurality of sacrificial spacers on lateral sides of the plurality of gate structures, and growing a plurality of source/drain regions. The source/drain regions are adjacent the patterned stacks and include a plurality of pillar portions formed on lateral sides of the sacrificial spacers. The sacrificial spacers and the plurality of pillar portions are removed.

Transistor devices may be, for example, fin field-effect transistor (FinFET), nanosheet or nanowire devices. For example, nanowires or nanosheets can be used as the fin structure in a dual-gate, tri-gate or gate-all-around (GAA) FET device. Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) scaling can be enabled by the use of stacked nanowires and nanosheets, which offer improved electrostatics and higher current density per footprint area than FinFETs. Nanosheet or nanowire formation relies on the selective removal of one semiconductor (e.g., SiGe) with respect to another (Si) to form the nanosheet/nanowire and GAA structures.
In existing approaches, epitaxially grown source/drain regions having non-uniform heights leads to increased device variability. Accordingly, there is a need for techniques and structures to prevent non-uniformity between epitaxially grown source/drain regions.

Transistors with uniform source/drain epitaxy

International Business Machines Corporation


A electrophoretic display device is provided, which includes: a thin film transistor array panel including a substrate, gate and data lines formed on the substrate and crossing each other, switching thin film transistors electrically connected to the gate and data lines, a photo sensor formed on the substrate, and pixel electrodes electrically connected to the switching thin film transistors; a common electrode panel facing the thin film transistor array panel and having a common electrode; and a display layer disposed between the thin film transistor array panel and the common electrode panel. The display layer includes micro capsules containing negative and positive pigment particles.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly to an electrophoretic display device.
(b) Description of the Related Art
An electrophoretic display (EPD) is an example of a flat panel display device that is commonly used for electronic books. An EPD device includes two panels having field-generating electrodes and a plurality of micro-capsules interposed between the panels. Each micro-capsule includes electric ink containing a plurality of white and black pigment particles. The white and black pigment particles are oppositely charged such that, for example, all white pigment particles are negatively charged and all black pigment particles are positively charged. Upon application of an electric field to the electrodes, the white and black particles move in opposite directions as determined by the electric field to display images.
The EPD devices have a high reflectance and a high contrast independent of viewing direction. Thus a screen of the EPD is as comfortable to view as a sheet of paper. Since each micro-capsule is stable in either of a black or a white state, each micro-capsule maintains the black or white state without maintaining a voltage across the electrodes. Accordingly, power consumption for the EPD is reduced. In addition, an EPD device is manufactured at a low cost since the EPD devices do not require polarizers, alignment layers, liquid crystal, etc., which are expensive requisites for liquid crystal display devices.


The present disclosure relates to a three-dimensional image system. The present disclosure suggests a three dimensional image system comprising: a display device configured to suggest a left image and a right image alternately; a liquid crystal shutter having a liquid crystal layer and configured to switch between a λ/2 phase retardation state and a 0 phase retardation state; polarized glasses including a right glass window having a first polarization axis and a left glass window having a second polarization axis. According to the present disclosure, the left image and the right image can be exactly recognized by the left eye and the right eye, respectively, without any cross-talk problem.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a three-dimensional (or "3D") image system. Especially, the present disclosure relates to a 3D image system minimizing the cross-talk between the left and right images.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The technologies for the 3D image systems, as the next generation information & communication services in which many companies are competing to get technologies and market share in advance, are variously applied to the high technique fields includes broadcasting system, medical system, educational system, military system, animation system, virtual reality system, CAD system, industrial system and so on. That is, the 3D technology is a base and core technology for the next generation multimedia information-communication fields.
The screen volume recognized by human is caused by any combinations of the variations of the thickness of the eye lens according to the location of the object, the angle difference between the left image and the right image of the object, the position and shape differences between the left image and the right image of the object, the parallax error according to the movement of the object, and the effects according to the memory and mind of the observer. At most, the binocular parallax caused by the human two eyes apart from 6˜7 cm each other is the most important factor for feeling the 3D images. By the binocular parallax, the left view lines from the left eye to the object and the right view line from the right eye to the object are not the same but have an angle difference. Due to this angle difference, the image shape of left eye is different from that of the right eye. These two different images are sent from both eyes to the brain and then the 3D images are recognized by that the brain combines these different visual images.
There are various methods for implementing the 3D images using 2D display device. The shutter method in which the left image and right image are alternately represented using a liquid crystal panel is the most developed. The most important thing for the 3D image system is that the left image and the right image should be exactly sent to the left eye and the right eye, respectively. If the left image is sent to the right eye in a little time instance or vice versa, it is impossible to enjoy the 3D images. This problem is called as the static cross-talk. In the 3D image system, it is most important to prevent the cross-talk problems.


In a CMOS DAC having a plurality of stages a control circuit for selectively switching said DAC between a sleep mode and a normal operating mode with little, if any, surge current resulting therefrom. In the control circuit there is provided control transistors responsive to control signals for applying a reverse biasing potential to a reference voltage transistor and a digital input transistor in each of the stages at a rate such that the rate of change of current in the reference voltage transistor is less than a predetermined magnitude, e.g. less than 5 ma/nsec. when said DAC is switched to its sleep mode and transistor means responsive to control signals for first applying a predetermined forward biasing potential to a bias transistor and thereafter changing said reverse bias potential applied to said reference voltage transistor to a predetermined reference voltage and removing said reverse bias potential from said digital input transistor when said DAC is switched to its normal operating mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to digital-to-analog converters (DACs) in general and in particular to DACs which can be switched between a sleep mode and a normal operating mode in high speed, e.g. 100 mHz, video graphics systems employing pipeline architecture with little, if any, surge current resulting therefrom.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional color video graphics system, e.g. color palette, comprises three DACs for driving the red, green and blue analog inputs of a typical color monitor. Each of the DACs may comprise as many as 400 stages depending on the desired resolution of the DAC. Using conventional CMOS technology, each stage typically comprises three CMOS field-effect (FET) transistors, e.g. a bias transistor, a reference voltage transistor and a digital input transistor.
In normal operation, a current flows in each of the stages of a conventional CMOS DAC at all times, even when the DAC is not being used. The power thus consumed is a serious impediment to the use of such DACs in battery powered video graphics systems, such as lap top computers.

Switchable DAC with current surge protection


The present invention relates to a drive arrangement for vehicles with at least two drivable vehicle axles (V, H). The drive arrangement is particularly suitable for utility vehicles and agricultural tractors. It has at least one first motor (11), which is propulsively connected to a first vehicle axle (H), and a second motor (12), which is propulsively connected to a second vehicle axle (V). At least one of the motors is a de-connectable motor (12), which can be disconnected from the propulsive connection to the associated vehicle axle (V). Regardless of whether the de-connectable motor (12) is propulsively connected to the associated vehicle axle (V) or is propulsively disconnected therefrom, a propulsive connection can be selectively made and broken between the first and the second vehicle axle (V, H).

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a drive arrangement for vehicles with at least two drivable vehicle axles, wherein the drive arrangement comprises at least one first motor, which is propulsively connected to a first vehicle axle, and a second motor, which is propulsively connected to a second vehicle axle. The drive arrangement according to the invention is particularly suitable for utility vehicles and agricultural tractors.
2. Description of Related Art
Utility vehicles, particularly agricultural utility vehicles such as for example a farm tractor, frequently have at least two drivable vehicle axles. Also passenger cars, which are designed to travel over wet or smooth roadways and off-road, frequently have two drivable vehicle axles. In the case of such vehicles and particularly over rough terrain all vehicle axles and thus all wheels can be driven, so that—as is generally known for all-wheel drives—traction is improved as a result.
The German Patent DE 42 09 950 C2 describes a drive for twin-axled vehicles used in agriculture and/or civil engineering. The construction of such a drive 30 is illustrated in FIG. 1. In the case of this drive an internal combustion engine 1 (or a crankshaft of the internal combustion engine) is operatively coupled via a clutch 2 to the input shaft 3 of a power-branched planetary transmission 4. The planetary transmission 4 is formed by way of a planetary gear and splits the power, delivered by the input shaft 3, into a hydrostatic and into a mechanical power branch. More particularly a first output shaft 5 of the planetary transmission 4 directly drives a differential gear 6 of a rear axle H of the utility vehicle and thereby forms the mechanical power branch. A second output shaft 7 of the planetary transmission 4 drives an adjustable hydraulic pump 10 via a gear wheel stage 8, 9 and thereby forms the hydrostatic power branch. The hydraulic pump 10 in turn drives two parallel-connected, adjustable hydraulic motors 11, 12 via (not illustrated) hydraulic lines. The hydraulic motors 11, 12 comprise output shafts 13, 14 aligned with one another in each case. The output shaft 13 of the hydraulic motor 11 drives the first output shaft 5 of the planetary transmission 4 and thus the differential gear 6 of the rear axle H of the utility vehicle via a gear wheel stage 15, 16. The output shaft 14 of the hydraulic motor 12 drives the power train 17 leading to the front axle V via a gear wheel stage 18, 19. Both output shafts 13, 14 can be coupled together by means of a clutch 20.
In DE 42 09 950 C2 the hydraulic pump 10 is adjusted as a function of the power demand, which the driver sets by corresponding movement of the accelerator pedal and/or a driving speed lever. Furthermore, driving states of the vehicle, such as for example the stationary state of the vehicle, while the engine is running, reverse and forward gear can be adjusted and changed in a simple manner by regulating the hydraulic pump. The hydraulic motors 11, 12 are governed by a (not illustrated) control unit. While the vehicle is in operation the clutch 20 is usually disengaged and the (not illustrated) control unit, according to the respective operating conditions, distributes the available drive power to the hydraulic motors 11, 12 and thus to the vehicle axles H, V.
Thus, variable rotational speed and torque distribution between front axle V and rear axle H can be achieved. Such variable rotational speed and torque distribution between front axle V and rear axle H is particularly advantageous when travelling over rough terrain and with wide steering angles of the steerable vehicle axles. Particularly the rotational speed of the output shaft 14 of the hydraulic motor 12, which drives the front axle V, must be increased when rounding tight bends, since the front wheels of the vehicle cover a greater distance than the rear wheels when rounding tight bends.
Nevertheless, when travelling over rough terrain, it may occur that the driven wheels lose their capacity to transmit tractive force and spin with extremely one-sided axle load distribution and high traction power demand. If this occurs the control unit engages the clutch 20. Thus both vehicle axles H and V are temporarily driven with a constant rotational speed ratio and up to 100% of the possible transmission output torque can be transmitted via a vehicle axle H or V. Particularly torque, higher than can be made available alone by the hydraulic motor 12, can be transmitted if required via the front vehicle axle V, with engaged clutch 20. Equally torque, higher than the sum of the mechanical torque branched off from the planetary transmission 4 and the torque supplied by the hydraulic motor 11, can also be transmitted if required via the rear axle H, with engaged clutch 20.
Furthermore it is proposed in DE 42 09 950 C2 as an additional variant that at least one power train includes an isolating clutch. A drive 40, which additionally comprises such an isolating clutch 21 in the power train 17 of the front axle V, is illustrated by FIG. 2. The front axle V can be disconnected via the isolating clutch 21 from the drive by the hydraulic motor 12 and additionally from the drive by the hydraulic motor 11 and the mechanical branch of the planetary transmission 4, with engaged clutch 20.
In the case of both drives 30 and 40 of FIGS. 1 and 2 the hydraulic motor 11, additionally to the hydraulic motor 12, can drive the front axle V via engagement of the clutch 20. Vice versa the hydraulic motor 11 can be disconnected from the axle drive of the front vehicle axle V through disengaging the clutch 20. In the case of the drive 40 additionally the front vehicle axle V can be completely disconnected from the drive by the hydraulic motors 11 and 12 through disengaging isolating clutch 21. A mode of operation, wherein the two vehicle axles V and H are only driven by one hydraulic motor 11 or 12 with engaged clutch 20, is not possible either with the drive 30 of FIG. 1 or with the drive 40 of FIG. 2.
A further drive arrangement for all-wheel drive vehicles is described in the European Patent EP 1 234 706 B1. Two hydraulic motors, of which a first hydraulic motor is propulsively connected to the rear axle of the vehicle, are also provided in the case of this drive arrangement. The second hydraulic motor can be propulsively connected to the front axle via a second clutch. The front axle and the rear axle can be coupled propulsively together through engaging a first clutch and the second clutch. The drive arrangement of EP 1 234 706 B1 also does not allow a mode of operation, wherein the front axle is propulsively connected to the rear axle and together with this can be driven by the first hydraulic motor, after the second clutch between the second hydraulic motor and the front axle has been disengaged.
Usually it is expedient with drive arrangements, as they are described in DE 42 09 950 C2 and EP 1 234 706 B1, to design one of the two hydraulic motors and/or its translation so that a large torque can be transmitted. Such hydraulic motors and/or translations are usually not designed for high rotational speed ranges and thus for high driving speeds. Particularly at high driving speeds, where lower torques are required, substantial friction and leakage losses occur if all hydraulic motors are continually connected to the front axle and the rear axle and possibly further drivable axles of the vehicle.
Therefore, the present invention is based on the object of producing a drive for vehicles with at least two drivable vehicle axles, wherein two or more axles can be driven with translation, variable to each other, in a very wide rotational speed and torque range and which additionally offers the option of ensuring that all vehicle axles are driven in an as energy-saving way as possible over the entire speed range with extremely unequal axle load distribution.
The object is solved by a drive arrangement according to claim 1. Further embodiments of the invention are indicated in the sub-claims.

Drive arrangement for vehicles with at least two drivable vehicle axles


Synergistic antifungal compositions containing imazalil and propiconazole. Methods of treating plants comprising the administration of imazalil and propiconazole.

Various classes of compounds are known as antimicrobial and in particular antifungal compounds. Among these classes, the group of imidazole and triazole derivatives is of particular interest and several of such compounds are now widely used as antimicrobials and in particular as antifungals. Another such class of antifungal compounds comprises the thiazolyl substituted benzimidazoles.
Further, there are known fungicidal combinations comprising two or more such fungicidally active compounds. DE-A-2816853 describes a combination of fenfuran, thiabendazole and imazalil for treating cereal grains. DE-A-2922292 describes combinations of a furan-3-carboxamide, imazalil and/or thiabendazole. DE-A-2823818 describes mixtures of 2,4,5-trimethyl-N-phenyl-3-furancarboxamide with imazalil and/or thiabendazole.
It now has been found that the compounds imazalil and propiconazole act synergistically.

Imazalil containing synergistic compositions


Methods, systems, computer program products, and methods of doing business whereby programmatically-generated byte code insertion is used to perform run-time tracing of code that potentially encounters a wait during execution. The byte code insertion is performed at load time, and inserts byte codes before and after a located (potential) wait point. The inserted byte code functions to gather execution statistics, such as a time stamp before invoking a located wait point and a time stamp after invoking the located wait point. Preferred embodiments allow this tracing to be selectively activated/deactivated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer software, and deals more particularly with methods, systems, computer program products, and methods of doing business whereby programmatically-generated byte code insertion is used to perform run-time tracing of code that waits (or may potentially wait).
2. Description of the Related Art
The Java™ programming language developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. has gained wide acceptance for writing software for the Internet and World Wide Web. While compilers for most programming languages generate code for a particular operating environment, Java enables writing programs using a "write once, run anywhere" paradigm. ("Java" and "Write Once, Run Anywhere" are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc.)
Java attains its portability through use of a specially-designed virtual machine ("VM"). This virtual machine is also referred to as a "Java Virtual Machine", or "JVM". The virtual machine enables isolating the details of the underlying hardware from the compiler used to compile the Java programming instructions. Those details are supplied by the implementation of the virtual machine, and include such things as whether little Endian or big Endian format is used for storing compiled instructions, and the length of an instruction once it is compiled. Because these machine-dependent details are not reflected in the compiled code, the code can be transported to a different environment (a different hardware machine, a different operating system, etc.), and executed in that environment without requiring the code to be changed or recompiled—hence the phrase "write once, run anywhere". The compiled code, referred to as Java "byte code", then runs on top of a JVM, where the JVM is tailored to that specific operating environment. As an example of this tailoring of the JVM, if the byte code is created using little Endian format but is to run on a microprocessor expecting big Endian, then the JVM would be responsible for converting the instructions from the byte code before passing them to the microprocessor.
Servers in which Java applications are hosted, commonly referred to as "Java application servers" (or simply "application servers"), may provide run-time services to a myriad of Java applications, and these applications may service requests for a large number of concurrent requesters (including other programs as well as human users). The performance requirements placed on these application servers by the deploying enterprise and/or its end users are typically quite demanding, and as the Java applications and deployment scenarios become increasingly complex, these performance requirements tend to increase as well.
The performance of a Java application can suffer if the application executes one or more types of "waits". For example, applications often need to access a limited resource, such as by connecting to a database to retrieve or store data. The number of available connections to a database is often restricted to a configured maximum, and thus some of the concurrently executing threads may have to block until a database connection becomes available. In a web-centric environment, the incoming requests to an application server may be very homogeneous, such that many requests attempt to exercise the same or similar execution paths. Thus, blockages on commonly-needed critical resources may occur relatively often, and these blockages can have an adverse effect on many users. In such situations, contention for the resources frequently becomes a major source of bottlenecks in application servers.
More generally, whenever an application is forced to wait, performance suffers. In many cases, the applications make use of various types of synchronization that is facilitated by Java monitors. Synchronization can be used to protect shared resources (e.g., by serializing access to a resource) or to enforce an ordering of execution (e.g., by using event handling, where one thread waits for another thread to signal, or "notify", that it has reached a particular point; this is particularly common for synchronizing operation among producer threads and consumer threads). However, synchronization generally reduces concurrency, and if the applications executing on a particular application server are encountering a large number of waits and/or are waiting for relatively long periods of time, performance will be degraded.
It is therefore advantageous to determine how a particular application, or perhaps a plurality of applications, executing on an application server is/are waiting in a production environment. Techniques are known in the art for observing application performance characteristics using tools such as the Java Virtual Machine Profiling Interface ("JVMPI"), which allows peeking into the operation of a JVM. However, the JVMPI is a relatively heavyweight approach that has drawbacks. For example, for many JVMs, just-in-time compilation (commonly referred to as "JIT") must be turned off when the JVMPI is enabled. This typically alters the performance aspects of the system being analyzed, making the gathered information somewhat unreliable as a predictor of true run-time behavior.
Accordingly, a need exists for overcoming these shortcomings of the prior art.

Run-time wait tracing using byte code insertion


A fluorescent dye or fluorophore capable of forming complexes with mercury comprises 6,8-difluoro-7-hydroxy-2-oxo-2H-chromene-3-carboxylate amide, wherein the amide is formed by reacting the succinimidyl ester (Pacific Blue™) with an amino acid containing a thiol group, such as cysteine or glutathione. Mercury complexes of the fluorophore fluoresce when excited by a UV or violet laser diode, and the detected intensity can be calibrated to quantify the concentration of mercury in a sample reacted with the fluorophore.

Many different types of contaminants are present in polluted groundwater and soil. The potential for humans or sensitive ecosystems to be exposed to such contaminants is strongly affected by a number of factors. Because speciation controls the environmental transport and risks of these contaminants, it is important to measure not only the contaminant concentration, but also its oxidation state.
Mercury is of particular concern because it is a highly toxic element that is widely disseminated throughout the atmosphere and hydrosphere. Additionally, the toxicity, biochemical behavior, and bioavailability of mercury are strongly dependent on the chemical form of the element. Among the three common forms of mercury: elemental mercury)(Hg0), ionic mercury (He), and organic mercury complexes (methylmercury, ethylmercury, phenylmercury, etc.), methylmercury (CH3Hg2+) is the most toxic and abundant form of mercury found in the environment. Depending on environmental conditions, mercury can also transform among the different forms, so the existence of any form of mercury is potentially harmful to human health.
Natural mercury emissions have led to the distribution of mercury throughout the environment via volcanoes, fires, rivers, and biological processes. Off-gassing of mercury from the lithosphere and hydrosphere to the atmosphere results in the deposition of mercury in aquatic and terrestrial environments.
In addition to natural mercury emissions, industrial activities (e.g. coal mining, silver mining, burning of fossil fuels, and other industrial processes) have created new mercury emission pathways to various sites in the environment. Approximately 80% of anthropogenic mercury emissions release elemental mercury) (Hg0) into the air through industrial processes. Meanwhile, almost 15% of this mercury is released into the terrestrial environment. The final 5% of anthropogenic mercury emissions is transported from industrial wastewater to the aquatic environment. A total estimate of 4,700 tons of mercury is released from human-related activities each year to deposit in the environment. Deposited mercury can then re-emit into the atmosphere by biological and geological means.
Concentrated mercury, especially methylmercury, poses serious problems to human health, as bioaccumulation of mercury within the brain and kidneys ultimately leads to neurological diseases. Therefore, mercury monitoring and mercury speciation are important for the environment and human health.

Fluorescence dye tagging scheme for mercury quantification and speciation


Cigarettes are manufactured using modified automated cigarette making apparatus. Those cigarettes possess smokable rods having paper wrapping materials having additive materials applied thereto as patterns. The additive material can be applied as a coating formulation in an off-line manner to a continuous paper sheet web that is later used for cigarette manufacture. The additive material can be applied as a coating formulation in an on-line manner to continuous paper web moving through an operating cigarette making machine. The coating formulation is applied to the paper web using roll applicator techniques, ink jet printing techniques or electrostatic precipitation techniques. Liquid coating formulation are curable, and are virtually absent of solvent or liquid carrier. Radiation, such as ultraviolet or electron beam radiation, is used to solidify and fix polymerizable liquid components of the coating formulation that have been applied to the paper web. Heating and subsequent cooling of the coating formulation used to fix solid components of the coating formulation that have been applied to the paper web. Registration techniques are used to ensure proper positioning of the additive material on the smokable rods so manufactured, and to ensure proper quality of those cigarettes.

Smoking articles, such as cigarettes, have a substantially cylindrical rod-shaped structure and include a charge, roll, or column of smokable material, such as shredded tobacco, surrounded by a paper wrapper, to form a "cigarette rod," "smokable rod" or a "tobacco rod." Normally, a cigarette has a cylindrical filter element aligned in an end-to-end relationship with the tobacco rod. Typically, a filter element comprises plasticized cellulose acetate tow circumscribed by a paper material known as "plug wrap." Certain cigarettes incorporate filter elements comprising, for example, activated charcoal particles. Typically, the filter element is attached to one end of the tobacco rod using a circumscribing wrapping material known as "tipping paper."
A cigarette is used by a smoker by lighting one end of that cigarette, and burning the tobacco rod. The smoker then receives mainstream smoke into his or her mouth by drawing on the opposite end of the cigarette. During the time that the cigarette is not being drawn upon by the smoker, the cigarette remains burning.
Numerous attempts have been made to control the manner that a cigarette burns when the cigarette is not being drawn upon. For example, cigarette papers have been treated with various materials to cause cigarettes incorporating those papers to self extinguish during periods when those cigarettes are lit but are not being actively puffed. Certain treatment methods have involved applying materials to the paper in circumferential bands or longitudinal stripes, creating areas that affect the burn rate of cigarettes incorporating those cigarette papers. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,030,963 to Cohn; U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,040 to Cohn; U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,738 to Simon; U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,650 to Weinert; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,345 to Durocher; U.S. Pat. No. 6,606,999 to Crooks et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,469 to Hancock et al. In addition, numerous references disclose applying films to the paper wrapping materials of tobacco rods. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,909,924 to Schweitzer; U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,647 to Dashley; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,675 to Milford et al.
"Banded" paper wrapping materials that are used for cigarette manufacture possess segments defined by the composition, location, and properties of the various materials within those wrapping materials. Numerous references contain disclosures suggesting various banded wrapping material configurations. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,996,002 to Seaman; U.S. Pat. No. 2,013,508 to Seaman; U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,259 to Norman et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,228 to Baldwin et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,753 to Peterson et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,754 to Peterson et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,198,537 to Bokelman et al.; and PCT WO 02/37991 and PCT WO 03/034845. Methods for manufacturing banded-type wrapping materials also have been disclosed. See, for example, U.S. Pat No. 4,739,775 to Hampl, Jr. et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,095 to Allen et al.; and PCT WO 02/44700 and PCT WO 02/055294. Some of those references describe banded papers having segments of paper, fibrous cellulosic material, or particulate material adhered to a paper web. See, U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,999 to Baldwin et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,228 to Baldwin et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,863 to Collins et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,502,613 to Suzuki. Methods for manufacturing cigarettes having treated wrapping materials are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,906 to Myracle, Jr. et al. and PCT WO 02/19848.
Additive materials can be applied to cigarette paper wrapping materials prior to the time that those wrapping materials are used for cigarette manufacture (i.e., in a so-called "off-line" fashion). For certain additive material components (e.g., ethylcellulose) that are applied off-line, it has been desirable for additive materials to be applied within non-aqueous solvents, such as iso-propyl acetate. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,997,190 to Stokes et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Additive materials also can be applied to cigarette paper wrapping materials during the time that those wrapping materials are used for cigarette manufacture (i.e., in a so-called "on-line" fashion). For certain additive material components (e.g., starch-based materials) that are applied on-line, it has been desirable for additive materials to be applied as water-based formulations. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,077,145 to Seymour et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
It would be highly desirable to provide cigarettes having predetermined patterns of additive materials (e.g., as bands) applied to the wrapping materials of those cigarettes. It would be particularly desirable to apply additive materials to a continuous web of a wrapping material of a tobacco rod of a cigarette in an efficient and effective manner during the manufacture of that tobacco rod. It also would be desirable to provide a method for minimizing or avoiding the use of solvents when applying additive material to the wrapping material; and it also would be desirable that such method operate effectively and be easily implemented within a conventional automated cigarette making machine of the type used to produce commercial quantities of cigarettes.

Materials and methods for manufacturing cigarettes


A method and apparatus in a data processing system for generating suggested content for a site. A request is received for content for the site from a client, wherein the content is requested content. The requested content is sent to the client. The requested content includes information used to track user movement within the site. Suggested content is generated using the information in response to the client requesting the suggested content.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system and in particular to a method and apparatus for navigating a distributed data processing system. Still more particularly, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for providing guidance and navigation information for navigating sites in a distributed data processing system.
2. Description of Related Art
The Internet, also referred to as an xe2x80x9cinternetworkxe2x80x9d, is a set of computer networks, possibly dissimilar, joined together by means of gateways that handle data transfer and the conversion of messages from the sending network to the protocols used by the receiving network (with packets if necessary). When capitalized, the term xe2x80x9cInternetxe2x80x9d refers to the collection of networks and gateways that use the TCP/IP suite of protocols.
The Internet has become a cultural fixture as a source of both information and entertainment. Many businesses are creating Internet sites as an integral part of their marketing efforts, informing consumers of the products or services offered by the business or providing other information seeking to engender brand loyalty. Many federal, state, and local government agencies are also employing Internet sites for informational purposes, particularly agencies which must interact with virtually all segments of society such as the Internal Revenue Service and secretaries of state. Providing informational guides and/or searchable databases of online public records may reduce operating costs. Further, the Internet is becoming increasingly popular as a medium for commercial transactions.
Currently, the most commonly employed method of transferring data over the Internet is to employ the World Wide Web environment, also called simply xe2x80x9cthe Webxe2x80x9d. Other Internet resources exist for transferring information, such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Gopher, but have not achieved the popularity of the Web. In the Web environment, servers and clients effect data transaction using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), a known protocol for handling the transfer of various data files (e.g., text, still graphic images, audio, motion video, etc.). The information in various data files is formatted for presentation to a user by a standard page description language, the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). In addition to basic presentation formatting, HTML allows developers to specify xe2x80x9clinksxe2x80x9d to other Web resources identified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). A URL is a special syntax identifier defining a communications path to specific information. Each logical block of information accessible to a client, called a xe2x80x9cpagexe2x80x9d or a xe2x80x9cWeb pagexe2x80x9d, is identified by a URL. The URL provides a universal, consistent method for finding and accessing this information, not necessarily for the user, but mostly for the user""s Web xe2x80x9cbrowserxe2x80x9d. A browser is a program capable of submitting a request for information identified by a URL at the client machine. Retrieval of information on the Web is generally accomplished with an HTML-compatible browser. The Internet also is widely used to transfer applications to users using browsers. With respect to commerce on the Web, individual consumers and business use the Web to purchase various goods and services. In offering goods and services, some companies offer goods and services solely on the Web while others use the Web to extend their reach.
When a user visits a Web site, the user will retrieve various pages from the site. Many times, the user will not look at the site in depth for the information that the user desires. Some Web sites will offer a site map that displays content within the site. These presently available site maps are based on the physical layout of the site. These site maps, however, often do not provide much more information to the user. Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an improved method and apparatus for providing navigation information to a user for use in navigating a Web site.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus in a data processing system for generating suggested content for a site. A request is received for content for the site from a client, wherein the content is requested content. The requested content is sent to the client. The requested content includes information used to track user movement within the site. Suggested content is generated using the information in response to the client requesting the suggested content

Method and apparatus for creating and displaying user specific and site specific guidance and navigation information

International Business Machines Corporation


A passive thermal mechanism for controlling the environmental temperature of a device having a battery and heat producing load contained within a portable housing so that the housing will remain in a thermally neutral condition and the battery will be maintained in an optimum operating condition.

This invention relates to passive apparatus for thermally controlling the environment of a portable device.
One embodiment of the invention involves a portable light box containing a battery and a high intensity lamp connected thereto which generates heat. Such a portable light box is used in the medical arts to provide light via a fiber bundle to endoscopic devices, such as a rhinolaryngoscope or the like, and surgical headbands of the type worn by physicians during various types of medical procedures. The light box is typically carried by the user in a pocket of a laboratory jacket or clipped to the user's belt. With constant usage, the light box can become overly warm, and thus uncomfortable when carried close to the body.
Battery operated equipment, such as the light box noted above, may also be exposed to changing outdoor conditions. Temperature extremes of both hot and cold can considerably shorten the useful life of the battery. Failure of the battery, and thus the equipment powered by the battery, can pose a danger under certain field conditions.

Thermally neutral portable power sources


Composition containing a combination of at least one monosaccharide chosen from mannose, rhamnose and a mixture thereof, and of at least one additional compound chosen from ascorbic acid, an analogue thereof and a mixture thereof. The present invention also relates to the use of such a composition for combating the signs of ageing, and also to a device containing the composition.

Human skin is made up mainly of two main layers, namely the dermis and the epidermis that superficially covers the dermis. The dermis provides the epidermis with a solid support. It is also its nourishing element. It is made up mainly of fibroblasts and an extracellular matrix composed mainly of collagen, elastin and a substance known as ground substance. These components are synthesized by the fibroblasts.
The cohesion between the epidermis and the dermis is provided by the dermo-epidermal junction. This is a complex region about 100 nm thick, which comprises the basal pole of the basal keratinocytes, the epidermal membrane and the sub-basal zone of the superficial dermis. From a structural viewpoint, hemidesmosomes, into which are inserted keratin filaments (hemidesmosome-tonofilament complex), are distributed on the plasma membrane of the basal keratinocytes. Facing these hemidesmosome-tonofilament complexes are anchoring filaments that cross the epidermal basal membrane. The anchoring filaments are attached to laminin V on the epidermal side. Finally, anchoring fibrils constitute the sub-basal network. These are curvilinear structures that arise from and end on the deep face of is the basal membrane and in which are engaged fibres of collagen I, III and V.
It has been shown that these anchoring fibrils, which are entirely visible by electron microscopy, are composed of type VII collagen (referred to as collagen VII hereinbelow). The collagen VII is synthesized by keratinocytes and fibroblasts, but more substantially by keratinocytes (Aumailley M., Rousselle P. Laminins of the dermoepidermal junction. Matrix Biology, 1999, 18: 19-28; Nievers M., Schaapveld R., Sonnenberg A. Biology and function of hemidesmosomes. Matrix Biology, 1999, 18: 5-17).
Collagens are the major proteins of the extracellular matrices of the skin. To date, 20 types of collagen have been identified, and are noted from I to XX. The collagens predominantly present throughout the epidermis are collagens of the type I and III that form the extracellular matrix of the entire dermis (these collagens constitute 70-80% of the dry weight of the dermis). Moreover, collagens are not all synthesized by the same cell types: collagens of type I and III are essentially produced by the dermal fibroblasts, whereas type VII collagen is produced by two categories of cell, keratinocytes and fibroblasts. Regulation of their expression differs from one collagen to another, for example collagens I and VII are not regulated in the same way by certain cytokines; specifically, TNF-α and leukoregulin stimulate collagen VII and negatively regulate collagen I. Among the other types of collagens involved especially in ageing, mention may be made of collagens XII and VI. The collagen XII binds the fibrils of collagen Ito the other matrix compounds in the papillary dermis, and thus regulates the biomechanical properties of skin tissue: deformability and contraction of the collagen fibres by promoting sliding of the fibres relative to each other. The collagen VI facilitates, like proteoglycans, the three-dimensional arrangement of the collagen fibres. The special feature of collagen VI is its multiplicity of actions. Specifically, it binds with a large number of cells via receptors of integrin type, and with many matrix molecules (collagen IV, fibronectin, biglycan, MAGP-1). Finally, all collagen molecules are variants of a common precursor, which is the a chain of procollagen.
The dermoepidermal junction is a structure that conditions the surface state of the skin. Thus, a dermoepidermal junction with intact anchoring structures is maintained folded, thus making it possible to increase the surface area of the contact zone between the dermis and the epidermis, to promote exchanges of diffusible factors, especially between these two tissues, to reinforce their cohesion and to improve the appearance of the epidermis. In cases where the anchoring structures are impaired, in particular due to a deficiency in the synthesis of collagen VII or tenascin and/or due to ageing, this causes flattening of the dermoepidermal junction. Fewer exchanges take place, the two tissues are less solidly connected, the epidermis folds, and, as the skin is less firm and less taut, wrinkles appear and the fragility of the skin with respect to mechanical attack is increased.
Tenascin is a major constituent of the dermoepidermal junction. It is a an extracellular matrix glycoprotein, also known as tenascin-C. Its essential function lies in epithelium-mesenchyme interactions, especially during embryogenesis. In the skin, tenascin is found at the sub-epidermal level in the papillary dermis, but also around vessels and appendices. Its expression is greatly increased in situations of hyperproliferation, for instance psoriasis and tumours, but also in cicatrization. Tenascin is produced in the skin by two major cell types, the keratinocytes and the fibroblasts. One of its functions lies in cell adhesion. Specifically, the strong upregulation of tenascin in the migrating keratinocytes during cicatrization strongly suggests an essential role of adhesion of the keratinocytes to connective tissue, ensuring good dermoepidermal cohesion (Crossin K L. Tenascin: a multifunctional extracellular matrix protein with a restricted distribution in development and disease. J. Cell. Biochem. 1996, 61: 592-598; Latijnhouwers M., Bergers M., Ponec M., Dijkman H., Andriessen M., Schlkwijk J. Human epidermal to keratinocytes are a source of tenascin-C during wound healing. J. Invest. Dermatol., 1997, 108: 776-783; Steijlen P. M., Maessen E., Kresse H., Van Vlijmen I. M. J. J., Verstraeten A. A., Traupe H., Schalkwijk J. Expression of tenascin, biglycan and decorin in disorders of keratinization. Br. J. Dermatol., 1994, 130: 564-568).
With age, collagen becomes thinner and disorganised, skin cell renewal decreases, wrinkles appear on the surface of the skin, and the skin is duller and less firm. Cutaneous ageing is conditioned by genetic characteristics. Moreover, certain environmental factors such as smoking and above all exposure to sunlight accelerate it. The skin thus has a much more aged appearance on the areas exposed to sunlight, such as the back of the hands or the face. Thus, these other factors also have a negative impact on the natural collagen of the skin.
Consequently, given the important role of collagen in the integrity of the skin and in its resistance to external attacking factors of mechanical type, stimulation of the synthesis of these collagens, and in particular of procollagen I and collagens VI, VII and XII, appears to be an effective means for overcoming the signs of ageing of the skin.
To overcome the abovementioned drawbacks, to improve the appearance of the skin, to improve its mechanical properties and avoid pathologies associated with insufficiency or cell deficiency, deficiency in cell renewal or deficiency in certain compounds of the dermis or of the dermoepidermal junction, the inventors consider it to be important to develop products that are directed towards reinforcing or maintaining the role of the dermis as a support and nourishing element, the cohesion between the various layers of the skin, and more particularly the cohesion between the dermis and the epidermis, by increasing keratinocyte proliferation, stimulating fibroblasts proliferation and metabolism and stimulating collagen synthesis, in particular the synthesis of procollagen I and collagens VI, VII and XII, and increasing the synthesis of tenascin.
The epidermis, which covers the dermis and is in direct contact with the external environment, has the main role of protecting the body against the dehydration and external attack. Natural human epidermis is composed mainly of three types of cell, namely keratinocytes, which form the vast majority, melanocytes and Langerhans cells. Each of these cell types contributes, by virtue of its intrinsic functions, towards the essential role played in the body by the skin, especially the role of protecting the body against external attacking factors (the weather, ultraviolet rays, tobacco, etc.), which is known as the "barrier function".
The epidermis is a keratinized, stratified pavement epithelium 90% made up of keratinocytes. The gradual differentiation of the cells of the basal membrane, which separates the dermis from the epidermis, towards the surface of the epidermis especially includes the differentiation of keratinocytes, which migrate towards the surface of the skin, where they desquamate.
Ageing of the epidermis is manifested mainly by a reduction in its thickness. Atrophy of the epidermis is the consequence of the slowing down of keratinocyte proliferation and of the accumulation of senescent keratinocytes. The horny layer becomes dull.
The cells constituting the epidermis are delimited by a lipid domain. In the course of differentiation, phospholipids, the role of which consists in producing the fluid structure of the cell membranes of the living layers of the epidermis, are gradually replaced by a mixture composed predominantly of fatty acids, cholesterol and ceramides (sphingolipids).
These lipids are organized in specific lamellar structures whose integrity depends not only on the quality of the fractions present, but also on their respective proportion. This lamellar structure of the lipids of the lipid domain of the epidermis is responsible for the fluidity and thus the suppleness of the skin. The lipids are also responsible for the "barrier" properties of the epidermis, particularly of the stratum corneum.
The epidermal lipids are mainly synthesized in living epidermis. They are made up mainly of phospholipids, sphingolipids, cholesterol, free fatty is acids, triglycerides, cholesterol esters and alkanes. The phospholipids are essential for the constitution of cell membranes. They play an important role in the mediation of extracellular signals and the formation of free aliphatic chains used for energy production. They constitute a reservoir of free fatty acids necessary for the constitution of the sphingolipids. The cholesterol plays a fundamental role in moisturization of the skin and in the "barrier" function of the epidermis. Free fatty acids play a major role in maintaining the lamellar structure of the lipids of the stratum corneum, and also in the constitution of cell membranes, where they are responsible for the membrane fluidity, but also for physiological processes such as the functioning of receptors or enzymatic activity.
Ceramides, which are other lipids playing a paramount role in the metabolism of the epidermis, are necessary for maintaining the multilamellar structure of the intercorneocytic lipids. They are also essential for the "barrier" function of the epidermis and for water exchanges, especially for overcoming age-related moisturization problems.
It is known practice from the literature to use agents such as ascorbic acid (vitamin C) or certain derivatives thereof to enable in particular an increase in the synthesis of ceramides (J. Invest. Dermatol. 109: 348-355, 1997; EP-1 145 706; EP-1 145 710). In vitro tests have also demonstrated, independently, that it is possible to increase the synthesis of tenascin and of collagen VII by adding vitamin C to the culture medium (EP-1 334 714).
Given the ever-increasing demand from users for improved solutions for combating the signs of biological or actinic ageing of the skin, there is a need to develop more efficient care methods.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Combination of monosaccharides with ascorbic acid and use thereof


An image forming apparatus includes a measuring unit, an adjustment image forming unit, a density value calculating unit, and a transfer parameter determining unit. The measuring unit measures colors of an image formed on a recording medium. The adjustment image forming unit forms an adjustment image including a combination color which is produced by superimposing colorants of two or more component colors. The density value calculating unit calculates, in accordance with a measurement result obtained by measuring the combination color included in the adjustment image by the measuring unit, a density value of a component color of a colorant that is formed in an uppermost layer on the recording medium among the two or more component colors. The transfer parameter determining unit determines a value of a transfer parameter in accordance with the calculated density value, the transfer parameter defining an operation condition used for performing transfer.

(i) Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and a non-transitory computer readable medium.
(ii) Related Art
An image forming apparatus is available which forms an image on a recording medium, such as paper, by transferring component-color images formed by using colorants of plural component colors. For example, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus which uses toners of four colors including yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (B) as colorants forms a color image by transferring four component-color images onto a recording medium. The four component-color images are a Y-component-color image formed by using a yellow toner, an M-component-color image formed by using a magenta toner, a C-component-color image formed by using a cyan toner, and a K-component-color image formed by using a black toner. Accordingly, a color image having various colors is expressed by superimposition of the limited component colors. The following methods may be used as an image forming method for the image forming apparatus: a method for directly transferring plural component-color images onto a recording medium one by one; and a method for transferring plural component-color images onto an intermediate transfer body in a superimposed manner and then transferring the plural component-color images superimposed on the intermediate transfer body onto a recording medium at one time.
The image forming apparatus transfers component-color images onto a recording medium in accordance with an operation condition defined by a transfer parameter. The transfer parameter may be, for example, a value which defines a voltage applied to a transfer roller (transfer voltage). The optimum value of the transfer parameter varies depending on an environment in which the image forming apparatus is used, the type of recording medium to be used, etc.

Image forming apparatus determining transfer parameter using color measurement result, image forming method, and non-transitory computer readable medium


In one embodiment, provided is a method of fracturing a portion of a subterranean formation that comprises providing a viscosified treatment fluid comprising a single salt aqueous fluid having a density of greater than 9 pounds per gallon and a crosslinked viscosifying agent, and contacting the portion of the subterranean formation with a viscosified treatment fluid so as to create or enhance one or more fractures therein, wherein the viscosified treatment fluid is introduced into a well bore that penetrates the portion of the subterranean formation to be fractured at a surface pressure of less than about 25,000 pounds per square inch. In other embodiments, provided are methods of frac packing a subterranean formation and methods of reducing a surface pressure needed to create one or more fractures in a portion of a subterranean formation.

The present invention relates to methods for treating subterranean formations. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods of using viscosified treatment fluids that comprise a single salt aqueous fluid having a density of greater than about 9 pounds per gallon ("ppg").
Well stimulations, such as fracturing operations, commonly employ viscosified treatment fluids. Fracturing operations generally involve pumping a viscous fracturing fluid into a subterranean formation at a sufficient hydraulic pressure to create or enhance one or more cracks or "fractures" in the subterranean formation. The fracturing fluid generally has a viscosity sufficient to carry proppant particulates to at least one fracture, inter alia, to aid in maintaining the integrity of those fractures once the hydraulic pressure is released. Once the at least one fracture is created or enhanced and the proppant particulates are substantially in place, the viscosity of the fracturing fluid may be reduced, and the fluid recovered from the formation. Fracturing operations may be performed in a wide variety of wells, including production wells completed in oil and/or gas containing formations and in injection wells used in secondary or tertiary recovery operations.
Another well stimulation treatment that employs a viscosified treatment fluid is a frac pack operation. In a frac pack operation, a fracturing operation is combined with a gravel packing operation to provide stimulated production, and an annular gravel pack to prevent and/or reduce sand production. Gravel packing is a method of controlling formation particulates (e.g., sand) in an unconsolidated section of a subterranean formation. Unconsolidated sections of subterranean formations include those that contain loose formation particulates and those wherein the bonded formation particulates have insufficient bond strength to withstand the forces produced by the production of fluids therethrough. Generally, gravel packing involves placing a filtration bed containing gravel near the well bore in order to present a physical barrier to the transport of unconsolidated formation particulates with the production of hydrocarbons. The filtration bed may be placed by the pumping and placement of the gravel into an area adjacent to a well bore in an unconsolidated section of a subterranean formation.
The downhole pressure needed to create or enhance one or more fractures in the subterranean formation is a function of the hydrostatic pressure (e.g., the weight of the hydrostatic column) and the surface pressure, provided by the pumping equipment, less the frictional pressure losses due, in part, to the tubing and other downhole equipment as the fracturing fluid passes therethrough. Today, deeper wells are being drilled and completed. For instance, wells as deep as 30,000 feet or greater have been drilled and completed. Generally, as a well is drilled deeper into a subterranean formation, a higher downhole pressure is required to fracture the formation, which, in turn, when using conventional fracturing fluids requires there to be a greater surface pressure for the needed downhole pressures to be achieved. Furthermore, dependent upon characteristics of the well, there may be greater frictional pressure losses in certain wells, which also may require there to be a greater surface pressure, when using conventional fracturing fluids, for the needed downhole pressures to be achieved. For example, surface pressures as high as 20,000 pounds per square inch ("psi") and greater may be required when using existing treatment fluids as the deeper wells are drilled and completed. The surface pressure, however, may be limited by the pressure ratings of the surface equipment, such as the pumps, manifolds, treatment lines, wellheads, blowout preventers, and the like. For onshore operations, pumps and other surface equipment generally have a limitation of up to approximately 20,000 psi. In part, due to space limitations and the availability of flexible treatment lines with the needed increased pressure ratings, offshore operations currently may be limited to surface pressures of up to approximately 15,000 psi. In addition, to the availability of surface equipment with increased pressure ratings, another drawback to increasing surface pressure is that equipment with increased pressure ratings may add undesirable expenses to a fracturing or frac packing operation.
Another way to achieve the higher downhole pressures required for fracturing a subterranean formation in the deeper wells is to use a more dense treatment fluid than is typically used in fracturing and/or frac pack operations so that a higher hydrostatic pressure may be achieved. Furthermore, an increase in hydrostatic pressure may achieve the needed downhole pressure without an undesirable increase in surface pressures. Conventional viscosified treatment fluids used in these operations may be formulated using low concentration salt brines having a density of less than about 9 ppg. To achieve the desired viscosity of the viscosified treatment fluid, inter alia, for proppant particulate transport and to reduce leak off into the formation, the viscosified treatment fluid further may contain a viscosifying agent, such as water-soluble polymers (e.g., guar gums, cellulose derivatives, biopolymers, and the like). Viscosified treatment fluids that comprise single salt aqueous fluids with a greater density than typically used in fracturing and/or frac packing operation have been used heretofore to provide fluid loss control in subterranean operations. These fluids typically comprise a single salt aqueous fluid having a density of greater than about 9 ppg, a non-crosslinked viscosifying agent, and other conventional components. Alternatively, the viscosifying agent may be crosslinked. However, these viscosified treatment fluids that comprise a single salt aqueous fluid having a density of greater than about 9 ppg have not been used heretofore in fracturing and/or frac packing operations.

Viscosified treatment fluids and associated methods of use


Disclosed is a method for forming an aligned via under a trench to prevent voiding in a dual damascene process. The trench is formed in an oxide layer that is formed over a first metal layer and the first metal layer is formed over a semiconductor substrate. The method includes forming an etch stop layer over the oxide layer and forming a set of adjacent trenches in the oxide layer through a portion of the etch stop layer. The method also includes forming a resist layer at least partially over the etch stop layer. The resist layer is formed in a via pattern to expose the set of adjacent trenches through the via pattern. The method further includes etching the oxide layer under the set of adjacent trenches until the oxide layer is etched through to expose at least a portion of the first metal layer so as to form a via under each of the adjacent trenches. In this process, the etch stop layer inhibits the oxide layer underneath from being etched substantially such that each of the vias formed under the each of the adjacent trenches is substantially of a same width as and in alignment with the associated trench above.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the manufacture of semiconductor devices, and more particularly to a method for encapsulating a metal via in a damascene process.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since the introduction of semiconductor devices, the size of semiconductor devices have been continuously shrinking, resulting in smaller semiconductor chip size and increased device density on the chip. One of the limiting factors in the continuing evolution toward the smaller device size and higher density has been the interconnect area needed to route interconnect lines between devices. As a way to overcome such a limitation, multilevel interconnection systems have been implemented using shared interconnect lines between two or more levels.
Originally, conventional process techniques implemented multilevel interconnection systems by depositing a metal layer, photomasking the deposited metal layer, and then etching the metal layer to form a desired interconnection. However, since metals are typically more difficult to pattern and etch than other semiconductor layers such as dielectric or oxide layers, dual damascene process has been implemented to form metal vias and interconnects by dispensing entirely with the metal etching process. Dual damascene process is a well known semiconductor fabrication method for forming metal vias and interconnect lines.
In conventional dual damascene processes, a via and a trench are etched in an oxide layer such as an intermetal dielectric layer. The dielectric layer is typically formed over a metal layer. The via and the trench are then filled with a metal (e.g., Al, Cu) in the vias and trenches to form the metallization vias and interconnect lines, respectively. The excess metal above the trench level is then removed by well known chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) process.
Dual damascene process is gaining wider application in semiconductor process because it offers significant advantages over conventional process of etching metals. For example, it does not require etching of metals, such as copper and to a lesser degree, aluminum, which are more difficult to pattern and etch than dielectric materials. Additionally, the dual damascene process involves less process steps than conventional techniques that form vias as a separate step.
In general, however, a via or a trench becomes progressively more difficult to fill completely when the depth of the via or trench increases with respect to the width. In this context, the ratio of the depth to the width of a via or trench is referred to as "aspect ratio." The higher aspect ratio of the via and trench, the more difficult it becomes to fill them completely. Since a via is typically formed directly beneath a trench in a conventional dual damascene process, the height (i.e., depth) of the via and trench combination is generally is greater than either a via or a trench alone. The greater depth of the via and trench combination thus leads to voiding problem when metal is filled in the via and trench during the dual damascene process.
The voiding problem is particularly problematic for the via because the via is generally smaller in width (e.g., diameter) than the trench but has a greater depth from the opening of the trench to the bottom of the via. Furthermore, during the dual damascene process, the via is often formed in a mis-aligned fashion with respect to the trench above. The improper alignment between the via and the trench may significantly increase the aspect ratio of the via. For example, when the trench is not formed directly above the via, the width or the opening of the via decreases, which typically leads to voiding in the via when filled with a metal. Additionally, when a mis-aligned via is formed at the end of a metal interconnect line, the aspect ratio further increases due to line shortening effects during lithography.
The problem of a mis-aligned via with high aspect ratio, which leads to a voiding effect is illustrated in Prior Art FIGS. 1A and 1B. Prior Art FIG. 1A shows a cross sectional view of a silicon wafer stack 100 formed by a conventional dual damascene process. The wafer stack 100 includes a semiconductor substrate 102, an oxide layer 104, a metal layer 106, a first intermetal oxide (IMO) layer 108, a second IMO layer 110, and a third IMO layer 112. The metal layer 106 is formed over the oxide layer 104, which is formed over the substrate 102.
The wafer stack 100 has a via 114, which is mis-aligned with respect to a trench 116 formed over the via 114. That is, the position of the via 114 is skewed to one side and is not disposed in the center of the metal layer 106 or the trench 116. The depth of the via 114 is significantly greater than the width or the opening of the via 114. Accordingly, the aspect ratio of the via is relatively high.
Prior Art FIG. 1B illustrates the wafer stack 100 after filling the via 114 and the trench 116 with a metal 122 and a barrier layer 118. Due to the high aspect ratio of the via 114, metal 122 does not fill the via 114 completely. That is, a void is formed within the via 114.
As illustrated in Prior Art FIG. 1B, a result of the mis-aligned via with a high aspect ratio is the formation of void within the via when the via is subsequently filled with a metal. The void often forms due to the high aspect ratio of the via. Subsequently, the void within the filled via may cause reliability problem in an integrated circuit and lead to failure of a semiconductor device. In addition, the mis-aligned via typically results in a smaller overlap area between the via and the trench. The smaller overlap area generally increases via resistivity during operation. The mis-aligned vias with consequent high aspect ratios result in reduced process margins, lower yield, and lower reliability of semiconductor devices.
In view of the foregoing, what is needed is a method for forming a properly aligned via with a trench in a dual damascene process. In addition, what is also needed is a method for preventing voids in a metal via to ensure fabrication of more reliable semiconductor devices.

Method for forming aligned vias under trenches in a dual damascene process


A multi-component scavenging system containing at least one ester and at least one electron-deficient organic compound, together with or without one or more optional components such as an aldehyde having from 4 to 20 carbon atoms, a ketone having from 4 to 20 carbon atoms, an ether, a solvent, an alkali metal salt of an alkyl or dialkyl phenol, an epoxide, an alkyl anhydride, and mixtures thereof, may be used to scavenge contaminants from hydrocarbon and/or aqueous streams. The contaminants scavenged or otherwise removed may include, but are not necessarily limited to, ammonia, primary amines, secondary or tertiary amines, H2S, mercaptans, sulfide cyanides, and combinations thereof.

In the drilling, completions, production, transport, storage, and processing of crude oil and natural gas, including waste water associated with crude oil and gas production, and in the storage of residual fuel oil, contaminants are often encountered. Such contaminants may include, but are not necessarily limited to, ammonia, primary, secondary and tertiary amines, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), mercaptans, sulfides, and/or cyanides. Under suitable conditions, ammonia and organic amines tend to combine with hydrogen halides to form corrosive deposits on the internal surfaces of refinery units, especially in the overhead system, which can lead to serious operation failure due to the acidic nature of these deposits. Such failure can be disastrous, with consequences that may include not only the loss of production, but also the loss of life. Thus, properly managing these deposits is important. Further, the presence of H2S and mercaptans is extremely objectionable because they are an acute health hazard and often highly corrosive. Still another reason that mercaptans are undesirable is that they have highly noxious odors. The odors resulting from mercaptans are detectable by the human nose at comparatively low concentrations and are well known. For example, mercaptans are used to odorize natural gas and used as a repellant by skunks and other animals.
Further, other of these contaminants in hydrocarbon and/or water systems may cause various health, safety and environmental (HSE) concerns and/or corrosion issues during the production, storage, transportation and processing of oil and gas.
To eliminate these contaminants and potentially harmful species, various scavenger systems have been developed in the art. However, many of these systems have limitations, including, but not necessarily limited to, low reactivity and therefore low efficiency, containing atypical components or elements that may adversely affect fuel or fluid quality, or may present toxicity concerns themselves and/or as the consequent reaction products.
It would be desirable if methods and/or compositions could be devised that would remove, reduce, eliminate, take out or otherwise remove such contaminants from these hydrocarbon and/or aqueous streams, as well as reduce, alleviate or eliminate corrosion caused by these undesired contaminants.


A single use disposable glove utilizing the cutting and sealing process. The various layers of the glove are produced from an extrusion process made from a variety of materials including, but not limited to, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyurethane, polybutene, styrene-butadiene copolymers, ethylene-propylene copolymers, their mixtures and blends.

The most widely used element to protect an individual's hand during work or other endeavors would be a glove. Historically, gloves were produced utilizing a large number of different processes as well as various sorts of materials depending on the variety of applications.
For example, gloves used in gardening and in sports which would require the use of a heavy duty material would be made by sewing pieces of these materials together. These materials would include, but are not limited to leather, fabric, non-woven cloth and various combinations of these materials. Furthermore, these types of gloves were made to last through a number of repetitive usages. Additionally, the purpose of these types of gloves was to protect the user's hand and not necessarily other individuals.
Single use disposable gloves have been produced for utilization in, but not limited to medical procedures as well as for use in the food service industry. These types of single use gloves are employed to protect both the user as well as other individuals from contact with various germs or pathogens. Generally, these types of single use disposable gloves are manufactured using a dipping method or a cutting and heat sealing method.
The dipping method would employ a three dimensional hand shaped former which is introduced into a forming liquid compound. A portion of the forming liquid compound would adhere to the hand shaped former to produce a thin layer of film thereon. After this thin layer of film solidifies, the thin layer film would be stripped from the former, thereby producing a glove. This type of process is generally utilized to produce medical examination and surgical gloves, due to the fact that the combination of the three dimensional former would yield a glove which is relatively form fitting on the user's hand. This is due in part to the effective elasticity of the materials used during the dipping process. This form fitting characteristic of gloves produced by the dipping process is measured by applying stress to the glove for the purpose of deforming the glove and then releasing the glove from the stress. A measurement is then made as to whether the glove fully recovered to its original shape after being released from the stress. For example, utilizing a rubber glove formed from the dipping process, the deformation after a 100% stretch is less than 10%.
The dipping process employs a wide range of plastic and rubber polymers such as, but not limited to, natural rubber latex (NRL), carboxylated acrylonitrile butadiene copolymer (Nitrile), polyisoprene (PI), polychloroporene (Neoprene), polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) etc. as well as the various combinations produced via blending and copolymerization of these materials. A combination of these materials can be used from a blend of two or more of these compounds in a single dipping step. Conversely, a multiple dipping process producing a structured film provided with multiple layers can be employed. Generally, medical gloves produced by the dipping process would have a thickness of at least 0.08 mm for natural rubber latex or at least 0.05 mm for the aforementioned compounds. This parameter is required by the FDA and/or ASTM. Additionally, it is noted that it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to use the dipping process to produce films having a thickness of less than 0.05 mm without compromising the integrity of the produced film. Among the aforementioned materials, NRL, Nitrile and PVC would account for at least 95% of all commercially produced medical examination gloves. Table 1 lists the major attributes of these gloves.
TABLE 1Typical properties of dipped PVC, NRL andNitrile medical examination glovesPropertiesPVCNRLNitrileTensile Strength (MPA)11~1518~2520~40Elongation (%)300~400~800 ~600Deformation after 8~16~5 5~10100% stretch (%)Thickness range (mm)0.06~0.100.08~0.120.06~0.12Weight (grams)>5>5 >4
While the physical properties of these gloves are quite different in terms of tensile strength and elongation, they also share quite some common characteristics such as thickness, weight, and deformation; after all, the application is the same, for medical examination.
Due to the fact that the combination of the three dimensional former and the minimal deformation, all these materials could yield very good form fitting articles. To characterize the form fitting parameter, a specimen is stressed to deform the article and is then the form is released to measure if the article could fully recover to its original shape. Quantitatively, the dumbbell specimen is stretched to 100% elongation and is held for ten seconds. The specimen is released and the length is immediately measured, as well as within ten seconds of the release. As the data in Table 1 is demonstrated, all the gloves have a deformation less than 10%, demonstrating that these gloves are form fitting gloves.
Another common characteristic is the fact that all of these gloves are thicker than 0.05 mm. On one hand, it is required by FDA regulations and ASTM standards for medical devices. On the other hand technically, it is also extremely difficult, if not impossible to dip films at thickness less than 0.05 mm without compromising film integrity severely.
Dipped gloves are mainly used as medical devices as well as commonly seen in food service industries. However, the majority of food service gloves are made via a cutting and sealing process. The prior art cutting and sealing process would utilize polymers extruded by, but not limited to, blowing, casting or calendaring the polymers into thin films. Two films would be laid upon each other on a flat surface. If a glove is to be produced, a metallic hand shaped knife constructed from, but not limited to, copper or stainless steel would be applied to the top of the first film to cut through both film layers. Since the hand shaped knife is also heated, the layers would be welded together along the cutting line as the films are cut to form one glove.
Table 2 illustrates the properties of a typical prior art food service glove manufactured by polyethylene (PE) using the cutting and sealing method.
TABLE 2Typical properties of cut and sealed PE food service glovePropertiesPETensile Strength (MPa)11~15Elongation (%)~600Deformation after 100% stretch (%)30~50Thickness range (mm)0.01~0.02Weight (grams) <2
Disposable gloves used in the food service industry are generally manufactured using this process. The most common material for this process is polyethylene. Due to the combination of producing the gloves using a two dimensional flat former and the plastic nature of polyethylene, in contradistinction to the gloves formed by the dipping process, the gloves produced by the cutting and sealing process are much less form fitting to the user's hand. As a matter of fact, these gloves are very baggy and clumsy for task performance. In terms of deformation after a 100% stretch of the produced gloves, in contrast to the 10% recovery of the materials generally used in the dipping process, the use of polyethylene would exhibit a deformation of 30%, or even 50%. Furthermore, since these gloves could have a thickness of less than 0.02 mm, the durability of these gloves is poor. Technically, to exclude thicker films is not a problem, but such a thick polyethylene glove would be very uncomfortable to wear and would be difficult to perform the required tasks needed in the food handling industry.