A safety joint to be included in a riser between a floating structure and a subsea installation at a location in the riser above a stress joint where it will be subjected to minimum bending loads. The safety joint includes a first riser coupling at its upper end for connection to a corresponding riser coupling of a riser joint and a second riser coupling at its lower end for connection to a corresponding riser coupling of a riser joint or stress joint. An emergency disconnect package with an emergency disconnect coupling and a retainer valve unit is arranged between the upper end and the lower end of the safety joint. A riser including such a safety joint.

Development within offshore oil and gas exploration in the recent years has been directed to subsea installations for processing and transport of oil and gas. The subsea installation is located at the well on the seabed and is connected to a floating structure by means of a so-called riser, which constitutes a conduit between the subsea installation and the floating structure. The subsea installation may be a wellhead or other type of equipment positioned on the seabed or in a fixed position above the seabed. The floating structure may for instance be a vessel. Movements of the floating structure due to waves, wind and sea-currents can cause bending of the riser and influence the tension thereof. The riser is designed to be capable of withstanding a certain amount of bending and tension encountered during normal conditions. However, in an emergency situation, for instance due to severe weather conditions, the riser might be subjected to excessive bending and tensioning with a risk of damage to the riser and to the equipment connected to the riser. In order to avoid such damage, a so-called emergency disconnect package can be used to disconnect the riser from the subsea installation in an emergency situation or if the operator predicts that adverse conditions are imminent. The emergency disconnect package is traditionally secured to the subsea installation below a stress joint provided at the lower end of the riser. Such an arrangement is for instance disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,659,690 B1 and WO 2008/051092 A1. When the riser has to be disconnected from the subsea installation in an emergency situation, the emergency disconnect package is actuated to release the stress joint and the riser from the subsea installation. Normally, the riser also comprises a safety joint provided with a weak link that will automatically break when subjected to an excessive axial force. Such a safety joint may be located at the base of the stress joint or connected between the stress joint and the lowermost riser joint or between two riser joints at the lower end of the riser.
The safety joint of the present invention is particularly intended to be used in a completion and work over riser. A completion and work over riser is used in the oil and gas industry when oil and/or gas is to be extracted from one or more offshore wells. Completion and work over operations are performed on a subsea wellhead using a completion and work over riser. A completion and work over riser may for instance be used for installing or retrieving a so-called X-mas tree. It may also be used for installing or pulling a so-called tubing hanger. With a dual bore riser it will be possible to circulate a fluid down through the production pipe and up through the annulus pipe or vice versa. Such fluid circulation may be used to clean a well and to test and verify a circulation path. The bore of the production pipe and the bore of the annulus pipe of a dual bore riser may be connected to two corresponding bores in an X-mas tree so that a wire line or coiled tubing can be used to access plugs or other devices installed in the bores of the X-mas tree. The bore of the production pipe of a riser may also be connected to the production tubing that extends from a tubing hanger all the way to the bottom of a well. Installing the tubing and tubing hanger is referred to as completing a well and is consequently a completion operation. When a well is completed, it is made ready for production of oil and/or gas or alternatively for injection of gas or water. If the well does not produce as expected, it may be overhauled or repaired in different ways. This is referred to as work over.
A completion and work over riser may be of the monobore type or the dual bore type. A dual bore riser comprises a production pipe and an annulus pipe extending in parallel with the production pipe. The production pipe is typically designed for taking a load and has strength for lifting, whereas the annulus pipe may be a pressure containing pipe with no strength for lifting. A monobore riser comprises a production pipe but no annulus pipe.


A system for in-person identity verification comprises a computing device, an identity broker, a verifier system and a network. The user computing device sends a request for identity verification to the identity broker and it responds with a verification ticket including a unique identification number. The user presents the ticket to a clerk using the verifier system. The clerk inputs the unique identification number to the verifier system, the verifier system sends it to the identity broker and the identity broker sends user information that the verifier system presents to the clerk. The clerk compares the information to a photo government ID of the user and inputs whether the information presented by the user matches the information presented by the verifier, and whether the person is the person in the photo ID. Based on the clerk's input, the identity broker sends to the user computing device a message indicating whether the verification was confirmed or declined.

1. Technical Field
The present specification relates to a system and method verifying the identity of a user and in particular, the present specification relates to a system and method for real identity verification. The present specification relates to a system and method for multi-tier identity verification.
2. Background
With the growth of social networking, email and use of the internet generally there is a need to ensure that the users of accounts are who they say they are. Just as identity fraud is on the rise for conventional commercial transactions, it is also on the rise in the digital world. For example, there is an increase in the number of email account logins and passwords that are being stolen by keyloggers for account hijacking or takeover such as to send spam from those accounts. Similarly, fraud and unauthorized account use is also on the rise. Since many systems require only a login name and a simple password, the use of such system by imposters or a user other that the person that created the account is also on the increase.


Disclosed is an alkaline storage battery using a negative electrode formed of a hydrogen absorbing alloy capable of absorbing/desorbing hydrogen electrochemically. A three-dimensional structural matter having hydrophobic property is used as a supporter for supporting the hydrogen absorbing alloy of the negative electrode, so that hydrophobic property is given to the surface of the hydrogen absorbing alloy which is in contact with the support, whereby a hydrogen gas generated in a charging period is absorbed by powder of the alloy exposed at a gas phase portion to suppress the increase of the internal gas pressure of the battery.. According to the present invention, it is possible to perform rapid charge in a short time because the increase of the internal gas pressure of the battery can be suppressed.

The present invention relates to a sealed alkaline storage battery using a negative electrode of a hydrogen absorbing alloy capable of electrochemically absorbing/desorbing hydrogen acting as an active material.
Recently, hydrogen absorbing alloys capable of electro-chemically absorbing/desorbing hydrogen acting as an active material have attracted attention for use as a negative electrode material having high energy density. High-capacity sealed storage batteries such as a sealed nickel-hydrogen storage battery and a closed manganese dioxide-hydrogen storage battery have been developed by combining this type negative electrodes and available positive electrodes such as a nickel positive electrode and a manganese dioxide positive electrode. In the past, this type negative electrodes for use in the sealed nickel-hydrogen storage battery and methods of producing this type negative electrodes have been proposed as follows.
(1) A method of producing a negative electrode comprising filling a nickel porous matter having a three-dimensional structure with hydrogen absorbing alloy powder together an alkali-resisting binding agent (Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 53-38631).
(2) A method of producing a negative electrode comprising the steps of: applying hydrogen absorbing alloy powder to a supporting metal; and sintering the alloy powder in an atmosphere of an inert gas (Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 62-278754).
(3) A method of producing a negative electrode comprising the steps of: kneading hydrogen absorbing alloy powder and polytetrafluoroethylene (hereinafter referred to as "PTFE") powder or its aqueous solution dispersion while applying shearing stress thereto; pressing the kneaded matter to prepare a sheet; and sticking the sheet to a nickel net or the like (Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 60-136162).
(4) A method in which at least one portion of a negative electrode formed of a hydrogen absorbing alloy is provided with a hydrophobic layer (Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 61-118963).
The negative electrodes produced by the aforementioned methods have a disadvantage in that short-time (about an hour) charging required in various types of portable apparatus and the like is difficult or in that the reliability of the battery may deteriorate with repetition of charging/discharging though short-time (rapid) charging may be made in the early stage where the battery is just constructed. When the prior art negative electrodes formed by the above methods (1) and (2) are subject to relatively slow charging with respect to which the time required for perfect charging is within a range of from about 4.5 hours to about 16 hours, there arises no problem particularly awaiting solution. When the prior art negative electrodes produced by the above methods (1) and (2) are subject to rapid charging, however, the internal gas pressure of the battery increases in an overcharging period so that a safety vent (which is, in general, actuated by the battery inner pressure of 10 to 15 kg/cm.sup.2 in the same manner as an ordinary nickel-cadmium battery) is actuated so that the alkaline electrolyte of the battery leaks to constitute an obstacle to various battery characteristics and safety. Accordingly, in the prior art negative electrodes produced by the above methods (1) and (2), short-time charging is impossible.
In the prior art negative electrode produced by the above method (3), the respective sheets composed of fiber-like fluororesin and hydrogen absorbing alloy powder are located on the opposite sides of the nickel net respectively. In the configuration of the negative electrode, the fiber-like fluororesin gives suitable hydrophobic property to the surfaces of the hydrogen absorbing alloy powders to improve gas absorption ability in an overcharging period to thereby make it possible to perform short-time charging in the early stage where the battery is just constructed. It is however very difficult to prepare reproducibly similar sheets by the aforementioned steps of; kneading hydrogen absorbing alloy powder and PTFE powder while applying shearing stress thereto; and pressing the mulled matter. Accordingly, the internal gas pressure of the battery in a short-time charging period varies widely and sometimes exceeds 20 kg/cm.sup.2. Furthermore, the negative electrode is inferior in mechanical strength because the sheet formed by tangling the alloy particles with the fluororesin fibers is stuck to the nickel net. Accordingly, the alloy and the fluororesin are subject to expansion/contraction due to repetition of charging/discharging and changes in temperature, resulting in deterioration in the negative electrode. Accordingly, the prior art negative electrode produced by the above method (3) has a problem in that the reliability of the battery deteriorates with repetition of charging/discharging.
The proposal by the above method (4) is that a hydrophobic layer is provided in a portion of a negative electrode to thereby improve gas absorption capacity in an overcharging period. Although short-time charging is possible in this case, there arises a problem in that the hydrophobic layer provided in the negative electrode is made to come off by the expansion/contraction of the alloy due to repetition of charge/discharge or by a gas generated, so that the internal gas pressure of the battery increases with repetition of charging/discharging cycles.

Sealed alkaline storage battery and method of producing negative electrode thereof

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A system and method of controlling a distributed processing system such as a including a first computer that includes a first Java virtual machine and a Java control system that also includes a look-up service. The distributed processing system also includes a second computer that includes a second Java virtual machine and a second Java control system client. The distributed processing system also includes a computer network that couples the first computer and the second computer. The second computer can be configured to register with the look-up service for a first predetermined time period. The second computer registration is examined to determine if the second computer registration will be renewed with the look-up service for a subsequent predetermined time period.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to distributed software execution, and more particularly to a methods and systems for managing and controlling a multiple server facility.
2. Description of the Related Art
A server farm is a group of networked servers that are housed in one location. A server farm typically streamlines internal processes by distributing the workload between the individual servers and other components of the farm. The server farm can also expedite computing processes by efficiently harnessing the power of the multiple computers (e.g., multiple servers). FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a typical, prior art server farm 100. The server farm 100 includes multiple servers 102A-n which are networked together by a network 104. The server farm 100 can also include input/output systems 108 for interfacing and networking the server farm 100 to other computers or computer networks (e.g., Internet, LAN, WAN, etc.). The server farm 100 can also include other devices 110 such as may be necessary for the particular demands of the server farm 100.
The server farm is controlled by a control system 106. The control system 106 is typically a separate controlling computer that includes controlling software 106A. The controlling software 106A is typically specifically designed for the precise needs and design of the server farm 100. The controlling software 106A accomplishes such tasks as load balancing, tracking demand for processing power from the different servers 102A-n, prioritizing the tasks input to the server farm 100 and scheduling and rescheduling the tasks depending on priority and demand that users place on the server farm 100. The control system 106 can also automatically replace a failed server (e.g., server 102A) with another server (e.g., server 102B), when the failed server 102A fails.
Combining servers and processing power into a single server farm 100 has been relatively common for many years in research and academic institutions. However server farms are becoming more and more common as companies are utilizing server farms as a way of handling the enormous amount of computerization of tasks and services that the particular company may require.
The typical prior art server farm control system software 106A includes multiple low-level applications that are specifically designed for the specific hardware and software configuration of each of the individual servers 102A-n and the server farm 100. As server farms become more and more common, the specialization and customization of the control system software 106A becomes more problematic. Each implementation of the typical low level, very specifically designed control system software 106A is very complicated. The complications arise due to the individual, specific hardware and software configuration of the server farm 100. The implementation of the specifically designed control system software 106A is repetitive because many server farms have common requirements. Therefore, customized, low-level control system software 106A is very inefficient and unnecessarily difficult.
What is needed is a simpler and easier-to-implement server farm control system software that also provides the high speed advantages of the prior art low-level applications while also being flexible enough to be deployed on a variety of types of server hardware and software combinations.

System and method for controlling and managing computer farms


A method of measuring a surface structure of a display device is provided. The display device includes first and second substrates, first and second patterned light-shielding layers, and first and second pixel units. The first patterned light-shielding layer disposed on a surface of the first substrate includes first openings. The second patterned light-shielding layer disposed on the surface of the first substrate includes second openings. The first pixel unit includes first and second protrusions. The first protrusion correspondingly covers the first openings and a portion of the first patterned light-shielding layer. The second protrusion is disposed on and directly contacted with the first and second patterned light-shielding layers. The second pixel unit includes a third protrusion correspondingly covering the second openings and a portion of the second patterned light-shielding layer, wherein sizes of the second openings are smaller than sizes of the first openings.

1. Field of Invention
The invention is related to a method of measuring a surface structure of a display device, and is particularly related to a method of measuring a size of a surface structure of a display device, which is applying to the field of display device.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, the trend of the display products is light, thin, small, and high resolution. However, these requirements cause difficulties in design, fabrication and size measurement of the internal structures of the display device. That is, in order to dispose more pixels in a smaller space to provide a higher resolution, the interval space between the structures is not sufficient. Therefore, the precision and the reproducibility of the size measurement results of the structures are poor. Furthermore, it is difficult to control the processes by adjusting the parameters according to the size measurement results, thus the production yield and the throughput are reduced.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a display device and an optical measuring apparatus for a surface structure. Referring to FIG. 1, the display device includes a first substrate 210, a patterned light-shielding layer 214, at least one first protrusion 218, and at least one second protrusions 2184. The first substrate 210 has a first surface 212. The patterned light-shielding layer 214 has a plurality of openings 216 and disposed on the first surface 212 of the first substrate 210. The first protrusion 218 correspondingly covers the openings 216 of the patterned light-shielding layer 214 and a portion of the patterned light-shielding layer 214. The second protrusions 2184 are disposed in the patterned light-shielding layer 214. The optical measuring apparatus for a surface structure (not shown) includes a positional movable platform (not shown), a light source (not shown), an operation processing unit (not shown), and a microscope lens 100, and the microscope lens 100 includes a dichroic mirror (not shown), a first light detector (not shown), and a second light detector (not shown).
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the optical measuring apparatus for a surface structure and the first substrate 210 of the display device along line A-A′ in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2, the positional movable platform carries the first substrate 210 of the tested display device to posit the microscope lens 100 directly over the patterned light-shielding layer 214 on the first substrate 210. The light source emits a parallel light beam 102 toward the patterned light-shielding layer 214, and the parallel light beam 102 is divided into a measuring light beam and an interference light beam by the dichroic mirror. The measuring light beam irradiates the patterned light-shielding layer 214 on the first substrate 210, a reflected light reflected from the patterned light-shielding layer 214 to the microscope lens 100 is received and converted into a first signal by the first light detector, and the interference light beam is received and converted into a second signal by the second light detector.
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the optical measuring apparatus for a surface structure and the first substrate 210 of the display device along line A-A′ in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 3, the positional movable platform is moved to posit the microscope lens 100 directly over the first protrusion 218 on the first surface 212 of the first substrate 210. The light source emits a parallel light beam 102 toward the first protrusion 218, and the parallel light beam 102 is divided into a measuring light beam and an interference light beam by the dichroic mirror. The measuring light beam irradiates the first protrusion 218 of the first substrate 210, a reflected light reflected from the first protrusion 218 to the microscope lens 100 is received and converted into a third signal by the first light detector, and the interference light beam is received and converted into a fourth signal by the second light detector.
FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the optical measuring apparatus for a surface structure and the first substrate 210 of the display device along line A-A′ in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 4, the positional movable platform is further moved to posit the microscope lens 100 directly over the second protrusion 2184 on the first surface 212 of the first substrate 210. The light source emits a parallel light beam 102 toward the second protrusion 2184, and the parallel light beam 102 is divided into a measuring light beam and an interference light beam by the dichroic mirror. The measuring light beam irradiates the second protrusion 2184 of the first substrate 210, a reflected light reflected from the second protrusion 2184 to the microscope lens 100 is received and converted into a fifth signal by the first light detector, and the interference light beam is received and converted into a sixth signal by the second light detector. The first signal, the second signal, the third signal, the fourth signal, the fifth signal, and the sixth signal are received and operated by the operation processing unit to output the height of the first protrusion 218 and the height of the second protrusion 2184 on the first surface 212 of the first substrate 210.
However, in order to dispose more pixels in a smaller space to provide a higher resolution, a width of the light-shielding layer disposed between the pixels should be reduced. Therefore, the light-shielding layer can not provide a single plane having a sufficient width, and a uniform reflected light is not obtained as the measuring light beam irradiates the patterned light-shielding layer 214. Accordingly, the precision and the reproducibility of the size measurement results of the structures are poor. Furthermore, it is difficult to control the processes by adjusting the parameters according to the size measurement results, thus the production yield and the throughput are reduced.

Method of measuring surface structure of display device


A fiber-based master optical power amplifier (MOPA) is configured to utilize a pump source that operates in pulse mode with the arrival time of the pump pulses coordinated with the arrival time of the input pulses. The width of the pump pulses is also controlled, thus providing a mechanism for controlling both the amount of pump energy injected into the fiber amplifier, as well as the overlap in time between the pump pulse and the seed pulse. As the pulse repetition interval (PRI) of the input seed pulse changes, the timing of the pump pulses and their width are also changed so that a “constant gain” environment is created within the amplifying medium, providing an essentially constant energy output pulse, regardless of differences in ASE generated during different PRIs.

A MOPA is known in the art as a specific type of optical amplifier that comprises at least two separate elements, a laser source (the "master oscillator") and an optical amplifier. At times, the laser source is referred to as the "seed laser". As this name implies, the laser source is used to "seed" an optical amplifier with an input trigger signal that then generates a high power output signal pulse. By virtue of using a separate power amplification component, the various performance aspects of the laser source itself are decoupled from the requirements of the power generator. Indeed, the MOPA technology provides an efficient power scaling architecture for pulsed laser applications such as "light detection and ranging" (LIDAR). LIDAR is a technology that can be used to measure distances to remote targets, with a laser source used to generate optical pulses that are amplified and directed toward a target which then scatters the light. The separate power amplifier within the MOPA can thus be independently controlled to provide the desired amount of signal gain for a given LIDAR application. Some of the scattered light is received at a detector co-located with the laser source and the distance to the target is then determined based on one or more characteristics of the returned light.
In many LIDAR applications, a relatively high power (e.g., on the order of hundreds of watts) optical pulse is required so that the scattered, returned light has enough power to yield accurate distance calculations. For some applications (such as, for example, on-board automotive LIDAR systems), the MOPA is configured to generate extremely narrow output pulses and thus requires the use of nsec-scale seed laser pulses. The amplifier portion typically comprises a fiber-based (rare-earth) amplifier (such as an erbium-doped fiber amplifier, EDFA) that utilizes pump light at an appropriate wavelength (e.g., 980 nm) to excite the rare-earth ions in the fiber and thereby amplify the seed laser input signal pulses to a power level sufficient for the required "high power" output pulses. The seed laser is controlled to exhibit a predetermined pulse repetition rate. Instead of defining the input signal pulse train in terms of repetition rate, it is also common to define the pulse train by its "pulse repetition interval" (PRI), which defines the time interval between adjacent pulses (typically measured from the rising edge of a first pulse to the rising edge of a second pulse).
For applications such as LIDAR, there is a need to vary the PRI over an extended period of time to account for constant changes in the surrounding area being surveyed. Changing the PRI has been found to create a transient change in output energy, which is attributed to changes in the amount of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), radiative noise, produced as the PRI is changed. Previously, this problem has been addressed by controlling the drive current applied to the pump source so as to modify the amount of pump energy available as a function of changes in PRI. This not considered as a satisfactory solution in many applications, such as MOPAs utilizing multiple PRIs that change rapidly as a function of time, since the gain response of the amplifier may not be managed as quickly as the change in PRI.


An apparatus and method for thermal protection is provided. A thermal protection apparatus includes a porous layer attached to an inner structural member requiring thermal protection. The porous layer serves as both a cooling air plenum and a transpiring medium. The porous layer may include a low strength ceramic foam layer. Thermal protection may be achieved by flowing cooling air the length of the porous layer. The voids in the porous layer may be sized to less than 50 μm, producing uniquely efficient thermal protection due to micro-fluidic effects in the air flowing through the layer. A semi-permeable layer may be attached to the outer surface of the porous layer. The semi-permeable layer may prevent erosion of the porous layer and may transform the porous layer into a plenum by making the majority of the cooling air flow the length of the porous layer before exiting through small holes drilled or punched through the semi-permeable layer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally directed to methods and apparatuses for achieving thermal protection of low temperature materials in a high heat flux environment, and, more particularly, to active cooling methods and apparatuses traditionally involving backside convective cooling or transpiration cooling.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many engineering applications involve long-term exposure of structural materials to high heat flux thermal environments. The use of lightweight or low cost materials in such environment is often times only possible if some sort of thermal protection system (TPS) is incorporated into the design. The use of high temperature insulation or other passive approaches can result in unacceptably large mass/volume penalties, major supportability concerns, or severe operational restrictions. Long-term protection requires some sort of active cooling system, such as backside convective cooling or transpiration cooling.
A backside convective cooling TPS includes a thermally conductive material that transfers heat to a flowing coolant. Thermal management of the energy absorbed by the coolant significantly increases the complexity of this TPS. The coolant must reject the absorbed thermal energy at a heat sink or else be expelled and replaced.
A transpiration cooling TPS is the most thermally efficient active cooling approach, but its implementation has been severely limited due to difficulties imposed by the structural characteristics of porous materials. A typical transpiration TPS has a plenum bounded by an outer wall made from a porous material. The porous material has a large convective surface area per unit volume, providing highly effective cooling of the material and ultimately good thermal protection to the underlying structure. However, the choice of porous material for a transpiration TPS poses a difficult design problem. The two most attractive possibilities, porous ceramics and porous sintered metals, each have significant drawbacks. Porous ceramics tend to be brittle and have reduced structural strength compared to metals. Porous sintered metals tend to be stronger but are also heavier than porous ceramics, and thus may impose an unacceptable weight penalty.
Additionally, the need for a separate plenum for both backside convective and transpiration thermal protection systems adds greatly to the cost, weight and complexity of these systems. The need for a plenum in these systems may also be completely incompatible with applications requiring material continuity throughout the TPS.

Actively cooled ceramic thermal protection system


Provided are an electronic device capable of providing text information corresponding to a user voice through a user interface and a method of controlling the electronic device. Specifically, an electronic device according to the present disclosure, when an image including at least one object is obtained, analyzes the image to identify the at least one object included in the image, and when a user voice is received, performs voice recognition on the user voice to obtain text information corresponding to the user voice, then identifies an object corresponding to the user voice among the at least one object included in the image, and displays a memo user interface (UI) including text information on an area corresponding to the object identified as corresponding to the user voice among areas on a display.

Recently, as technology using voice recognition is applied to electronic devices of various types, a user is able to generate text information by uttering the user voice and display the generated text information on a display without having to directly input the text information.
However, according to related art, in order for a user of an electronic device to generate text information in the electronic device by using voice recognition and display at an area on the display desired by the user, there is the disadvantage of having to endure the inconvenience of performing a number of steps such as, for example, and without limitation, executing an application for generating text information, inputting a trigger input for voice recognition, uttering the user voice corresponding to the text information, designating a position at which the text information is to be displayed, designating a size and form in which the text information is to be displayed, and the like.
Accordingly, there is a growing need for intuitive and simple technology capable of performing a series of processes that obtain the text information corresponding to the user voice and display the obtained text information at an area on the display desired by the user.

Electronic device and method of controlling electronic device


An image forming apparatus which forms a halftone image on a print medium by using a multipass process to scan a printhead N (N is an integer of 2 or more) times in a single area on the print medium and form dots by each scan operation includes a pass division unit which sets the print density of a scan operation in the first pass so as to prevent dots from overlapping with each other on the print medium, and sets the print densities of scan operations in the second to Nth passes, a tone reduction unit which generates print data of the respective scan operations in accordance with the print densities set by the pass division unit, and a printhead which prints a halftone image on a print medium on the basis of the print data generated by the tone reduction unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and image forming method for forming an image on a print medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various techniques have been proposed to suppress density nonuniformity caused by variations of printhead characteristics. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-309874 discloses a technique of setting the number of multiscan operations in accordance with image data to be printed. According to this technique, a high-quality printed image can be obtained without unnecessarily decreasing the print speed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-063015 discloses a technique of suppressing the print density of the first pass by setting the sum of the ratios of print amounts by odd-numbered scan operations smaller than that of the ratios of print amounts by even-numbered scan operations in a given print area.
Streaks (to be also referred to as streaking hereinafter) may appear in a printed image owing to variations of the orifice diameter, discharge direction, and the like of a printhead. If dots overlap each other within the same pass, streaks often appear more conspicuously than in a case where dots overlap each other in different passes, degrading the print quality. In multipass printing, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-309874 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-063015, control using mask data and a density correction table cannot prevent overlapping of dots even at low image density. Density nonuniformity, streaking, and the like may stand out.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method


An apparatus and a method for ultrasonic testing obtains high-resolution and high-S/N ratio testing results by driving a number of piezoelectric elements using fewer pulsers and receivers in comparison with the number of elements composing an array transducer. A sensor information setter sets a plurality of piezoelectric element groups used for transmission and a plurality of piezoelectric element groups used for reception among the plurality of piezoelectric elements composing an ultrasonic array transducer. A computer transmits an ultrasonic wave from the element cluster set for transmission, and stores an ultrasonic wave received by the element cluster set for reception. The procedure is repeated including different element cluster sets for transmission and reception to obtain first receive signals. The first receive signals are summed to obtain a second receive signal; and the second receive signal is displayed with reference to the sensor center position on a display unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for ultrasonic testing which is one of non-destructive testing methods. More particularly, the present invention is related to an apparatus and a method for ultrasonic testing by using an array ultrasonic sensor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional ultrasonic testing methods targeting various kinds of structural materials utilize an ultrasonic sensor composed of a single element for transmission and reception of an ultrasonic wave. The ultrasonic sensor receives an ultrasonic signal reflected by a defect or the like inside an object under test to detect a defect based on the propagation time of the ultrasonic signal and the position of the ultrasonic sensor.
Specifically, conventional methods comprises the steps of: appropriately selecting an angle and vibration mode (longitudinal wave, transversal wave, etc.) of an ultrasonic wave to be applied to the object under test; moving the ultrasonic sensor to obtain a position at which a sufficiently strong reflected wave (echo) can be obtained from a defect; and identifying the size of the defect based on a difference between reception times of reflected waves from the bottom surface (far-side boundary surface) and the top face (near-side boundary surface) of the object under test, multiplied by the sonic velocity of the material of the object under test.
These methods are commonly used for ordinary defect inspections because of their simple operating principle and relatively simple instrumentation. However, since it is necessary to measure a reflected ultrasonic wave and evaluate the existence and position of a defect only from reception time of the reflected wave, high-accuracy testing requires experienced inspector and is time-consuming.
In recent years, new ultrasonic testing methods have been developed. As represented by the phased array method, these new techniques image the inside of an object under test with high accuracy (refer to, for example, Nonpatent Document 1).
The phased array method utilizes a so-called ultrasonic array transducer composed of an array of several tens of piezoelectric elements and operates on a principle that wave fronts of ultrasonic waves transmitted from the piezoelectric elements mutually interfere to form one combined wave front in the course of propagation. Therefore, controlling the timing of ultrasonic wave transmission from each piezoelectric element with a time delay (on a time-shift basis) makes it possible to control the ultrasonic beam angle and allow the ultrasonic wave to focus.
When receiving reflected ultrasonic waves, summing up these waves received by the piezoelectric elements on a time-shift basis makes it possible to control the receive beam angle of one combined ultrasonic wave as well as receive ultrasonic waves at one focal position in a similar way to transmission.
Generally known processes for the phased array method include the linear scanning process which linearly feeds piezoelectric elements and the sectorial scanning process which changes ultrasonic-wave transmit and receive directions in a fan-like form. Both processes can apply ultrasonic waves at high speed without moving the ultrasonic sensor and control the beam angle and focal depth position of the ultrasonic wave without replacing the ultrasonic sensor. Therefore, it can be said that both techniques enable high-speed and high-accuracy testing.
Of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, the phased array method has the advantage of controlling the beam angle and focal position of the combined ultrasonic wave by using a plurality of piezoelectric elements, and allowing high-speed and high-accuracy testing.
On the other hand, the focal depth is determined by an aperture of the array transducer (nearly equals the size of a piezoelectric element composing the array transducer multiplied by the number of elements). Therefore, testing an object having a long propagation path therein or a thick plate requires a large-sized array transducer (an array transducer composed of a number of elements) having a focal depth suitable for its size.
For example, suppose a case where a steel material (with a sonic velocity of longitudinal ultrasonic wave of 6000 m/s and a wavelength of 3 mm) is tested by using an array transducer with a frequency of 2 MHz. Generally, with an ultrasonic transducer having an aperture size of A (mm), the ultrasonic wave is strong in the vicinity of the near-sound-field limit distance (NF) represented by the formula (1) below. Therefore, an ultrasonic transducer having a larger aperture is required to test a thicker material. When using an array transducer normally having a constant frequency and a constant interval between piezoelectric elements, it is necessary to use a multi-element array transducer having increased number of piezoelectric elements for testing.
[Formula 1]NF=A2/4λ  (1)
An ultrasonic testing apparatus employing a multi-element array transducer needs to have pulser, receiver, and wiring circuits corresponding to the total number of elements in order to drive the multi-element array transducer. Accordingly, there has been a problem that a remarkable increase in size and complexity in internal structure and wiring causes degradation in portability, installability, and maintainability.
In order to solve this problem, an imaging method using a small number of pulsers and receivers corresponding to the number of some elements of the ultrasonic array transducer, for example, the synthetic aperture method is used (Nonpatent Document 2).
With the synthetic aperture method, a single ultrasonic transducer having a small sensor aperture transmits an ultrasonic wave so that it widely spreads out into an object under test, and the same or different ultrasonic transducer receives a reflected ultrasonic wave signal (echo) from the inside of the object.
The operating principle of the synthetic aperture method is that, since the propagation path of ultrasonic wave is known, a defect serving as a sound source of a received reflected ultrasonic wave exists on a circular arc having the position of a piezoelectric element which transmitted and received an ultrasonic wave as a center and the propagation distance of the reflected ultrasonic wave as a radius. (When different piezoelectric elements are used for transmission and reception, a defect exists on an ellipse arc having each of the piezoelectric element for transmission and the piezoelectric element for reception as a focal position.)
Based on this operating principle, the ultrasonic sensor transmits and receives ultrasonic waves while sequentially changing the position of an active ultrasonic transducer for transmission and reception. At each transducer position, a receive signal is spread out in a circular arc form (or in an ellipse arc form) through computer operations. Then, intersections of these circular arcs focus at one position where a defect exists (a true reflection source position) thus allowing the defect position to be located and imaged.
[Nonpatent Document 1]
Yoshikazu Yokono, Global Trend of Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing Its Practical Application and Standardization, The Japanese Society for Non-destructive Inspection, Vol. 56, No. 10, 2007.
[Nonpatent Document 2]
Michimasa Kondo, Yoshimasa Ohashi, and Akio Jitsumori, Digital Signal Processing Series Vol. 12, Digital Signal Processing in Measurement and Sensors, pp. 143-186, May 20, 1993, SHOKODO CO., LTD.
A conventional method for testing a defect of an object under test such as a structural material transmits an ultrasonic wave by using a single ultrasonic sensor and receives echoes reflected by a defect or the like inside the object under test by using a single ultrasonic sensor to detect a defect based on the propagation time of the ultrasonic wave and the position of the ultrasonic sensor. The conventional method also moves the ultrasonic sensor to obtain a position where a reflected echo from a defect is obtained, and identifies the size of the defect based on a difference between reception times of reflected echoes from the bottom and surface, multiplied by the sonic velocity of the material of the object under test. This method is commonly used for ordinary defect inspections because of its simple operating principle and relatively simple instrumentation. However, since it is necessary to measure reflected ultrasonic echoes and evaluate existence and position of a defect from the reception time of the reflected echoes, high-accuracy testing requires experienced inspector and is time-consuming.
In recent years, new ultrasonic testing methods have been developed. As represented by well-known phased array method and synthetic aperture focusing method, these new techniques image the inside of an object under test with high accuracy. The phased array method utilizes an array of a plurality of piezoelectric elements and operates on a principle that wave fronts of ultrasonic signals transmitted from the piezoelectric elements mutually interfere to form one combined wave front in the course of propagation. Therefore, controlling the timing of ultrasonic wave transmission from each piezoelectric element with a time delay (on a time-shift basis) makes it possible to control the ultrasonic beam angle and allow ultrasonic wave to focus. When receiving reflected ultrasonic waves, summing up these waves received by the piezoelectric elements on a time-shift basis on the time axis makes it possible to receive ultrasonic waves at one focal position in a similar way to transmission. The phased array method makes it possible to apply ultrasonic waves at high speed without moving the ultrasonic sensor and control the beam angle and focus depth position of the ultrasonic wave without replacing the ultrasonic sensor. Therefore, it can be said that the phased array method enables high-speed and high-accuracy testing. Generally known processes for the phased array method include the linear scanning process which linearly feeds piezoelectric elements and the sectorial scanning process which changes ultrasonic-wave transmit and receive directions in a fan-like form.
On the other hand, the synthetic aperture method transmits an ultrasonic wave so that it widely spreads out into an object under test, and receives a reflected ultrasonic signal from the inside of the object. The operating principle of the synthetic aperture method is that a defect serving as a sound source of the received reflected ultrasonic wave exists on a circular arc having the position of a piezoelectric element which transmitted and received an ultrasonic wave as a center and the propagation distance of the reflected ultrasonic wave as a radius. Based on this operating principle, the ultrasonic sensor transmits and receives ultrasonic waves while sequentially changing the position of a piezoelectric element. At each vibrator position, a received waveform is spread out in a circular arc form through computer operations. Then, intersections of these circular arcs focus at one position where a defect exists (an ultrasonic wave reflection source) thus allowing the defect position to be located and imaged. Actually, the synthetic aperture method performs high-resolution imaging through computer operations using the position of the ultrasonic sensor and the ultrasonic waveform signal at that position. Details of computer operations are discussed in Nonpatent Document 2.
In recent years, new sensors such as a matrix array transducer and a ring array transducer have been developed. The matrix array transducer is composed of an array of piezoelectric elements arranged in a matrix pattern inside an array ultrasonic sensor, and the ring array transducer is composed of an array of coaxially arranged piezoelectric elements (including arrangements in the circumferential direction). Further, apparatuses that can transmit and receive ultrasonic waves by using a number of piezoelectric elements have come into practical use. Thus, the inside of an object under test directly under the ultrasonic sensor can be three-dimensionally imaged without moving the ultrasonic sensor. With a known method for three-dimensionally imaging the inside of an object under test, a two-dimensional array ultrasonic sensor transmits an ultrasonic wave sequentially from each element and then receives a reflected ultrasonic wave with all elements and, at the same time, three-dimensional aperture synthetic processing is performed so as to superimpose received echoes (refer to, for example, Patent Document 1).
[Patent Document 1]
JP-2005-315582-A
[Nonpatent Document 2]
Michimasa Kondo, Yoshimasa Ohashi, and Akio Jitsumori, Digital Signal Processing Series Vol. 12, Digital Signal Processing in Measurement and Sensors, pp. 143-186, May 20, 1993, SHOKODO CO., LTD.
In recent years, new ultrasonic testing methods targeting various kinds of structural materials have been developed. As represented by the phased array method, these new techniques image and test the inside of an object under test with high accuracy in a short time (refer to, for example, Nonpatent Document 3).
The phased array method utilizes an array of a plurality of piezoelectric elements (also referred to as ultrasonic array transducer) and operates on a principle that wave fronts of ultrasonic waves transmitted from the piezoelectric elements mutually interfere to form one combined wave front in the course of propagation. Therefore, controlling the timing of ultrasonic wave transmission from each piezoelectric element with a time delay (on a time-shift basis) makes it possible to control the ultrasonic beam angle and allow the ultrasonic wave to focus.
When receiving reflected ultrasonic waves, summing up these waves received by the piezoelectric elements on a time-shift basis in accordance with the delay time makes it possible to control the receive beam angle of one combined ultrasonic wave as well as receive ultrasonic waves at one focal position in a similar way to transmission.
Generally known processes for the phased array method using a one-dimensional array transducer having linearly arranged piezoelectric elements include the linear scanning process which scans in ultrasonic-wave transmit and receive directions together, and the sectorial scanning process which changes ultrasonic-wave transmit and receive directions in a fan-like form centering on an incident point. Further, the use of a two-dimensional array transducer having piezoelectric elements arranged in a lattice pattern makes it possible to three-dimensionally focus on a desired spatial position, allowing selection of a scanning process which best suits the shape of the object under test. In particular, the three-dimensional scanning technique makes it possible to apply ultrasonic waves at high speed without moving the sensor, and control the beam angle and focal depth position of the ultrasonic wave, allowing high-speed and high-accuracy testing.
At present, in order to locate a spatial position of a reflection source from reflected ultrasonic wave signals, a method for presuming a spatial position from a plurality of two-dimensional images of reflection strength distributions at different cutting positions is commonly used (hereinafter this method is referred to as two-dimensional phased array method). For example, since the linear and sectorial scanning processes can obtain a plurality of two-dimensional images corresponding to a scanning range and interval, the direction in which a reflected wave appears can be located by sequentially changing the images on the display screen.
Recently, a new three-dimensional display method (hereinafter referred to as three-dimensional ultrasonic testing method) has been reported. This method performs interpolation processing to reflected ultrasonic wave signals from a plurality of directions to create three-dimensional lattice-like data and then performs volume rendering and surface rendering techniques to the created data. Although there are more than one method for creating three-dimensional lattice-like data, for example, the synthetic aperture method and phased array method, a method based on the phased array method is particularly referred to as three-dimensional phased array method (refer to, for example, Nonpatent Document 2). As three-dimensional lattice-like data, a data structure composed of a plurality of three-dimensionally arranged cubic elements (referred to as voxels) is most widely used because of ease of handling. This structure is also referred to as structural lattice. Although a lattice having irregular spatial lattice arrangements may be used in addition to voxels, such a lattice is slightly more difficult to display than a voxel. This kind of lattice is referred to as non-structural lattice as represented by a six-face lattice, a four-face lattice, a triangular pyramidal (prism) lattice, and a quadrangular pyramidal (pyramid) lattice. Further, there is another method for displaying data as three-dimensional point groups without conversion to lattice-like data. Since these pieces of data are saved in computer memory as three-dimensional testing data, they can be checked from any desired direction by an inspector after measurement.
In recent years, flaw size measurement (sizing) using the phased array method has attracted attention in industrial fields. Particularly in the field of nuclear power, the phased array method has been specified as a method for sizing a fatigue crack of carbon steel and stainless steel and a crack height of a stress corrosion crack (SCC) of stainless steel by technical guidance JEAC 4207-2004 of the Japan Electric Association which serves as an evaluation criterion for the soundness of domestic light-water nuclear reactors. At present, this guidance is taken over to technical regulation JEAG4207-2008 of the Japan Electric Association. The scope of the phased array method has been expanded not only as a method for sizing crack height but also as a method for checking the existence of a crack (refer to, for example, Nonpatent Document 4).
When measuring a flaw height (crack height), the two-dimensional phased array method utilizes sectorial-scanned or linear-scanned images including echoes at ends of a flaw. In this case, measurement must be performed according to defined measurement and analysis procedures, and it is recommended to validate the procedures by using a test piece having a flaw. These procedures are prescribed as flaw height measurement method based on the tip echo technique by NDIS 2418 standard of the Japanese Society for Non-destructive Inspection (refer to, for example, Nonpatent Document 5).
However, with the two-dimensional phased array method, echoes corresponding to upper and lower ends of a crack (hereinafter referred respectively to upper- and lower-end echoes) need to be included in the same screen. Therefore, it is necessary to finely adjust the sensor position and the ultrasonic beam angle depending on the orientation of a flaw. This method is time-consuming and requires experience to a certain extent. If the shape of the flaw is included in the same plane, it is preferable to find and measure an image in which upper- and lower-end echoes are clearly displayed in this way. However, if the shape of the flaw is complicated with many branches, such as scc, the shape of the flaw is not necessarily included in the same plane. In this case, two or more images are needed to measure the flaw height accuracy with the two-dimensional phased array method.
In this case, the use of the three-dimensional ultrasonic testing method is very effective. Although there are not many cases reported, a sizing method based on the three-dimensional ultrasonic testing method has been devised. A method discussed in Nonpatent Document 6 displays measurement data points obtained by a plurality of tests on a screen as point groups. With a desired cross section displayed, for example, when two points corresponding to upper- and lower-end echoes are specified by using a mouse or keyboard of a computer, the distance between the two points is output. With the two-dimensional phased array method, it is necessary to find a screen in which upper- and lower-end echoes are simultaneously included at the time of data storage. With the three-dimensional ultrasonic testing method, on the other hand, it is only necessary to perform a series of data storage for a predetermined testing range and then find a target cross section. The latter method makes testing procedures very efficient and is advantageous.
[Nonpatent Document 3]
Yoshikazu Yokono, Global Trend of Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing Its Practical Application and Standardization, The Japanese Society for Non-destructive Inspection, Vol. 56, No. 10, (2007)
[Nonpatent Document 4]
Atsushi Baba, Satoshi Kitazawa, Naoyuki Kono, Yuji Adachi, Mitsuru Odakura, and Osamu Kikuchi, Development of Three-dimensional Ultrasonic Testing System 3D Focus-UT, JAPAN SOCIETY OF MAINTENOLOGY, 5th Academic Lecture, Collection of Summaries, 155 (2008)
[Nonpatent Document 5]
The Japanese Society for Non-destructive Inspection NDIS 2418:2005, pp. 21
[Nonpatent Document 6]
Potts, A.; McNab, A.; Reilly, D.; Toft, M., "Presentation and analysis enhancements of the NDT Workbench a software package for ultrasonic NDT data", REVIEW OF PROGRESS IN QUANTITATIVE NONDESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION: Volume 19. AIP Conference Proceedings, Volume 509, pp. 741-748 (2000).

Apparatus and method for ultrasonic testing


In a turbine for an exhaust gas turbocharger of an internal combustion engine having a housing part which has a receiving chamber and which comprises a spiral duct through which exhaust gas of the internal combustion engine can flow, the spiral duct having an outlet cross-section via which exhaust gas is directed onto a turbine wheel disposed in the receiving chamber whereby the turbine wheel can be rotated, at least one flow control member is provided which can be moved in the circumferential direction of the receiving chamber and by means of which the flow cross-section can be adjusted, wherein a warp angle of the outer contour region of the wall over which the flow cross-section can be adjusted is smaller than a wrap angle over which the outer contour region thereof extends.

The invention relates to a turbine for an exhaust turbocharger of an internal combustion engine, which includes a turbine housing with a spiral duct via which exchanges is directed onto a turbine wheel and a blocking.
DE 100 48 237 A1 discloses an internal combustion engine with an exhaust turbocharger and an exhaust gas recirculation device, wherein the turbocharger comprises an exhaust turbine equipped with a variable turbine geometry in the exhaust tract and a compressor in the intake tract of the internal combustion engine, and wherein the exhaust gas recirculation device comprises a recirculation line between the exhaust tract and the intake tract and an adjustable check valve. The internal combustion engine further comprises a control mechanism in which control signals can be generated for adjusting the variable turbine geometry and the check valve depending on the operating status of the internal combustion engine.
The exhaust turbine is configured as a dual flow turbine with two separate inflow channels to the turbine wheel, each channel having an inlet cross-section, wherein the two inflow channels are shielded from one another in a pressure-tight manner. At least one inflow cross-section of an inflow channel to the turbine wheel is alterable by means of the variable turbine geometry. Provision is made of two separate exhaust lines in the exhaust tract, each line connecting a part of the cylinder head outlets of the internal combustion engine to each inflow channel. The recirculation line of the exhaust recirculation device connects exactly one of the two exhaust lines to the intake tract.
DE 25 39 711 discloses a spiral housing for an exhaust turbocharger with a cross-section that is adjustable at least in regions, wherein on the radially inner wall of the spiral housing at least one sliding tongue is provided so as to be movable with respect to this inner wall in the circumferential direction.
DE 10 2008 039 085 A1 discloses an internal combustion engine for a vehicle with an exhaust turbocharger, which comprises a compressor in an intake tract of the internal combustion engine and a turbine in an exhaust tract of the internal combustion engine. The turbine has a turbine housing, which comprises a spiral duct coupled to an exhaust line of the exhaust tract and a turbine wheel, which is arranged inside a receiving chamber of the turbine housing and which can be acted on by exhaust gas from the internal combustion engine fed through the spiral duct for driving a compressor wheel of the compressor. The compressor wheel is connected by a shaft to the turbine wheel for conjoint rotation. The turbine comprises an adjustment mechanism with which a spiral inlet cross-section of the spiral duct and also a nozzle cross-section of the spiral duct leading to the receiving chamber are jointly adjustable.
Because such exhaust turbochargers are a mass-produced article with a continuously increasing number of parts in the context of series production of internal combustion engines, it is desirable to provide an exhaust turbocharger which provides for efficient (i.e., low fuel consumption and low emission) operation of the associated internal combustion engine and which also has high operational reliability with extreme temperature and pressure changes.
It is the object of the invention is thus to provide a turbine for an exhaust gas turbocharger that has high operational reliability and that also enables efficient operation of an internal combustion engine associated with the exhaust turbocharger.

Turbine for an exhaust turbocharger of an internal combustion engine


An electrical cord assembly configured for use with an electrical appliance includes a cord having a polygonal end with a first pair of cord sides and a second pair of cord sides, wherein one of the pairs of first and second cord sides is asymmetrical, a socket defining a polygonal opening constructed and arranged for receiving the polygonal end, the polygonal opening having a first pair of socket sides and a second pair of socket sides, wherein one of the pairs of first and second socket sides is asymmetrical, and wherein the polygonal end and the polygonal opening are shaped for releasable mating engagement.

The present invention relates generally to electrical appliance cords, and more specifically, provides an electrical cord assembly for use with electrical appliances such as hair clippers or trimmers.
Electrical appliances such as shavers, clippers and the like are well known and generally receive their power through an internal battery or an electrical cord that is plugged into a wall outlet. Generally, each such power cord is attached to a single appliance, and the attachment is permanent.
In some cases, through prolonged use, such appliance cords become damaged and require replacement. However, because the attachment is generally permanent, the entire appliance needs to be replaced.
Also, in hair salons or barbershops where several types of clippers or trimmers are plugged in at once, cords can become entangled and create workspace clutter. Workplace efficiency is reduced, and workplace aesthetics suffer from such clutter. Furthermore, corded hair cutting appliances are cumbersome to travel with. Cordless appliances address some of the above concerns, but many hair care professionals prefer corded clippers and trimmers.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an electrical cord assembly that addresses the above issues.


The performance of the main regulatory transistor of an on-chip voltage regulator circuit is enhanced when the main transistor is appropriately biased during start up. In an example embodiment, a voltage regulator circuit includes a thin gate oxide transistor as the main regulatory transistor and an operational amplifier that is referenced to a midlevel operating voltage. During start-up, the potential voltage difference is large enough to necessitate the disconnection of the main transistor from the operational amplifier. A voltage divider ladder circuit is used to maintain the gate voltage of the main transistor at the midlevel voltage while a smaller thick gate oxide transistor is used to maintain loop stability and to withstand voltage transients.

Many of the modern electrical devices require power at voltages different from the nominal 110V or 220V supplied by utility companies to homes, offices and factories. Transformers or voltage regulators contained within the electrical devices usually provide the necessary voltage conversions. Voltage regulators also prevent surges or spikes in line voltage during start-up when an electrical device is switched on. The surges or spikes of voltage typically cause damage or failure of electrical or electronic circuits within the device unless a voltage regulator is included to control the spikes and surges. Thus, voltage regulators are important components of electrical circuits, particularly in regard to integrated circuits that are widely used in many electrical devices.
A prior art example of an on-chip voltage regulator circuit includes an operational amplifier referenced to a reference voltage (about 1.8V) that regulates the current supplying a transistor. A bandgap generator typically generates a stable voltage reference for the operational amplifier. An internal node Vdd is regulated to a midlevel voltage by the regulator circuit while an external Vdd voltage is supplied to the pin of the chip. When the current and, as a result, the voltage at the internal Vdd changes, the operational amplifier regulates a gate voltage of the transistor to supply the required current while keeping Vdd at a reference voltage.
During normal operation, since the difference between any two terminal voltages of the transistor would not exceed the reference voltage, there would not be any reliability problems. However, during startup the device capacitive members are not fully charged and the gate or the source of the transistor will approach the supply limit. This will result in a voltage corresponding to the supply limit being imposed across the gate oxide layer of the transistor, which exceeds the breakdown limit of the gate oxide and damages the transistor.


A new garden type Chrysanthemum plant named ‘CIFZ0057’ particularly distinguished by the medium sized (1.75+ inch) orange decorative flowers, compact sized plant with round mound habit and a natural season response in early September.

The present invention comprises a new Chrysanthemum, botanically known as Chrysanthemum×morifolium, and hereinafter referred to by the variety name 'CIFZ0057'.
'CIFZ0057' is a product of a planned breeding program. The new cultivar has medium sized (1.75+ inch) orange decorative flowers, compact sized plant with round mound habit and a natural season response in early September.
'CIFZ0057' originated from a cross made in February 2008 in Tenjo, Columbia. The female parent was the unnamed red colored seedling '05-M242'.
Compared to the female parent, 'CIFZ0057' has:                1. Similar inflorescence type that is larger in size with orange inflorescence color compared to the female parent that has a red color. Also ray floret tips are smooth not forked like the female parent.        2. Natural season response is similar but blackcloth response is half a week slower than the female parent.        3. Similar plant height but less plant width than the female parent.
The male parent was the unnamed pink/lavender seedling '04-M173'.
Compared to the male parent, 'CIFZ0057' has:                1. Larger inflorescence size with no disc florets and orange not pink/lavender inflorescence color like the male parent.        2. Natural season response is similar but blackcloth response is half a week slower than the male parent.        3. Similar plant height but less plant width than the male parent.
The resultant seed was sown in June 2013 in Gilroy, Calif.
The first act of asexual reproduction of 'CIFZ0057' was accomplished when vegetative cuttings were propagated from the initial selection, this initial selection took place in Oct. 11, 2013 in Monroeville, N.J.


A tunnel junction sensor of a read head with a tunnel junction barrier layer embedded in amorphous ferromagnetic layers. The tunnel junction sensor includes an antiferromagnetic pinning layer, a crystalline pinned layer, an amorphous pinned layer, a tunnel junction barrier layer, an amorphous free layer and a crystalline free layer. The antiferromagnetic pinning layer is exchange coupled to the pinned layers so as to pin a magnetic moment in each of the pinned layers in a first direction. The free layers each have a magnetic moment oriented in a second direction, preferably perpendicular to the first direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tunnel junction structure and, more particularly, to a tunnel junction structure in which the tunnel junction layer is embedded in amorphous ferromagnetic layers.
2. Description of the Related Art
A read head employing a read sensor may be combined with an inductive write head to form a combined magnetic head. In a magnetic disk drive, an air bearing surface (ABS) of the combined magnetic head is supported adjacent a rotating disk to write information on or read information from the disk. Information is written to the rotating disk by magnetic fields which fringe across a gap between the first and second pole pieces of the write head. In a read mode, the resistance of the read sensor changes proportionally to the magnitudes of the magnetic fields from the rotating disk. When a current is conducted through the read sensor, resistance changes cause potential changes that are detected and processed as playback signals in processing circuitry.
One type of read sensor is a tunnel junction sensor. The details of tunnel junction have been described in a commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,650,958 to Gallagher et al., which is incorporated by reference herein. A typical tunnel junction sensor has two ferromagnetic layers (i.e., the pinned and free layers) separated by a thin spacer layer which relies upon the phenomenon of spin-polarized electron tunneling. The free and pinned layers, which may be NiFe or CoFe, are crystalline in structure and are separated by an electrically insulating spacer layer that is thin enough that quantum mechanical tunneling occurs between the free and pinned layers. The tunneling phenomenon is electron spin dependent, making the magnetic response of the tunnel junction sensor a function of the relative orientations and spin polarization of the conduction electrons between the free and pinned layers. Ideally, the magnetic moment orientation of the pinned layer should be pinned 90.degree. to the magnetic moment orientation of the free layer, with the magnetic direction of the free layer being able to respond to external magnetic fields. The pinned layer has a magnetic moment that is pinned in its orientation by exchange coupling with a pinning layer that is made of an antiferromagnetic material. Large ferromagnetic coupling (>20 Oe) occurs between the pinned and free layers. This large coupling causes improper magnetic bias for the free ferromagnetic layer which results in a distorted readback signal. One reason for this ferromagnetic coupling between the pinned and free layers is interfacial roughness. This roughness results from thin film crystalline texture as a result of epitaxy type growth of these films.
There is a strong felt need for a tunnel junction structure that reduces the ferromagnetic coupling between the pinned and free ferromagnetic layers, which thereby reduces distortion in the read back signal.

Tunnel junction structure with junction layer embedded in amorphous ferromagnetic layers

International Business Machines Corporation


An MSM type semiconductor light responsive element includes a semiconductor substrate, a first semiconductor layer, a pair of electrodes disposed on the first semiconductor layer forming Schottky barriers, and a second semiconductor layer comprising a semiconductor having a larger energy band gap than that of the first semiconductor layer disposed between and contacting the electrodes.

FIG. 2 shows a prior art MSM type photodiode as described in IEEE Electron Device Letters, Vol. EDL-2, No. 5 (1981), pages 112 to 114. In FIG. 2, an undoped GaAs layer 3 for absorbing light is grown on a semi-insulating GaAs substrate 4 by, for example, a metal organic chemical vapor deposition (hereinafter referred to as "MOCVD") method. A pair of Schottky electrodes 1 and 2 are disposed on the light absorption layer 3 at predetermined positions to produce Schottky junctions with the layer 3. Light is incident to the device as shown by an arrow 6.
In operation, a bias voltage is applied between the electrodes 1 and 2. Then, the Schottky barrier at electrode 2 is reverse-biased and the Schottky barrier at electrode 1 is forward biased. Therefore, a depletion layer is produced extending from the electrode 2 toward the electrode 1 having a volume that increases as the applied bias voltage is increased. In order to obtain high speed response, a sufficiently high voltage is applied so that a region between the electrodes 1 and 2 is depleted in the neighborhood of the surface of light absorption layer 3. When light 6 is incident on the biased photodiode, the incident light 6 is absorbed in the light absorption layer 3 and generates electron-hole pairs. The generated electron-hole pairs are separated by the applied electric field and electrons and holes reach the electrodes 2 and 1, respectively, and collected as a photocurrent.
Since the prior art MSM type photo detector is produced on a semi-insulating GaAs substrate 4 and both electrodes 1 and 2 are disposed on a common surface, it has a high degree of compatibility with other electronic circuits and has high speed response and low capacitance. These characteristics make the light receiving element popular in optoelectronic integrated circuits (so-called OEIC).
The prior art MSM type semiconductor light responsive element having the described construction has problems as described below because the light absorption layer 3 is exposed at the uppermost surface of the element.
FIG. 3 shows the distribution of the electric field in the cross-section of the light responsive element. As shown in the figure, the electric field is concentrated at the portions of the electrodes 1 and 2 nearest of each other. Since the generated carriers are concentrated at the nearest portions of the electrodes 1 and 2 and the electric field is strong at the nearest portions of the electrodes, largest variations in the electric field occur at the nearest portions of the electrodes 1 and 2. Furthermore, carriers generated in the light absorption layer 3 are captured by and ionizes traps in the crystal. The lifetimes of the traps vary dependent on, for example, crystallinity or surface properties of the crystal in a range of from about several milliseconds to several microseconds. When these lifetimes are sufficiently long compared with the modulation frequency of the incident signal light, the ionized traps effectively become stationary charges, changing the distribution of the electric field and the flow of the charge of carriers. When the light absorption layer 3 is exposed at the uppermost surface the element and has a large number of surface states, a large number of carriers are trapped, increasing the carrier flow phenomenon further.
FIG. 4(b) shows the energy band structure between the electrodes in the neighborhood of semiconductor surface. When no light is incident on the element, the conduction band edge 8 and valence band edge 9 are positioned at the potentials shown in the figure by the solid lines. When light is incident on the element and carriers are generated at the light absorption layer 12, however, the carriers generated as discussed above are captured by the traps in the neighborhood of the surface of light absorption layer 12 and the traps are ionized and become stationary charges. Therefore, the potentials of the conduction band edge and valence band edge shown by broken lines 8' and 9' of figure 4(b) are lowered and the slope of the bands at the uppermost surface of the light absorption layer 12 becomes steeper. As a result, the width of the barrier through which electrons may tunnel is narrowed, increasing the probability of tunneling and the injection of majority carriers. That phenomenon produces an unstable current amplification and deteriorates the frequency response of the photodiode. In FIG. 4(b), reference numeral 10 designates the Fermi level position in layer 3 and reference numeral 11 designates the position of the Schottky barrier.


A computer sets a first point on a first part in a plurality of tomographic images of an organ. The computer determines a relative position of the first point with respect to reference positions of the first part and a second part in the tomographic images. The computer sets a second point in association with the first point, on the first part in a 3D model representing a structure of the organ, such that a relative position of the second point with respect to reference positions of the first part and the second part in the 3D model matches the relative position of the first point. Then, the computer deforms the 3D model such that, when the tomographic images and the 3D model are placed in the same coordinate system, the position of the second point matches that of the first point.

In recent years, simulation of biological systems has been attracting attention. As an example of simulation of biological systems, simulation of the motion of organs such as the heart is often performed. In this case, a model of the organ is generated as input data. For simulating an organ of an individual patient, a model conforming to the shape of the organ of the patient is generated. However, since it is difficult to directly view the organ of the patient, the shape of the organ is determined from tomographic images of the organ, for example. Then, a three-dimensional (3D) model is generated on the basis of the determined shape. For instance, a 3D template deformation method has been disclosed that facilitates generation of a 3D shape model of the heart of a patient and blood vessels around the heart (see, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-200549).
However, it is difficult to accurately reproduce the shape of an organ as a 3D model from tomographic images of the organ.
For example, it is assumed that a 3D model of the heart of a patient is generated by deforming a 3D model which is prepared as a template of the shape of the heart. In this case, in a first deformation process, the position of a valve annulus (the frame of a valve) in the template is adjusted to match the shape of the heart. The first deformation process greatly affects the subsequent deformation process, and therefore needs to be performed accurately. According to a conventional method, in the case of matching the position of a valve annulus in the template to the shape of the heart of a patient, points are manually set in the template so as to correspond to respective points on a valve annulus in tomographic images of the heart. Then, the template is deformed such that the points in the template match the corresponding points on the valve annulus in the tomographic images. However, since the points in the template corresponding to the points on the valve annulus in the tomographic images are set manually, the relative positional relationship between, for example, valve annuli might be inconsistent in three dimensions, and therefore the deformed model might be distorted.

Model generation method and model generation apparatus


The present invention is directed to therapeutic compounds capable of targeting cancer cells and cancer stem cells. The present invention is further directed to compositions comprising these therapeutic compounds and methods of treating cancer comprising administering these therapeutic compounds.

In 2012, 14.1 million people were diagnosed with cancer worldwide and 8.2 million died of cancer. In the United States, around 40% of all people will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. Despite receiving the best treatment available, 44% of those Americans will die from cancer.
Cancer is the result of a cell dividing without limitation. Healthy cells have checkpoints that prevent unlimited cell division. A few examples of these checkpoints are nutrient availability, DNA damage and contact inhibition (i.e. a cell comes into contact with another cell). Additionally, most cells can replicate only a finite number of times and thus are programmed to die after a particular number of cell divisions.
Cancer is the result of a cell overcoming these built-in checkpoints and proliferating beyond control. This uncontrolled proliferation leads to the formation of a tumor. There are two types of tumors, benign and malignant. Benign tumors are incapable of crossing natural boundaries between tissue types. Malignant tumors, on the other hand, are capable of invading nearby tissue or entering the bloodstream and metastasizing to a different location. Only malignant tumors are considered cancerous. It is this ability to infiltrate and metastasize that makes cancer such a deadly disease.
To further complicate the fight against cancer, malignant tumors have distinct cell types. One particularly troublesome type is cancer stem cells ("CSC's"). CSC's are capable of self-renewing and differentiating into the distinct types of cancer cells found in a malignant tumor. Thus, CSC's are a primary factor in the metastatic ability of a tumor. CSC's often survive radiation and chemotherapy. It is hypothesized that recurrence of cancer after radiation and chemotherapy is the result of the inability of radiation and chemotherapy to kill all CSC's combined with the ability of CSC's to establish a new tumor.
A particularly troublesome type of cancer is brain cancer. Brain cancers, such as high-grade gliomas, are often treated with surgery followed by radiation therapy. Surgery for brain tumors is often very complicated. The surgeon must remove the tumor without damaging any nearby brain tissue that could result in physical or cognitive disabilities. Often the surgeon is incapable of removing the boundaries of the tumor that contact the healthy tissue. Radiation therapy is often used to kill these remaining cancer cells. However, radiation doses are limited by the potential damage to healthy brain tissue. Unfortunately, brain cancer is usually chemotherapy resistant. This resistance is largely attributable to the blood-brain barrier ("BBB"). The BBB is a physical barrier that separates the fluid surrounding the brain from blood cells and other components in the blood stream. Most anti-cancer drugs are unable to cross the BBB.
One method of treating brain cancer is to inhibit the growth of new blood vessels that are necessary for tumor size progression. Bevacizumab marketed under the trademark Avastin® (Avastin is a registered trademark of Genentech, Inc.) is used to stop and even reverse tumor vascularization. However, Rich J., and colleagues, Canc Res, 2006, 66, 7843, found that when Avastin® was used to treat a glioma stem cell derived brain tumor it resulted in hypoxia and a lowered pH. Sathornsumetee S., Phase II trial of bevacizumab and erlotinib in patients with recurrent malignant glioma, Neuro-Oncol, 2010, Dec. 12(12), 1300-1310. Hypoxia and low pH are both known to cause CSC propagation and can promote CSC-driven tumor recurrence.
Chemotherapy is a term used to describe a particular type of cancer treatment that includes using cytotoxic anti-cancer drugs. Cytotoxic drugs used during chemotherapy can be broken down into several main categories including alkylating agents, antimetabolites, anti-tumor antibiotics, topoisomerase inhibitors, and mitotic inhibitors. Cytotoxic anti-cancer drugs typically cause cell division to cease and thus affect healthy tissue as well as cancerous tissue. Alkylating agents stop cancer cell division by damaging the DNA of the cancer cell. Some common alkylating agents used to treat cancer are nitrogen mustards (e.g. cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan®; Cytoxan is a registered trademark of Baxter International), nitrosoureas, alkyl sulfonates, triazeines, and ethylenimines. Platinum drugs, such as cisplatin and carboplatin, work similarly to alkylating agents. Antimetabolites stop cancer cell division by inhibiting DNA and RNA synthesis. Some common antimetabolites used to treat cancer are 6-mercaptopurine, gemcitabine (Gemzar®; Gemzar is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly and Company), methotrexate and pemetrexed (Alimta®; Alimta is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly and Company). Topoisomerase inhibitors stop cancer cell division by inhibiting topoisomerase enzymes from separating the DNA for replication. Some common topoisomerase inhibitors are topotecan, irinotecan, etoposide, and teniposide. Mitotic inhibitors stop cancer cell division by inhibiting key cell division enzymes. Some common mitotic inhibitors are taxanes (e.g. paclitaxel (Taxol®; Taxol is a registered trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company) and docetaxel (Taxotere®; Taxotere is a registered trademark of Aventis Pharma SA)), epothilones, and vinca alkaloids.
One disadvantage of all of these anti-cancer drugs is the damage that they do to healthy tissue. Because the drugs treat cancer by inhibiting normal cell function, healthy tissue that also relies on constant cell division such as blood cells, mucosal surfaces and skin, can be severely damaged as well. This damage results in significant morbidity and can limit the amount of chemotherapy that can safely be delivered. Examples of side effects that occur during chemotherapy treatment include low blood count, hair loss, muscle, and joint pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, mouth sores, fever, and chills. To overcome this problem drugs are being developed that affect proteins and cellular functions that occur only in cancer cells. Some of these specific cancer drugs are imatinib (Gleevec®; Gleevec is a registered trademark of Novartis AG), gefitinib (Iressa®, Iressa is a registered trademark of AstraZeneca UK Limited), sunitinib (Sutent®; Sutent is a registered trademark of C.P. Pharmaceuticals, International C.V.), and bortezomib (Velcade®; Velcade is a registered trademark of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.). However, these drugs are not approved for the treatment of all cancer types and are universally associated with the development of treatment resistance. Thus, a need exists in the art for an anti-cancer drug delivery vehicle that can deliver potent, effective, broad spectrum anti-cancer drugs to cancer cells including CSC's while avoiding substantial uptake of the drug by healthy cells. Additionally, the anti-cancer drug delivery vehicle should be able to cross the BBB and deliver the anti-cancer drug to cancer cells of the brain.
Currently, there are few chemical compounds that preferentially target cancer cells. One such compound is CLR1404. Generally, CLR1404 is a promising new tumor-selective diagnostic imaging agent used to monitor the treatment response of several tumor treatment modalities. Radioiodinated CLR1404, a second-generation phospholipid ether ("PLE") analog with the following structure,
has displayed remarkable tumor selectivity in 55/60 xenograft, orthotopic and transgenic cancer and cancer stem cell derived animal models making the core molecule an ideal platform for an anti-cancer drug delivery vehicle. See U.S. Pat. No. 8,535,641; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0030187 and Weichert, J. P., et al., Alkylphosphocholine analogs for broad-spectrum cancer imaging and therapy, Sci Transl Med, 2014, Jun. 11, 6(240), 240ra75; each of which are incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
What is not known is whether a compound that is selectively sequestered and retained by cancer cells and cancer stem cells is capable of delivering an anti-cancer drug to these same cells. Further, it is not known whether this compound is also capable of transporting anti-cancer drugs across the BBB to treat brain cancers. Finally, it is unknown whether this or similar compounds can cause the cancer cell to retain the anti-cancer drug in sufficient quantities and for a sufficient period of time to eradicate the tumor and prevent further growth and metastasis. The present invention adapts the CLR1404 core molecule for use as an anti-cancer drug delivery vehicle capable of targeting the anti-cancer drug to cancer cells and cancer stem cells including brain cancer cells. Further, the compounds of the present invention are retained in cancer cells.

Phospholipid ether analogs as cancer-targeting drug vehicles


The present invention relates to a horizontal Christmas tree comprising a central bore (72) and a horizontal outlet (70) extending laterally from the central bore. A tubing hanger (74) is locked into the central bore and connected to a production tubing (76) extending into the well. The tubing hanger comprises a first passage (78) axially aligned with the production tubing and a second passage (80) extending laterally from the first passage and aligned with the outlet. The first passage comprises means for releasable fastening of at least one plugging device (1a, 1b) for plugging the first passage above the second passage.

Oilfield production systems normally feature controls and monitoring devices in the well, at the Christmas tree and at the hydrocarbon receiving facility.
There is a need for communication between the downhole devices, such as sensors, actuators, etc, and the other parts of the oilfield production system. The communication between the downhole devices and access points outside the Christmas tree is today normally performed via cabling and piping in the annulus between the production tubing and the casing. At the Christmas tree, the production tubing is hung off and the tubing hanger contains electric, optical and hydraulic/chemical couplers between the tubing hanger and the Christmas tree. In the Christmas tree, communication is via cables, optical fibers and piping to new connectors at the access points external at the Christmas tree. From these access points in a subsea system, the communication to the overall control system typically to a Subsea Control Module (SCM) via traditional cables, optical fibers, hoses and piping. This downhole communication system is robust, does not interfere with the internal production bore and may contain many passages, but it may not be changed or repaired during the life of field without expensive and complex operations. These operations involve retrieval of the Christmas tree and/or the production tubing.
Plugging devices are used in oilfield production systems in the production tubing during the installation phase to provide temporary isolation and sealing, and during the production phase to provide more permanent isolation and sealing of the temporary well access.
Several plugging devices for oil- and gas wells are known. Such plugging devices are for example used in a horizontal Christmas tree, as illustrated in FIG. 1. One such plugging device is known from Norwegian patent 322829.
WO9963202 describes a method and arrangement for monitoring reservoir parameters in subsea wells.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,478,086 describes a method for plugging wells, where communication is provided between a sensor provided under a seal down in the well and a connection part. Over the seal the well is filled with a temperable, liquid sealant.
The object of the invention is to provide a subsea horizontal Christmas tree comprising a plugging device comprising communication means for downhole communication, which provides possibilities for permanent well access for monitoring and control in horizontal trees. Moreover, the invention provides the possibility for easy retrofit of new downhole sensors, actuators and tools.


A depth gauge wheel removably secureable to a coulter disc to control the cutting depth of the disc, the wheel formed of a high density plastic to which soil and other debris will not adhere.

The present invention is directed to a depth gauge wheel which is removably securable to a coulter disc. Numerous arrangements of this general type are disclosed in the prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. 182,829, 3,047,077, 3,664,434, 4,408,551 and 4,786,113. None of these patents discloses the features of the present invention.


A polysiloxane-grafted polyimide resin composition includes a polysiloxane-grafted polyimide resin, and a solvent. The polysiloxane-grafted polyimide resin is represented by Formula (I):

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a polyimide resin composition, more particularly to a polysiloxane-grafted polyimide resin composition. This invention also relates to a flexible substrate formed from the polysiloxane-grafted polyimide resin composition.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, organic polymer materials have been widely used in various electronic components or devices so as to enhance various characteristics (for example, electrical insulation, heat resistance, mechanical property, etc.) of the electronic components or devices. Among them, polyimide polymer is most widely used in view of good mechanical and electrical properties. However, it is increasingly required to raise the properties and performances of the electronic components or devices in the art. Therefore, the mechanical properties (for example, flexibility, extensibility, etc.), the thermal properties (for example, low thermal expansion coefficient), insulation, or adhesion of polyimide polymer are required to be improved.
Conventionally, the physical properties, especially thermal or mechanical property, of polyimide polymer are modified by adding various reinforcing materials so as to enhance the applicability of polyimide polymer. Commonly used reinforcing materials include titanium dioxide, silicon dioxide, talc, etc. However, such a modification manner has problems in mixing homogeneity and compatibility. Furthermore, a flexible substrate formed therefrom may have a cloudy appearance.
JP2005-146213 discloses a silane modified polyimide siloxane resin composition useful as an adhesive for a printed circuit board. A polyimide siloxane resin containing a carboxyl group and/or an anhydride group is formed by subjecting a tetracarboxylic dianhydride compound, a dihydroxyl siloxane compound, and a diamine compound to a reaction. An epoxy group-containing silane partial condensate is then added. The carboxyl group and/or the anhydride group of the polyimide siloxane resin react with the epoxy group of the silane partial condensate so as to bond the silane partial condensate to the tetracarboxylic dianhydride moiety of the polyimide siloxane resin and to obtain the silane modified polyimide siloxane resin. However, the silane modified polyimide siloxane resin has inferior thermal stability. The silane partial condensate tends to split from the polyimide siloxane resin which results in impaired mechanical and thermal properties of a flexible substrate formed from the silane modified polyimide siloxane resin composition. Therefore, a flexible substrate obtained from the silane modified polyimide siloxane resin composition may not have satisfactory mechanical and thermal properties, especially when being used for a flexible liquid crystal display or a flexible electronic book.
It is desirable in the art to provide a resin composition for forming a flexible substrate having satisfactory mechanical and thermal properties for an electronic device.

Polysiloxane-grafted polyimide resin composition and flexible substrate made therefrom

Abstract: wherein        W represents a tetravalent organic group,        R represents a trivalent organic group, and        X1 and X2 independently represent a polysiloxane-containing group.