An antenna component (and antenna) with a dielectric substrate and a plurality of radiating antenna elements on the surface of the substrate. In one embodiment, the plurality comprises two (2) elements, each of them covering one of the opposite heads and part of the upper surface of the device. The upper surface between the elements comprises a slot. The lower edge of one of the antenna elements is galvanically coupled to the antenna feed conductor on a circuit board, and at another point to the ground plane, while the lower edge of the opposite antenna element, or the parasitic element, is galvanically coupled only to the ground plane. The parasitic element obtains its feed through the electromagnetic coupling over the slot, and both elements resonate at the operating frequency. Omni-directionality is also achieved. Losses associated with the substrate are low due to the simple field image in the substrate.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to antennas for radiating and/or receiving electromagnetic energy, and specifically in one aspect to a component, where conductive coatings of a dielectric substrate function as radiators of an antenna. The invention also relates to an antenna made by using such a component.
2. Description of Related Technology
In small-sized radio devices, such as mobile phones, the antenna or antennas are preferably placed inside the cover of the device, and naturally the intention is to make them as small as possible. An internal antenna has usually a planar structure so that it includes a radiating plane and a ground plane below it. There is also a variation of the monopole antenna, in which the ground plane is not below the radiating plane but farther on the side. In both cases, the size of the antenna can be reduced by manufacturing the radiating plane on the surface of a dielectric chip instead of making it air insulated. The higher the dielectricity of the material, the smaller the physical size of an antenna element of a certain electric size. The antenna component becomes a chip to be mounted on a circuit board. However, such a reduction of the size of the antenna entails the increase of losses and thus a deterioration of efficiency.
FIG. 1 shows an antenna component known from the publications EP 1 162 688 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,811, in which component there are two radiating elements side by side on the upper surface of the dielectric substrate 110. The first element 120 is connected by the feed conductor 141 to the feeding source, and the second element 130, which is a parasitic element, by a ground conductor 143 to the ground. The resonance frequencies of the elements can be arranged to be a little different in order to widen the band. The feed conductor and the ground conductor are on a lateral surface of the dielectric substrate. On the same lateral surface, there is a matching conductor 142 branching from the feed conductor 141, which matching conductor is connected to the ground at one end. The matching conductor extends so close to the ground conductor 143 of the parasitic element that there is a significant coupling between them. The parasitic element 130 is electromagnetically fed through this coupling. The feed conductor, the matching conductor and the ground conductor of the parasitic element together form a feed circuit; the optimum matching and gain for the antenna can then be found by shaping the strip conductors of the feed circuit. Between the radiating elements, there is a slot 150 running diagonally across the upper surface of the substrate, and at the open ends of the elements, i.e. at the opposite ends as viewed from the feeding side, there are extensions reaching to the lateral surface of the substrate. By means of such design, as well by the structure of the feed circuit, it is aimed to arrange the currents of the elements to be orthogonal so that the resonances of the elements would not weaken each other.
A drawback of the above described antenna structure is that in spite of the optimization of the feed circuit, waveforms that increase the losses and are useless with regard to the radiation are created in the dielectric substrate. The efficiency of the antenna is thus not satisfactory. In addition, the antenna leaves room for improvement if a relatively even radiation pattern, or omnidirectional radiation, is required.


A fuel cell stack includes: a first module configured to include an electrolyte membrane, an anode and a cathode; a second module configured to include a separator and placed adjacent to one surface of the first module via a first sealing member; and a third module configured to include a separator and placed adjacent to the other surface of the first module via a second sealing member. In this fuel cell stack, the first sealing member has the greater peel strength to the first module than the peel strength to the second module, and the second sealing member has the greater peel strength to the first module than the peel strength to the third module.

As the stack configuration of fuel cells, the structure disclosed in PTL1 (given below) uses gaskets to seal in between fuel cells, each including an MEA (membrane electrode assembly) sandwiched between two opposed separators. According to the description of PTL1, the gasket is formed to have an approximately triangular cross section and a bottom surface adhering to one surface of each unit cell. The unit cells are stacked, such that the edges of their gaskets are directed in one single direction.
FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary state in a prior art stack configuration, wherein a fuel cell 1 as a replacement object is withdrawn from a fuel cell stack 2. As shown in FIG. 1, withdrawal of the fuel cell 1 in the prior art stack configuration causes exposure of gaskets 4 adhering to an adjacent fuel cell 3 adjoining to the withdrawn fuel cell 1. Once the sealing members, such as gaskets, are exposed outside, however, dust and other foreign substances may adhere to the sealing members, which may decrease their sealing power and make it difficult to reuse such sealing members. This accordingly leads to the requirement of replacing the exposed gaskets 4. Replacement of only the gaskets 4 is, however, not allowed, but replacement of the fuel cell 3 with the gaskets 4 adhering thereto is needed. In this manner, replacement of the fuel cell 3 further requires replacement of an adjacent fuel cell under the fuel cell 3. Eventually, all the fuel cells located below the fuel cell 1 as the original replacement object are to be replaced in the state of FIG. 1. In other words, the prior art configuration needs replacement of a larger number of fuel cells than the number of fuel cells as the actual replacement object. This significantly increases the cost for repair of the fuel cell stack.

Fuel cell stack, manufacturing method of fuel cell stack and replacement method of module as constituent of fuel cell stack


In a multi-chip module (MCM), integrated circuits are coupled by optical waveguides that convey optical signals. The optical waveguides provide dedicated point-to-point optical links between all pairs of the integrated circuits. Moreover, for a given point-to-point optical link between a given pair of integrated circuits, other integrated circuits in the integrated circuits steal access on the given point-to-point optical link when communicating information to one of the given pair of integrated circuits so that the given point-to-point optical link is shared by more than the given pair of integrated circuits. Furthermore, the integrated circuits recover errors in messages in the optical signals corrupted by collisions on the given point-to-point optical link using erasure coding. In this way, the MCM may provide an optical network with increased bandwidth relative to a point-to-point optical network.

1. Field
The present disclosure generally relates to optical networks. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a multi-chip module (MCM) that includes integrated circuits that communicate via an optical network, dedicated point-to-point optical links and opportunistic stealing of communication bandwidth.
2. Related Art
Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), which allows a single optical connection to carry multiple optical links or channels, can provide: very high bit-rates, very high bandwidth densities and very low power consumption. As a consequence, researchers are investigating the use of WDM to facilitate inter-chip communication. For example, in one proposed architecture chips (which are sometimes referred to as 'sites') in an array (which is sometimes referred to as a multi-chip module or MCM, or a 'macrochip') are coupled together by an optical network that includes optical interconnects (such as silicon optical waveguides).
In order to use photonic technology in interconnect applications, an efficient design is needed for the optical network. In particular, the optical network typically needs to provide: a high total peak bandwidth; a high bandwidth for each logical connection between any two sites in the array; low arbitration and connection setup overheads; low power consumption; and bandwidth reconfigurability.
A variety of optical network topologies having different characteristics and contention scenarios have been proposed to address these challenges in interconnect applications. One existing optical network topology, a static WDM point-to-point optical network, is shown in FIG. 1. In this optical network topology, an array of integrated circuits or chips 0-3 (which are each located at a 'site' in the array) are coupled by silicon optical waveguides using two carrier wavelengths (represented by the solid and dotted arrows). Note that the optical network in FIG. 1 is a fully connected point-to-point optical network. In particular, each site has a dedicated optical link or channel to every other site. Links to all the sites in a column of the array (which are conveyed by different carrier wavelengths output by non-tunable light sources) may be multiplexed using WDM onto a single waveguide that runs from the source site and visits each site in the column, where a carrier wavelength-selective 'drop filter' redirects one of the multiplexed carrier wavelengths to a destination site (in this case, the drop filters in row 1 pick off the first carrier wavelength, and the drop filters in row 2 pick off the second carrier wavelength, so the carrier wavelength is used for routing). As illustrated by the bold line, in FIG. 1 chip 0 communicates with chips 1 and 3.
A key property of this optical network is the lack of arbitration overhead, which allows low minimum latency and high peak utilization for uniform traffic patterns. Furthermore, this optical network uses no switching elements, which results in low optical power loss in the optical waveguides. However, the bandwidth in the optical waveguides is statically allocated, which constrains the available bandwidth between any two sites. For example, in a macrochip that includes 64 chips arranged in an 8×8 array, with a peak system bandwidth of 20 TB/s, a total transmit bandwidth of 320 GB/s and a total receive bandwidth of 320 GB/s for each site, the bandwidth between any two sites is 5 GB/s, because each site has 64 outgoing optical waveguides so that each optical waveguide only has 1/64th of the total site bandwidth. This constraint can lead to low performance for workloads that heavily stress a subset of the optical waveguides.
Alternatively, an optical network can enable sharing of optical links, for example, by combining the carrier wavelengths of multiple optical links to form a single logically shared optical link. Optical networks based on sharing can potentially provide higher site-to-site bandwidths compared to a point-to-point optical network, albeit at the cost of arbitration delays in accessing the shared optical link. However, in optical networks there is typically another significant cost associated with sharing: increased power consumption.
Usually, optical networks are static power dominated, including the optical power (laser) and the ring-resonator-modulator tuning power. A continuous-wave laser source is always active regardless of whether the optical link is idle or busy. Moreover, the optical power required for an optical link is a function of the number of devices and the optical power loss per device on that optical link. Because shared optical-network architectures often use additional devices (for example, additional ring-resonator modulators and switches) to enable sharing, the power loss can be significantly larger. The use of additional ring-resonator modulators can also result in larger ring-resonator-modulator tuning power relative to a point-to-point optical network because the ring-resonator modulators often need to be thermally tuned and maintained at the proper operating temperature at all times. Therefore, while sharing designs typically offers higher site-to-site bandwidths, this often comes at the cost of increased static power consumption.
Hence, what is needed is an MCM with an optical network that does not suffer from the above-described problems.

Opportunistic bandwidth stealing in optical networks


A button structure for a hearing device, includes: a first microphone, the first microphone being configured to receive sound via a first microphone input; an elastic member comprising a first part and a second part, the first part comprising a user interface surface, the second part comprising a first opening, the first opening being aligned with the first microphone input; a switch component, wherein the user interface surface is configured to be operated by a user to activate the switch component; and an outer shielding comprising a shield opening and a second opening, wherein at least a portion of the first part of the elastic member extends through the shield opening, wherein the second opening of the outer shield is aligned with the first opening of the second part of the elastic member, and wherein the outer shielding is in contact with the elastic member to create a seal.

The components of hearing devices such as e.g. headsets, headphones, earphones, hearing aids etc. are exposed to an array of potentially damaging substances during use. Examples of such potentially damaging substances are humidity, grease, perspiration and earwax. Therefore, the components, particularly the electronic components, of hearing devices are shielded to some degree from these substances.
Shielding is even more relevant for so-called custom hearing devices such as e.g. Invisible-in-Canal (IIC), Completely-in-Canal (CIC), In-the-Canal (ITC), or In-the-Ear (ITE) hearing aids, which reside partially or fully within the ear canal, which is a damp environment containing earwax.
An issue for many hearing devices with respect to shielding is that they have one or more user interfaces, such as push-buttons, toggle switches, or volume control, to allow the user to change various settings. Such user interfaces often require one or more openings in the outer shielding, which then become possible entry points for humidity, grease, etc. Further, the user interface means that part of the hearing device is regularly directly exposed to a user's fingers, which may contain substances such as fluids or grease thus adding to the exposure.
In addition to shielding from humidity and grease, the hearing device will often also need to be acoustically-tight such that no sound or as little sound as possible enters, for example via openings in the shielding. Most hearing devices seek to close off sound from the outside such that any sound they produce is better heard. For example, sophisticated hearing aids analyse the incoming sound and suppress undesired ones, such as impulse sounds, while enhancing desired sounds, such as speech; If incoming sounds are able to travel through the shielding this functionality is reduced.
A challenge in the design of button structures suitable for hearing devices, in particular those suitable for custom hearing aids, is the small form factor and compactness required, which means that components in the hearing device have to be positioned closely together.
There is therefore a need for a compact, watertight and acoustically-tight button structure that alleviates one or more of the above mentioned drawbacks at least to some extent.

Compact, watertight and acoustically-tight button structure


A process for joining a bronze part and a silicon carbide ceramic part comprising: providing a bronze part, a SiC ceramic part, a Al foil and a Ni foil; placing the SiC ceramic part, the Al foil, the Ni foil, and the bronze part into a mold, the Al foil and the Ni foil located between the SiC ceramic part and the bronze part, the Al foil abutting against the SiC ceramic part, the Ni foil abutting against the bronze part and the Al foil; placing the mold into a chamber of an hot press sintering device, heating the chamber and pressing the bronze part, the SiC ceramic part, the Al foil, and the Ni foil at least until the bronze part, the SiC ceramic part, the Al foil and the Ni foil form a integral composite article.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a process for joining a metal part and a ceramic part, especially to a process for joining a bronze part and a silicon carbide ceramic part, and a composite article made by the process.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is desirable to join bronze parts and silicon carbide ceramic parts. A typical process for joining bronze and silicon carbide ceramic is by positioning physically separate nickel foil or molybdenum foil as intermediate layer between bronze and silicon carbide ceramic. However, the foil retains its separate nature through manufacturing and in the final product and does not chemically interact with the bronze or silicon carbide ceramic. Furthermore, in case of using physically separate nickel foil, due to great difference between the coefficients of heat expansion of the silicon carbide ceramic and the nickel foil, the ceramic/nickel interface has large thermal stress, thus, the bond between the bronze and the silicon carbide ceramic via nickel foil is not as stable as desired. In case of using physically separate molybdenum foil, due to having a relatively low reaction activity, it is difficult for silicon carbide ceramic and molybdenum foil to inter-diffuse into each other, enhancing the difficulty of bonding.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

Composite articles made by process for joining bronze part and silicon carbide ceramic part

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.


The present disclosure provides a method for removing photoresist residue from a low k dielectric above a semiconductor substrate. The method includes creating a first opening in the low k dielectric extending a first depth towards an underlying conductor, and applying and patterning a material above the low k dielectric. In-situ first and second plasma environments are provided, with a bias power being applied to the substrate to attract ion bombardment during the second plasma environment. Trenches can be etched in the low k dielectric, the trenches extending a second depth less than the first depth. Material for the first and second plasmas and the ion bombardment are selected for removing residue of the material from the low k dielectric.

The present disclosure relates generally to the fabrication of semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to a method and system for the removal of photoresist residue from a semiconductor wafer.
Semiconductor device geometries have dramatically decreased in size since such devices were first introduced several decades ago. Since then, integrated circuits have generally followed the two year/half-size rule (often called Moore's Law), which means that the number of devices on a chip doubles every two years. Today's fabrication plants are routinely producing devices having 0.35 micron and even 90 nm feature sizes.
Due to the ever shrinking design rules, changes have been made throughout the semiconductor manufacturing process. For example, strategies to minimize interconnect delays involve improving conductivity with copper wiring and lowering the dielectric constant (k) value by employing low k films. While copper integration is fairly advanced, low k materials present a wide range of new integration challenges because of their lower density, inferior mechanical properties, and typically increased organic content. In dual damascene applications, they are layered between a variety of other films. The number of stack combinations and requirements necessitate developing processes and process systems that are highly flexible and provide large processing windows.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved deposition process and reactor configuration that improves the uniformity of thin films produced by IMP.

Trench photolithography rework for removal of photoresist residue

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A system, method, and computer program for modifying a solid model representation that is manipulated in a computer having software instructions for design, comprising: a computer system, wherein the computer system includes a memory, a processor, a user input device, and a display device; a computer generated geometric model stored in the memory in the memory of the computer system; and wherein the computer system receives user input and accesses at least one data file having a plurality of geometric model definitions that define a geometric model; converts the geometric model definitions into a geometric representation of the geometric model; calculates a plurality of geometric conditions between at least one geometry identified by a user and the geometric model to create a set of constraints; and calculates a modified geometric model with a modified geometry according the set of constraints to display to the user; and appropriate means and computer-readable instructions.

In today's world of computer-aided design (CAD) applications, parts are commonly designed in one of two ways: history-based or history-less. A history-based system is commonly characterized by the parametric modeling paradigm that emerged in the mid-1980s. In parametric modeling systems, a recipe, or history tree, is created to reflect how things are related to one another. When a change is made to one original item, all items created later in time from the original item are updated. In this way, for example, two faces may remain coplanar, because they were designed with such a relationship captured during the design process and simply "replayed" during the update process. FIGS. 1a-1c illustrate a trimetric projection of a three-dimensional block. Referring to FIG. 1a, a C block 100 in three-dimension ("3D") is viewable to a user on a computer display and is in need of a modification by a user by altering a bottom leg 105, a top leg 110, or both the bottom leg 105 and the top leg 110. In a history-based system, how easily the user modifies the C block 100 depends upon how it was originally designed in the CAD application system, such as SolidEdge by Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. Commonly, an original designer creates and/or designs a part that is later modified by a modify designer who maybe completely unfamiliar to the original designer. For example, if the original designer, i.e., the person that originally designed the C block 100, had the design method intent to constrain the faces related to the bottom leg 105 and the top leg 110 as coplanar, then the modification action illustrated in FIG. 1c is easy to accomplish using known parametric/history-based modeling techniques that are basic to one skilled in the art of 3D model design, but for simple explanation because the two faces are constrained to be coplanar, moving one face will cause the other face to move as well. If on the other hand, the modify designer intends to move only the face associated with the bottom leg 105 while leaving the top leg 110 alone, e.g., FIG. 1b, then several additional steps must transpire to remove the coplanar constraint requiring several additional steps that begins with understanding how the two legs of the C block 100 were created if the modify designer was not the original designer. Furthermore, if the original designer of the C block 100 did not model the bottom leg 105 and the top leg 110 to be coplanar but modeled the legs by some other method such as a distance or a formula, then to modify both as seen in FIG. 1c would increase the difficulty to a point where the modify designer may as well model the C block 100 from scratch.
On the other hand, modifying the C block 100 in a history-less or the body-based approach taken by companies like CoCreate, IronCAD, and Kubotek, for example, fails to maintain the history-tree made popular by the parametric modeling paradigm. In the history-less approach, changes are made explicitly for each item on a solid model. If the original designer of the C block 100 intended that the faces on the bottom leg 105 and the top leg 110 maintain a coplanar relationship, later modifications require the manual selection of the faces for edit to ensure the desired result, which is difficult if the original designer's intent is unknown or unascertainable. For example, the modify designer can make either change illustrated in FIG. 1b or FIG. 1c simply be selecting the one face or individually select all of the other coplanar faces, which happens to be a small number in this example but could be in the hundreds in a complex assembly model. Alternatively, some software applications could allow the modify designer to "make faces coplanar" and permanently capture a design intent after the fact at time of edit, but this can also be cumbersome particularly with very large models. The design intent is the intent of the original designer of the solid model in how the model was designed. Alternatively the design intent could reflect the intent of the modification designer of the solid model. This later alteration would make the modification see in FIG. 1b difficult at a later date particularly since now the design intent may be baked into the model contrary to design intent.
The issue with the history-based approach is that design intent is incorporated and fixed at the time of model creation, which can complicate making changes later-on that were not anticipated at the time of model creation. In contrast, the history-less systems are flexible about change at a later date, but capture very little intelligence about how things are related. If modify designers determine to manually capture such intelligence at a later point in time, then, like history-based systems, that intelligence is incorporated and fixed thereby limiting further flexibility.
The inventors have advantageously recognized a need for a system and method to provide direct edit capabilities on a solid model where the current geometry is examined and joined with various model constraints so that dependencies are localized in real-time.

System and method for modifying geometric relationships in a solid model


Phase change memory cells including a phase change media can be encoded using a source of energy that is not integral with the memory cell. External sources of energy include thermal heads, such as those used in direct thermal printing or thermal transfer printing and sources of electromagnetic radiation, such as lasers. Such types of phase change memory devices can be associated with substrates that include thermochromic materials or are suitable for thermal transfer printing so that the memory cells can be encoded and print media applied to the substrate using the same source of thermal energy.

1. Technical Field
The subject matter described herein relates to phase change memory devices, devices and methods for changing the state of a phase change media, and methods of storing retrievable data in a phase change memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several technologies, such as magnetic random access memory (MRAM), flash, and phase change memory (PCM) have emerged to bridge the speed gap between DRAM and disc memory solutions. PCM has read latency close to DRAM, high write endurance, and is expected to have higher density than DRAM, all of which makes PCM an interesting technology for building large-scale main memory systems.
Known PCM is a type of nonvolatile memory that exploits the property of a phase change media, such as an alloy of germanium, antimony, and tellurium commonly referred to as the chalcogenide GST, to switch between two states, an amorphous state and a polycrystalline state, by applying electrical pulses which control local heat generation inside a PCM cell. The amorphous state is characterized by high electrical resistivity, whereas the polycrystalline state exhibits low resistivity. This difference in resistivity between the amorphous state and the polycrystalline state can be 3 to 5 orders of magnitude. Different heat-time profiles can be used to switch from one state to another. The proportion of states inside a PCM cell can be used to represent a variety of logical states, the simplest scenario being that of a binary cell based on the amorphous state and the crystalline state. However, the large difference in resistivity and ability to manipulate the proportion of the two states in a PCM cell has reportedly made it possible to store multiple bits per cell (MLC). It is reported that prototypes capable of storing 2 bits/cell have been proposed and some studies have also analyzed 4 bits/cell. To achieve high density, it is desirable that PCM cells store multiple bits, especially as technology scales to smaller feature sizes.
One challenge of utilizing PCM devices is to achieve reliable programming with low programming currents. Work on PCM cell designs has focused at least in part on achieving programming currents that are consistent with existing lithography generations. Because GST alloys melt at 610° C., managing heat loss is another important aspect of achieving a low programming current. One approach to managing heat loss is provided by the PCM cell illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows a physical structure of a PCM cell 10 often referred to as a mushroom PCM cell. Cell 10 consists of a layer of phase change media 11, a top electrode 12 above the phase change media layer and a bottom electrode 14 below the phase change media layer. Positioned between bottom electrode 14 and phase change media layer 11 is an extended vertical electrode 16 of a resistive heater material. The resistive material 16 increases in temperature in response to an electric current. The use of this embedded vertical electrode of resistive heater material serves to reduce heat loss to the silicon substrate. In known PCM cells, resistive material, bottom electrode 14 and top electrode 12 are often responsible for generation of thermal energy within the cell in response to the flow of an electric current through resistive material 16. The thermal energy generated by the electric current is transferred to a portion of the layer of phase change media schematically represented by mushroom cap shaped portion 13 where it causes an increase in the temperature of portion 13. Logically, PCM cells are described as programmable resistors. To set the PCM cell to a crystalline state, a sustained current pulse is applied to the resistive material to generate sufficient thermal energy to increase the temperature of the phase change material to above its crystallization temperature (Tc), but below its melting temperature (Ta). When heated to above its crystallization temperature, but not above its melting temperature, the phase change media takes its crystalline state having a low resistivity relative to its resistivity in its amorphous state. To reset the PCM cell to its amorphous state, a short electrical pulse is applied to the resistive material to generate thermal energy sufficient to heat portion 13 of phase change media above its melting point. Once heated above its melting point, portion 13 of phase change media layer transforms into its amorphous state (high resistivity relative to its crystalline state) which it maintains when cooled rapidly.
A thermal printer employs thermal print technology to produce a printed image by selectively heating a coated thermochromic paper when the paper passes over a thermal print-head of the thermal printer. The thermochromic coating turns black (or another color) in areas where it has been heated by the thermal print-head, thus producing an image. Two-color direct thermal printers can print both black and an additional color (often red) by providing a thermal print-head that can be heated to two different temperatures and contacted with the thermochromic paper. Such type of thermal print technology is also employed in thermal transfer printing where one side of a heat sensitive ribbon is contacted with a thermal print-head and a portion of a coating on the opposite side of the ribbon melts and attaches to a material which is in contact with the coating. Current thermal print-head technology provides resolutions as high as 4800 DPI. Print-heads capable of providing lower resolutions, such as 203 DPI, 300 DPI, and 406 DPI are commercially available. Thermal printers have been used for many applications, including producing bar code labels, clothing labels, and printing plastic labels for chemical containers.
In addition to a thermal print-head, a thermal printer includes other components, including a platen which assists in feeding a substrate to the thermal print-head, a biasing element that applies pressure to the thermal head causing it to contact the temperature-sensitive substrate or ribbon, and a controller for controlling the operation of the thermal printer. In operation, the controller includes circuits that control the flow of electrical currents to the heating elements of the thermal head, causing selected portions of the thermal head to increase in temperature. The controller may also control the speed the substrate moves relative to the print-head of the movement of the print-head relative to the substrate.
With the continued interest in PCM devices for large-scale main memory systems as well as smaller scale memory systems, interest remains in PCM cell structures that require low current to set and reset the cell.

Phase change memory devices, method for encoding, and methods for storing data


A gear includes an inner hub formed of metal material, the inner hub having an outer surface defining a plurality of outer teeth. The gear also includes an outer ring formed of non-metal material, the outer ring having an inner diameter that is smooth. The outer ring is disposed in an interference fit with the outer teeth of the inner hub.

Automobiles are the subject of many different types of stresses, such as rough driving surfaces, internal vibrations, and exposure to a broad range of environments. Various components of automobiles experience these hardships more than others and the malfunction of one component often leads to the damage of interrelated parts and abrupt automobile breakdown. While steel and other metallic materials are strong and durable, they are heavy and greatly reduce fuel economy. In attempts to balance strength and weight, traditional metallic components are being replaced or integrated with components made of non-metallic material, such as polymer or carbon-fiber based materials.
One example category of components that are of absolute criticality to the operation of an automobile are the numerous gears that translate motion between parts. Some gears include a metallic inner hub with a knurled outer diameter (O.D.) and a non-metallic outer ring cast around and bonded to the knurled O.D. While these gears that utilize an inner hub and an outer ring exhibit certain benefits over the more traditional gears in certain applications, problems may persist during operation. For example, the inner hub is heavy and negatively impacts fuel economy and the geometric shape of the knurled outer surface can lead to stress fractures and complete separation or peeling of the outer ring and hub during operation. One application in which these gears with an inner hub and an outer ring have been utilized is in power steering systems.
Accordingly, there is a continued desire to develop gears having an inner hub and an outer ring to minimize weight and reduce the occurrence of abrupt separation and non-operability.

Steering Solutions IP Holding Corporation


A method includes detecting a device to device (D2D) synchronization signal of a neighbor base station, transmitted from at least one other UE associated with the neighbor base station through a transceiver, determining at least one UE receive (RX) resource pool configured by the neighbor base station based on the D2D synchronization signal of the neighbor base station, and monitoring a D2D discovery or communication signal transmitted from the at least one other UE according to the at least one UE RX resource pool through the transceiver. A method includes determining at least one UE RX resource pool for at least one device associated with a base station, each UE RX resource pool comprising a repetition of a Scheduling Assignment (SA) pool and a data pool with a scheduling cycle, the SA pool comprising a SA bitmap, and the data pool comprising at least one repeated data bitmap.

Traditionally cellular networks have been designed to establish wireless communications links between mobile devices or User Equipments (UEs) and fixed communication infrastructure (for example, base stations, access points, or enhanced NodeBs (eNBs)) which serve users in a wide or local geographic range. A wireless network however can also be implemented by utilizing D2D communication links with the assistance of infrastructure or without the need for deployed access points. A communication network can support devices which can connect both to access points (infrastructure mode) and other D2D-enabled devices. A D2D-enabled device is referred to as a D2D UE.
The D2D communication may be used to implement many kinds of services that are complementary to the primary communication network or provide new services based on the flexibility of the network topology. The LTE D2D multicast communication such as broadcasting or groupcasting has been identified as a potential means for D2D communication where UEs are able to transmit messages to all in-range D2D-enabled UEs or a subset of UEs which are members of particular group. Future public safety networks are expected to require devices to operate in near simultaneous fashion when switching between cellular and D2D communication modes. As a result, there is a need for protocols which can manage D2D communication in these deployment scenarios.

Methods and apparatus for inter-cell device-to-device communication and discovery


A photo-detecting circuit including a photosensitive detector configured to accumulate photo-generated charges at a first node upon irradiation by light, a transfer circuit configured to establish a current path to the first node in response to a first scan signal being active, an integrating circuit configured to selectively operate in a first mode in which the integrating circuit operates as an integrator to integrate a photocurrent and transfer an integration result to a second node for readout or a second mode in which the first input terminal of the integrating circuit is in conduction with the second node, and a reset circuit configured to selectively supply a first voltage or a second voltage to the second input terminal of the integrating circuit as a reference voltage. The second voltage is greater than the first voltage.

Digital radiography (DR) is an X-ray photography technology developed in the 1990s. It has the advantages of fast imaging speed, convenient operation and high imaging resolution. A key component for the DR technology is the flat panel detector with which images are acquired. The flat panel detector typically includes an X-ray conversion layer (e.g., a scintillation crystal coating), a photodiode, etc., wherein the X-ray conversion layer converts X-rays into an optical signal after being exposed to the X-rays, and the photodiode converts the optical signal into an electrical signal. The electrical signal is read and sent to a computer image processing system for processing.

Photo-detecting circuit, driving method thereof and flat panel detector

BEIJING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A semiconductor integrated circuit, includes a first macro and a second macro. The first macro outputs a data signal. The second macro inputs the data signal. The first macro fixes the data signal at a non-high level state that is not a high level in response to a control signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit. More particularly, the present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit including a plurality of macros that can be operated although their operational voltages are different from each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to make a data transmission speed between a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and a logic circuit faster, a logic in memory is used in which the DRAM and the logic circuit are integrated on the same semiconductor chip.
There may be a case that a burn-in is performed on this logic in memory, in order to improve the reliability, similarly to other semiconductor integrated circuits. When the burn-in is performed on the logic in memory, a power supply voltage higher than a sent power supply voltage in a normal operation is sent to the logic in memory, and the operation is carried out in atmosphere at a high temperature. Thus, the deterioration at a defective portion is accelerated to thereby bring about a potential defect in a short time.
When the burn-in is performed on the logic in memory, the DRAM and the logic circuit need to receive the power supply voltages different from each other. This is because the DRAM and the logic circuit have the structures of the semiconductor elements included in them and the manufacturing processes that are different from each other. For example, the thicknesses of gate oxide films of MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistors included in the DRAM and the logic circuit are typically different from each other. Thus, it is necessary to perform the burn-in while sending the different power supply voltages to the DRAM and the logic circuit, in order to obtain the fault lives at the same level between the DRAM and the logic circuit. At this time, a power supply voltage higher than that of the logic circuit is typically sent to the DRAM.
At this time, if the DRAM to which the high power supply voltage is sent outputs a signal to the logic circuit to which the low power supply voltage is sent, there may be the fear of a break of a semiconductor element included in the logic circuit. For example, let us consider the DRAM mixture semiconductor integrated circuit, in which a DRAM having a gate oxide film having a film thickness of 9 nm and a logic circuit having a gate oxide film having a film thickness of 6 nm are mixed. It is necessary to send a power supply voltage of 4.5 V to the DRAM at the operation of the burn-in. On the other hand, a power supply voltage of 3.5 V is sent to the logic circuit at the operation of the burn-in. The DRAM to which the power supply voltage of 4.5 V is sent outputs a signal having an amplitude of 4.5 V to the logic circuit. However, the maximum rated voltage of the logic circuit having the gate oxide film having the film thickness of 6 nm is 4.0 V. Thus, there may be the fear the break of this logic circuit when the signal having the amplitude of 4.5 V outputted by the DRAM is inputted.
It is necessary to protect the logic circuit from being damaged, when the DRAM to which the high power supply voltage is sent outputs the signal having the same amplitude as the high power supply voltage, to the logic circuit to which the low power supply voltage is sent, at the operation of the burn-in.
The above-mentioned situation similarly occurs in a semiconductor integrated circuit in which two macros to which different power supply voltages are sent are placed on a single chip. When the semiconductor integrated circuit containing the two macros having the different operational voltages is operated, it is desirable to protect the break of the semiconductor element included in the macro having the lower operational voltage, by sending a signal having a high voltage from the macro having the higher operational voltage to the macro having the lower operational voltage.
By the way, the related technique is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei, 10-247397). FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the known semiconductor integrated circuit disclosed thereby. A known semiconductor integrated circuit 101 is provided with a memory mat 102, a low decoder 103, a low driver 104, a column decoder 105, a column driver 106, a sense amplifier 107, a low address buffer 108, a column address buffer 109, a data input buffer 110, a data output buffer 111, an input output control circuit 112, an oscillator 113, a booster power supply circuit 114, a level sensor 115 and a control circuit 116.
The known semiconductor integrated circuit 101 stops sending a booster power supply voltage Vpp from the booster power supply circuit 114 when a burn-in test is carried out, and thereby protects the normal circuit elements included in the low decoder 103 and the like from being damaged. If the burn-in test is not done, the booster power supply voltage Vpp is sent from the booster power supply circuit 114 to the low decoder 103. On the other hand, if the burn-in test is done, a power supply voltage is sent to the low decoder 103 from an external portion of the semiconductor integrated circuit 101, and the booster power supply voltage Vpp is not sent from the booster power supply circuit 114. Thus, it is possible to protect the break of the normal circuit elements, when an excessively high voltage is sent to the low decoder 103.
In the logic in memory in which the logic circuit and the DRAM that can be operated although their operational voltages are different from each other are mixed, there may be further a case of an occurrence of an erroneous operation, depending on a timing when the power supply voltages are sent to the DRAM and the logic circuit, respectively, when the power supply is turned on.
This is because the operation of the DRAM is unstable until the power supply voltage sent to the DRAM reaches a certain degree of a voltage, after the power supply is turned on. Thus, this unstable operation may cause a data inputted to the logic circuit from the DRAM to be a data in which an input to the logic circuit is not assumed. The input of such a data to the logic circuit may result in the occurrence of the erroneous operation in the logic circuit.
Moreover, although the power supply voltage sent to the logic circuit does not reach a certain degree of a voltage, if the DRAM starts its operation and outputs a signal to the logic circuit, an improper voltage may be applied to the semiconductor element included in the logic circuit, and a latch-up state may be induced.
It is desirable to protect such an erroneous operation from being brought about when the power supply is turned on.
The present invention is accomplished in view of the above mentioned problems. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to protect the break of the semiconductor element included in the macro having the lower operational voltage, by outputting a signal from the macro having the higher operational voltage to the macro having the lower operational voltage, when the semiconductor integrated circuit containing the two macros having the different operational voltages is operated.
Another object of the present invention is to protect the break of the semiconductor element included in the macro having the lower operational voltage, by outputting a signal to the macro on which the burn-in is performed while the lower power supply voltage is sent, from the macro on which the burn-in is performed while the higher power supply voltage is sent, in the semiconductor integrated circuit including the two macros on which the burn-in is performed while the different power supply voltages are sent.
Still another object of the present invention is to protect the break of the semiconductor element included in the logic macro, by outputting a signal to the logic macro on which the burn-in is performed while the lower power supply voltage is sent, from the DRAM macro on which the burn-in is performed while the higher power supply voltage is sent, in the DRAM mixture semiconductor integrated circuit in which the DRAM macro and the logic macro are mixed.
Still another object of the present invention is to protect the erroneous operation of the semiconductor integrated circuit when a power supply to the semiconductor integrated circuit including the two macros is started.
In order to achieve an aspect of the present invention, a semiconductor integrated circuit, includes: a first macro outputting a data signal; and a second macro inputting the data signal, and wherein the first macro fixes the data signal at a non-high level state that is not a high level in response to a control signal.
In this case, the non-high level state is a low level.
Also in this case, when a burn-in is performed on the semiconductor integrated circuit, the control signal indicates that the data signal is fixed at the non-high level state.
Further in this case, when a first power supply voltage supplied to the first macro is higher than a maximum rated voltage of the second macro, the control signal indicates that the data signal is fixed at the non-high level state.
In this case, the semiconductor integrated circuit, further includes: a first POR (Power On Reset) circuit monitoring a first power supply voltage supplied to the first macro and generating the control signal in response to the first power supply voltage, and wherein when the first power supply voltage is lower than a predetermined standard first voltage, the first POR circuit generates the control signal indicating that the data signal is fixed at the non-high level state.
Also in this case, the semiconductor integrated circuit, further includes: a second POR (Power On Reset) circuit monitoring a second power supply voltage supplied to the second macro and generating the control signal in response to the second power supply voltage, and wherein when the second power supply voltage is lower than a predetermined second standard voltage, the second POR circuit generates the control signal indicating that the data signal is fixed at the non-high level state.
Further in this case, the semiconductor integrated circuit, further includes: a third POR (Power On Reset) circuit monitoring a first power supply voltage supplied to the first macro and a second power supply voltage supplied to the second macro and generating the control signal in response to the first and second power supply voltages, and wherein when the first power supply voltage is lower than a predetermined first standard voltage, or the second power supply voltage is lower than a predetermined second standard voltage, the third POR circuit generates the control signal indicating that the data signal is fixed at the non-high level state.
In order to achieve another aspect of the present invention, a semiconductor integrated circuit, includes: a first macro having an output buffer outputting a data signal; and a second macro inputting the data signal, wherein a second power supply voltage is supplied to the second macro, and wherein the second power supply voltage is supplied to the output buffer, and wherein the output buffer outputs the data signal such that an amplitude of the data signal is substantially equal to that of the second power supply voltage.
In this case, a first power supply voltage higher than the second power supply voltage is supplied to a portion other than the output buffer of the first macro.
In order to achieve still another aspect of the present invention, a semiconductor integrated circuit, includes: a first macro outputting a data signal; and a second macro inputting the data signal, and wherein the second macro includes: an input buffer inputting the data signal; a logic circuit inputting an input data signal, wherein the input buffer outputs the input data signal in correspondence with the data signal, and wherein the input buffer includes a first MOS transistor, and wherein the logic circuit includes a second MOS transistor, and wherein a first gate oxide film included in the first MOS transistor is thicker than a second gate oxide film included in the second MOS film.
In this case, a first power supply voltage supplied to the first macro is higher than a second power supply voltage supplied to the second macro.
Also in this case, the first macro includes a third MOS transistor having a third gate oxide film, and wherein the second gate oxide film has a thickness substantially equal to that of the third gate oxide film.
In order to achieve still another aspect of the present invention, a semiconductor integrated circuit, includes: a first macro outputting an output data signal; a level shifter adjusting an amplitude of the output data signal in response to a control signal indicating whether or not a burn-in is performed on the semiconductor integrated circuit to generate an input data signal; and a second macro inputting the input data signal.
In this case, when the burn-in is performed on the semiconductor integrated circuit, the level shifter generates the input data signal such that amplitude of the input data signal is substantially equal to that of a second power supply voltage supplied to the second macro.
Also in this case, wherein a first power supply voltage supplied to the first macro is higher than a second power supply voltage supplied to the second macro.
In order to achieve yet still another aspect of the present invention, an operating method of a semiconductor integrated circuit, includes: (a) inputting a control signal indicating whether or not a burn-in is performed on a semiconductor integrated circuit; and (b) outputting a data signal, and wherein the (b) includes (c) fixing the data signal at non-high level state that is not a high level in response to the control signal when the burn-in is performed on the semiconductor integrated circuit.
In order to achieve another aspect of the present invention, an operating method of a semiconductor integrated circuit, includes: (d) supplying a first power supply voltage to a first macro; and (e) outputting a data signal from the first macro to a second macro, and wherein the (e) includes (f) fixing the data signal at a non-high level state that is not a high level when the first power supply voltage is higher than a maximum rated voltage of the second macro.
In order to achieve still another aspect of the present invention, an operating method of a semiconductor integrated circuit, includes: (g) supplying a power supply voltage; and (h) outputting a data signal, and wherein the (h) includes (i) fixing the data signal at a non-high level than is not a high level when the power supply voltage is lower than a predetermined standard voltage.
In order to achieve yet still another aspect of the present invention, an operating method of a semiconductor integrated circuit, includes: (j) supplying a first power supply voltage to a portion other than an output buffer of a first macro including the output buffer; (k) supplying a second power supply voltage to a second macro and the output buffer; and (l) outputting a data signal of which an amplitude is substantially equal to that of the second power supply voltage from the output buffer to the second macro.
In order to achieve another aspect of the present invention, an operating method of a semiconductor integrated circuit, includes: (m) outputting an output data signal; (n) inputting a control signal indicating whether or not a burn-in is performed on a semiconductor integrated circuit; and (o) adjusting an amplitude of the output data signal in response to the control signal to generate an input data signal.

Semiconductor integrated circuit including a plurality of macros that can be operated although their operational voltages are different from each other


A new and distinct cultivar of Kalanchoe plant named xe2x80x98Countryxe2x80x99, characterized by its compact and upright plant habit; freely flowering habit; large red purple-colored flowers; dark green glossy leaves; and good postproduction longevity.

Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Kalanchoe blossfeldiana cultivar Country.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Kalanchoe plant, botanically known as Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Countryxe2x80x99.
The new Kalanchoe is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Odense, Denmark. The objective of the breeding program was to create new compact Kalanchoe cultivars with large and attractive flowers and good postproduction longevity.
The new Kalanchoe originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in Odense, Denmark of a proprietary selection of Kalanchoe identified as code number 915/99-5, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection of Kalanchoe identified as code number 470/97-2, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Kalanchoe was discovered and selected by the Inventor within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Odense, Denmark during the spring of 2000. The selection of this plant was based on its compact plant habit and attractive flower color.
Asexual reproduction of the new Kalanchoe by terminal cuttings taken at Odense, Denmark, has shown that the unique features of this new Kalanchoe are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Country has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Countryxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Countryxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Compact and upright plant habit.
2. Freely flowering habit.
3. Large red purple-colored flowers.
4. Dark green glossy leaves.
5. Good postproduction longevity.
Plants of the new Kalanchoe differ primarily from plants of the parent selections in flower color.
Plants of the new Kalanchoe can be compared to plants of the cultivar Cora, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,479. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Odense, Denmark, plants of the new Kalanchoe differed from plants of the cultivar Cora in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Kalanchoe had larger inflorescences than plants of the cultivar Cora.
2. Plants of the new Kalanchoe had larger flowers than plants of the cultivar Cora.
3. Flower color of plants of the new Kalanchoe was more uniform than flower color of plants of the cultivar Cora.


A novel human kinase protein and nucleic acid molecule is disclosed. In addition to the isolated kinase protein, the invention further provides isolated kinase fusion proteins, antigenic peptides, and anti-kinase antibodies. The invention also provides kinase nucleic acid molecules, recombinant expression vectors containing a nucleic acid molecule of the invention, host cells into which the expression vectors have been introduced, and nonhuman transgenic animals in which a kinase gene has been introduced or disrupted. Diagnostic, screening, and therapeutic methods utilizing compositions of the invention are also provided.

The invention relates to novel human kinase nucleic acid sequences and the encoded protein molecules. Also provided are vectors, host cells, and recombinant methods for making and using the novel molecules.
Phosphate tightly associated with a molecule, e.g., a protein, has been known since the late nineteenth century. Since then, a variety of covalent linkages of phosphate to proteins have been found. The most common involve esterification of phosphate to serine, threonine, and tyrosine with smaller amounts being linked to lysine, arginine, histidine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and cysteine. The occurrence of phosphorylated molecules, e.g., proteins, implies the existence of one or more kinases, e.g., protein kinases, capable of phosphorylating various molecules, e.g., amino acid residues on proteins, and also of phosphatases, e.g., protein phosphatases, capable of hydrolyzing various phosphorylated molecules, e.g., phosphorylated amino acid residues on proteins.
Protein kinases play critical roles in the regulation of biochemical and morphological changes associated with cellular growth and division (D""Urso et al. (1990) Science 250:786-791; Birchmeier et al. (1993) Bioessays 15:185-189). For example, these kinases have been shown to participate in the transmission of signals from growth-factor receptors (Sturgill et al. (1988) Nature 344:715-718; Gomez et al. (1991) Nature 353:170-173), control of entry of cells into mitosis (Nurse (1990) Nature 344:503-508; Mailer (1991) Curr. Opin. Cell Biol. 3:269-275), and regulation of actin bundling (Husain-Chishti et al. (1988) Nature 334:718-721). Protein kinases serve as growth factor receptors and signal transducers and have been implicated in cellular transformation and malignancy (Hunter et al. (1992) Cell 70:375-387; Posada et al. (1992) Mol. Biol. Cell 3:583-592; Hunter et al. (1994) Cell 79:573-582). Alterations in kinase genes and their products can lead to deregulated cell proliferation, a hallmark of cancer. Modulation of these genes and their regulatory activities may permit the control of tumor cell proliferation and invasion.
Protein kinases can be divided into different groups based on either amino acid sequence similarity or specificity for either serine/threonine or tyrosine residues. A small number of dual-specificity kinases have also been described. Within the broad classification, kinases can be further subdivided into families whose members share a higher degree of catalytic domain amino acid sequence identity and also have similar biochemical properties. Most protein kinase family members also share structural features outside the kinase domain that reflect their particular cellular roles. These include regulatory domains that control kinase activity or interaction with other proteins (Hanks et al. (1988) Science 241:42-52).
Extracellular signal-regulated kinases/mitogen-activated protein kinases (ERKs MAPKs) and cyclin-directed kinases (Cdks) represent two large families of serine-threonine kinases (see Songyang et al. (1996) Mol. Cell. Biol. 16: 6486-6493). Both types of kinases function in cell growth, cell division, and cell differentiation in response to extracellular stimuli. The ERK MAPK family members are critical participants in intracellular signaling pathways. Upstream activators as well as the ERK MAPK components are phosphorylated following contact of cells with growth factors or hormones or in response to cellular stressors, for example, heat, ultraviolet light, and inflammatory cytokines. These kinases transport messages that have been relayed from the plasma membrane to the cytoplasm by upstream kinases into the nucleus where they phosphorylate transcription factors and effect gene transcription modulation (Karin et al. (1995) Curr. Biol. 5: 747-757). Substrates of the ERK MAPK family include c-fos, c-jun, APF2, and ETS family members Elk1, Sap1a, and c-Ets-1 (cited in Brott et al. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95: 963-968).
Signal-transduction pathways that employ members of the ERK/MAPK family of serine/threonine kinases are widely conserved among eukaryotes. The multiplicity of these. pathways allows the cell to respond to divergent extracellular stimuli by initiating a broad array of responses ranging from cell growth to apoptosis. ERK/MAPK pathways are comprised of a three-tiered core-signaling module wherein ERK/MAPKs are regulated by MAPK/ERK kinases (MEKs), and MEKs, in turn, are regulated by MAPK kinase kinases (MAPKKKs). Mammalian stress-activated ERK/MAPK pathways have been implicated in numerous important physiological functions, including cell growth and proliferation, inflammatory responses, and apoptosis. For example, activation of the ERK 1,2 signaling pathway by a mitogenic growth factor, a tumor promoter, or by transformation suppresses decorin gene expression in fibroblasts, which in turn may promote proliferation and migration of normal and malignant cells (Laine et al. (2000) Biochem. J. 349: 19-25).
Cdks regulate transitions between successive stages of the cell cycle. The activity of these molecules is controlled by phosphorylation events and by association with cyclin. Cdk activity is negatively regulated by the association of small inhibitory molecules (Dynlacht (1997) Nature 389:148-152). Cdk targets include various transcriptional activators such as p110Rb, p107, and transcription factors, such as p53, E2F, and RNA polymerase II, as well as various cytoskeletal proteins and cytoplasmic signaling proteins (cited in Brott et al. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95: 963-968).
Protein kinases play critical roles in cellular growth, particularly in the transduction of signals for cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Therefore, novel protein kinase polynucleotides and proteins are useful for modulating cellular growth, differentiation, and/or development.
Isolated nucleic acid molecules corresponding to kinase nucleic acid sequences are provided. Additionally, amino acid sequences corresponding to the polynucleotides are encompassed. In particular, the present invention provides for isolated nucleic acid molecules comprising nucleotide sequences encoding the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:2 or the nucleotide sequence encoding the DNA sequence deposited in a plasmid vector as ATCC Accession Number PTA 2333. Further provided are kinase polypeptides having amino acid sequences encoded by the nucleic acid molecules described herein.
The present invention also provides vectors and host cells for recombinant expression of the nucleic acid molecules described herein, as well as methods of making such vectors and host cells and for using them for production of the polypeptides or peptides of the invention by recombinant techniques.
The kinase molecules of the present invention are useful for modulating cellular growth, cellular proliferation, and/or cellular metabolic pathways, particularly for regulating one or more proteins involved in growth, proliferation, and metabolism. Accordingly, in one aspect, this invention provides isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding kinase proteins or biologically active portions thereof, as well as nucleic acid fragments suitable as primers or hybridization probes for the detection of kinase-encoding nucleic acids.
Another aspect of this invention features isolated or recombinant kinase proteins and polypeptides. Preferred kinase proteins and polypeptides possess at least one biological activity possessed by the naturally occurring kinase proteins of the invention.
Variant nucleic acid molecules and polypeptides substantially homologous to the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the present invention are encompassed. Additionally, fragments and substantially homologous fragments of the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the present invention are provided.
Antibodies and antibody fragments that selectively bind the kinase polypeptides and fragments thereof are provided. Such antibodies are useful in detecting the kinase polypeptides as well as in modulating cellular growth, proliferation, and metabolism.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for detecting the presence of kinase activity or expression in a biological sample by contacting the biological sample with an agent capable of detecting an indicator of kinase activity such that the presence of kinase activity is detected in the biological sample.
In yet another aspect, the invention provides a method for modulating kinase activity comprising contacting a cell with an agent that modulates (inhibits or stimulates) kinase activity or expression such that kinase activity or expression in the cell is modulated. In one embodiment, the agent is an antibody that specifically binds to kinase protein. In another embodiment, the agent modulates expression of kinase protein by modulating transcription of a kinase gene, splicing of a kinase mRNA, or translation of a kinase mRNA. In yet another embodiment, the agent is a nucleic acid molecule having a nucleotide sequence that is antisense to the coding strand, or to a portion thereof, of the kinase MRNA or the kinase gene.
In one embodiment, the methods of the present invention are used to treat a subject having a disorder characterized by the aberrant activity or nucleic acid expression of the kinase proteins of the invention by administering an agent that is a kinase modulator to the subject. In one embodiment, the kinase modulator is a kinase protein. In another embodiment, the kinase modulator is a kinase nucleic acid molecule. In other embodiments, the kinase modulator is a peptide, peptidomimetic, or other small molecule.
The present invention also provides a diagnostic assay for identifying the presence or absence of a genetic lesion or mutation characterized by at least one of the following: (1) aberrant modification or mutation of the gene encoding a kinase protein of the invention; (2) misregulation of the gene encoding a kinase protein of the invention; and (3) aberrant post-translational modification of a kinase protein of the invention, wherein the wild-type form of the gene encodes a protein with kinase activity.
In another aspect, the invention provides a method for identifying a compound that binds to or modulates the activity of a kinase protein of the invention. In general, such methods entail measuring a biological activity of the kinase protein in the presence and absence of a test compound and identifying those compounds that alter the activity of the kinase protein.
The invention also features methods for identifying a compound that modulates the expression of a kinase gene of the invention by measuring the expression of the kinase sequence in the presence and absence of the compound.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and claims.

14189, a novel human kinase and uses thereof


An ultrasound inspection system includes a part fixture at least partially submerged in a liquid bath. The part fixture includes at least one surface with a plurality of elongated protrusions extending from the surface and a fluid flow ingress aperture in the surface. A part to be inspected is secured on the fixture by circulating the liquid through a channel in the fixture such that the liquid flows around the part and into the ingress aperture. The part engages and is supported by the elongated protrusions, wherein the elongated protrusions are configured such that they do not interfere with the ultrasonic testing performed on the part.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods of nondestructive inspection. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to ultrasonic inspection systems and part fixtures adapted for use therewith.
2. Related Art
It is often desirable or required by law to perform a complete inspection of manufactured parts prior to shipment or use. Aircraft composite parts, for example, often require 100% inspection after manufacture to discover any defects such as excessive porosity, delamination, defective bonding, voids, and embedded foreign objects.
Nondestructive inspection is a commonly used method of performing a complete test of manufactured parts. Ultrasonic inspection is one form of nondestructive inspection that involves the use of ultrasound waves to inspect the interior portions of parts. Ultrasonic testing and other forms of nondestructive inspection are desirable in that they can be performed relatively quickly and do not require disassembly of the inspected parts.
Ultrasonic inspection equipment typically utilizes an ultrasound transducer or array of transducers (either of which may be referred to as a "probe") to generate ultrasonic waves. Ultrasonic waves are similar to sound waves but have a much higher frequency, typically well beyond the range of human hearing. During ultrasonic inspection, the ultrasound probe is positioned near the surface of the part being inspected and oriented such that ultrasound waves generated by the probe are directed toward and through the part. When an ultrasound wave encounters a discontinuity in the part, such as a void, delamination or foreign object, part of the energy in the ultrasound wave is reflected. The reflected energy travels back through the part as a second ultrasound wave and is detected by the ultrasound probe, which acts as both a transmitter and receiver in what is commonly referred to as a "pulse echo" ultrasonic test system. The reflected ultrasound waves are collected and used to create a reflection signature, which may be expressed to the user in the form of an image or graph.
Ultrasonic inspection requires that the part under inspection be firmly secured in place and remain stable during the inspection process. One method of securing a part during the inspection process involves clamping the part in place. Because the clamps used to secure the part interfere with the ultrasonic inspection, the clamps must be moved during the inspection process to allow the entire part to be completely inspected. While moving the clamps during the inspection process allows for a complete inspection of the part, this step takes time and thus renders the process inefficient. Moving the clamps also complicates automation of the inspection process.
Accordingly, there is a need for a device which overcomes the limitations described above.

Part fixture for nondestructive inspection


The present invention relates to variants of a parent albumin having altered plasma half-life compared with the parent albumin. The present invention also relates to fusion polypeptides and conjugates comprising said variant albumin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to variants of albumin or fragments thereof or fusion polypeptides comprising variant albumin or fragments thereof having a change in half-life compared to the albumin, fragment thereof or fusion polypeptide comprising albumin or a fragment thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Albumin is a protein naturally found in the blood plasma of mammals where it is the most abundant protein. It has important roles in maintaining the desired osmotic pressure of the blood and also in transport of various substances in the blood stream.
Albumins have been characterized from many species including human, pig, mouse, rat, rabbit and goat and they share a high degree of sequence and structural homology.
Albumin binds in vivo to its receptor, the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) "Brambell" and this interaction is known to be important for the plasma half-life of albumin. FcRn is a membrane bound protein, expressed in many cell and tissue types. FcRn has been found to salvage albumin from intracellular degradation (Roopenian D. C. and Akilesh, S. (2007), Nat. Rev. Immunol 7, 715-725.). FcRn is a bifunctional molecule that contributes to maintaining a high level of IgGs and albumin in serum in mammals such as human beings.
Whilst the FcRn-immunoglobulin (IgG) interaction has been characterized in the prior art, the FcRn-albumin interaction is less well characterized. The major FcRn binding site is localized within DIII (381-585). Andersen et al (2010). Clinical Biochemistry 43, 367-372. Data indicates that IgG and albumin bind non-cooperatively to distinct sites on FcRn (Andersen et al. (2006), Eur. J. Immunol 36, 3044-3051; Chaudhury et al. (2006), Biochemistry 45, 4983-4990.).
It is known that mouse FcRn binds IgG from mice and humans whereas human FcRn appears to be more discriminating (Ober et al. (2001) Int. Immunol 13, 1551-1559). Andersen et al. (2010). Journal of Biological Chemistry 285(7):4826-36, describes the affinity of human and mouse FcRn for each mouse and human albumin (all possible combinations). No binding of albumin from either species was observed at physiological pH to either receptor. At acidic pH, a 100-fold difference in binding affinity was observed. In all cases, binding of albumin and IgG from either species to both receptors were additive.
Human serum albumin (HSA) has been well characterized as a polypeptide of 585 amino acids, the sequence of which can be found in Peters, T., Jr. (1996) All about Albumin: Biochemistry, Genetics and Medical, Applications pp 10, Academic Press, Inc., Orlando (ISBN 0-12-552110-3). It has a characteristic binding to its receptor FcRn, where it binds at pH 6.0 but not at pH 7.4.
The plasma half-life of HSA has been found to be approximately 19 days. A natural variant having lower plasma half-life has been identified (Peach, R. J. and Brennan, S. 0., (1991) Biochim Biophys Acta. 1097:49-54) having the substitution D494N. This substitution generated an N-glycosylation site in this variant, which is not present in the wild-type albumin. It is not known whether the glycosylation or the amino acid change is responsible for the change in plasma half-life.
Albumin has a long plasma half-life and because of this property it has been suggested for use in drug delivery. Albumin has been conjugated to pharmaceutically beneficial compounds (WO 2000/69902A), and it was found that the conjugate—maintained the long plasma half-life of albumin. The resulting plasma half-life of the conjugate was generally considerably longer than the plasma half-life of the beneficial therapeutic compound alone.
Further, albumin has been fused to therapeutically beneficial peptides (WO 2001/79271 A and WO 2003/59934 A) with the typical result that the fusion has the activity of the therapeutically beneficial peptide and a considerably longer plasma half-life than the plasma half-life of the therapeutically beneficial peptides alone.
Otagiri et al (2009), Biol. Pharm, Bull. 32(4), 527-534, discloses that 77 albumin variant are know, of these 25 are found in domain III. A natural variant lacking the last 175 amino acids at the carboxy termini has been shown to have reduced half-life (Andersen et al (2010), Clinical Biochemistry 43, 367-372). Iwao et al. (2007) studied the half-life of naturally accuring human albumin variants using a mouse model, and found that K541E and K560E had reduced half-life, E501K and E570K had increased half-life and K573E had almost no effect on half-life (Iwao, et. al. (2007) B.B.A. Proteins and Proteomics 1774, 1582-1590).
Galliano et al (1993) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1225, 27-32 discloses a natural variant E505K. Minchiotti et al. (1990) discloses a natural variant K536E. Minchiotti et al (1987) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 916, 411-418 discloses a natural variant K574N. Takahashi et al (1987) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84, 4413-4417, discloses a natural variant D550G. Carlson et al (1992). Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 89, 8225-8229, discloses a natural variant D550A.
Albumin has the ability to bind a number of ligands and these become associated (associates) with albumin. This property has been utilized to extend the plasma half-life of drugs having the ability to noncovalently bind to albumin. This can also be achieved by binding a pharmaceutical beneficial compound, which has little or no albumin binding properties, to a moiety having albumin binding properties. See review article and reference therein, Kratz (2008). Journal of Controlled Release 132, 171-183.
Albumin is used in preparations of pharmaceutically beneficial compounds, in which such a preparation maybe for example, but not limited to, a nano particle or micro particle of albumin. In these examples the delivery of a pharmaceutically beneficial compound or mixture of compounds may benefit from alteration in the albumins affinity to its receptor where the beneficial compound has been shown to associate with albumin for the means of delivery.
It is not clear what determines the plasma half-life of the formed associates (for example but not limited to Levemir®, Kurtzhals P et al. Biochem. J. 1995; 312:725-731) conjugates or fusion polypeptides but it appears to be a result of the combination of the albumin and the selected pharmaceutically beneficial compound/polypeptide. It would be desirable to be able to control the plasma half-life of given albumin conjugates, associates or albumin fusion polypeptides so that a longer or shorter plasma half-life can be achieved than given by the components of the association, conjugation or fusion, in order to be able to design a particular drug according to the particulars of the indication intended to be treated.
Albumin is known to accumulate and be catabolised in tumours, it has also been shown to accumulate in inflamed joints of rheumatoid arthritis sufferers. See review article and reference therein, Kratz (2008). Journal of Controlled Release 132, 171-183. It is envisaged that HSA variants with increased affinity for FcRn would be advantageous for the delivery of pharmaceutically beneficial compounds.
It may even be desirable to have variants of albumin that have little or no binding to FcRn in order to provide shorter half-lives or controlled serum pharmacokinetics as described by Kenanova et al (2009) J. Nucl. Med.; 50 (Supplement 2):1582).


Embodiments of present disclosure relates to a method and an interactive infomercial system for enabling interactive infomercials. In one embodiment, the system receives a request for U3I (unique infomercial identification information) associated with infomercial content. The system determines the availability of pregenerated U3I and generate remaining number of U3I based on determination of non-availability of the requested U3I. Further, the system updates the generated U3I with at least one redirect URL that is activated to enable the rendering of the infomercial content on a user device. The system may also generate personalized U3Is based on user data. Thus, the above disclosed system and method enables real-time interactive infomercials to the users such that the U3Is are generated and stored in advance when the system is available and updated with animation content on demand in less time and quick response time.

Infomercials are typically distributed to mobile viewing devices i.e. wireless mobile devices using multicasting based on user preferences. As a result, the same infomercial content may be received by multiple mobile users. Infomercials include advertisements, tutorials, online technical manuals, and so on. Typically, infomercials are transmitted to users over mobile messaging services such as short message service (SMS), instant messaging (IM) service or the like. The infomercials may be built to run on a mobile data service to provide real-time information or lead requests to the users and also enables screening of responders to the lead request. However, generating the infomercials involve huge time and memory and requires large data bandwidth for generation.

Method and system for enabling interactive infomercials


Multi-lumen catheters with improved tip configurations, including a triple-lumen catheter which may be useful for apheresis. In one variation, the catheter has three lumens with distal openings angularly spaced apart and staggered axially with respect to one another. In another variation, the catheter has two lumens exiting distally and one centrally positioned lumen exiting proximally. A third variation is a catheter with a single distal opening and two proximal openings. The staggered lumen openings along the axial length of the catheter may decrease recirculation while maximizing flow rates.

In various medical applications catheters with three or more lumens are needed to deliver and/or withdraw fluid from the patients' circulatory system. For example, the physician may need to divert blood from the circulatory system through a first lumen in the catheter and at the same time reintroduce the removed blood back into the circulatory system through a second lumen. A third lumen in the catheter may be used to introduce medications and/or nutrition supplements. In another example, each of the lumens within a multi-lumen catheter may be used to introduce a different drug into a patient's circulatory system. The use of separate lumens for each drug may prevent premature mixing of the medications.
One common application of a triple lumen catheter is the use of the catheter for apheresis and for delivery of medications during chemotherapy treatment of a cancer patient. Apheresis is a process that involves the removal of whole blood in a dialysis-like fashion. In this process, blood is circulated continuously from the patient to an instrument that acts as a centrifuge or filter, allowing for the separation of specific blood parts. The processed blood is re-circulated back into the patient's body. For example, apheresis may be utilized to separate out stem cells from the blood prior to chemotherapy treatments. This is generally accomplished by hormonally stimulating the production of bone marrow to produce a high number of stem cells. The stem cells are separated from the rest of the blood parts using the triple lumen apheresis catheter. Chemotherapy drugs are then administered using a third lumen in the catheter. After a given length of Chemotherapy treatment time, the stem cells are infused back into the patient's circulatory system.
To allow these blood draws and infusions, a good access to the blood stream in a large vein may be desirable. For example, the triple lumen catheter may be inserted into the patient's subclavian vein that runs behind the clavicle to establish a central line. The proximal end of the catheter may be tunneled under the skin for 2-4 inches to emerge from the chest close to the nipple. The triple lumen catheter may be used for the collection of stem cells and for support of the patient during therapy. In addition to the chemotherapy agent, antibiotics, anti-nausea medications, blood products, and fluids may also be infused through the implanted catheter.
Examples of various multi-lumen catheters are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,057, titled "FLOW ENHANCED MULTI-LUMEN VENOUS CATHETER DEVICE" issued to Howes, dated Jan. 16, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,255, titled "REINFORCED MULTIPLE LUMEN CATHETER" issued to Mahurkar et al., dated Jun. 22, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,230, titled "TRIPLE-LUMEN CRITICAL CARE CATHETER" issued to Mahurkar, dated Jan. 3, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,316, titled "TRIPLE LUMEN CATHETER" issued to Martin, dated Mar. 7, 1995; U.S. U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,168, titled "IMPLANTABLE PLURAL FLUID CAVITY PORT" issued to Wadsworth, Jr. et al., dated Mar. 21, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,206, titled "TRIPLE LUMEN CATHETER" issued to Young, dated Sep. 19, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,159, titled "MULTIPLE-LUMEN CATHETER" issued to Mahurkar, dated Jan. 23, 1996; each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Due to design constraints, such as dimension/size limitations for insertion into a blood vessel, maintenance of structural integrity during aspiration of blood, etc., a typical multi-lumen catheter tends to possess one or more of the following undesirable properties: high recirculation of blood, low flow rate for blood circulation and medication delivery, high phlebitis, and high tendency for aspirating lumen to suck against the vessel wall. These properties limit the catheter's efficiency in blood circulation and medication delivery, which could minimize the effectiveness of the medical intervention.
Thus, an improved multi-lumen catheter with high blood circulation efficiency and high throughput for medication delivery is desirable. The improved design may incorporate one or more of the following performance characteristics: low recirculation of blood, high flow rates of blood and medications, high flow volume of blood and medications, low phlebitis, delivery of infusates in separate lumens, no dead end openings, limited sucking against vessel wall during aspiration, durable catheter structural design, capable of being produced in high volume, low production cost, capable of being placed over a guide-wire and/or a tunneler, and attractive appearance.

Tip configurations for multi-lumen catheter


Extensible video insertion control is described. In embodiments, a media asset is received to render as video for display. Mapped video data is also received that identifies object insertion spaces in the media asset. A selectable display object is received that conforms to an object insertion space in a scene of the media asset. A composite video is then generated that includes the selectable display object inserted for display in the scene of the media asset at the object insertion space.

Traditional broadcast media technologies are typically a top-down content distribution and monetization approach that limits the ability to deliver and charge for custom experiences directed to viewers in and around the media content that is delivered for viewing, or consumption. Typically media content producers and broadcasters work together to pre-author the media content in a way that allows commercial and advertisement insertion, which is completed before the media content is transmitted to end consumers of the media content.


A composition for coating of a surface intended to be exposed to a metal melt consists of 8-18 wt-% of a refractory component, 50-75 wt-% of solvent, preferably water, 10-20 wt-% of an inorganic binder, 0-10 wt-%, preferably 2-10 wt-%, of an organic binder, 0.3-7 wt-%, preferably 2-6 wt-%, more preferably, 3-5 wt-% of pyrite; and optionally up to 10 wt-%, preferably up to 5 wt-%, of additional additive or additives. The composition results in a coating on a surface, which coating is able to reduce the dissolved elemental magnesium content in a metal melt to which the surface is exposed.

Coatings may be used for example for providing a protective coating for a base metal, usually a ferrous metal, of ladles used for molten metal melts, such as aluminium, magnesium or zinc based melts. In order to be effective, the coating must be fairly abrasion resistant, be sufficiently thick and adequately adherent to the surface of the base metal. It is also possible to use coatings for achieving other functional purposes, such as when using reactive coatings.
Thermal analysis is a technique monitoring variations in temperature change of certain molten substances during solidification to be able to determine the microstructure and hence properties of the substances in solid form. This is accomplished by taking a sample from the melt, transferring it into a sample vessel and recording and evaluating a time-dependent temperature change in the sample during solidification, by means of temperature responsive means, such as thermocouples or other devices known in the art.
WO 86/01755 discloses a method for producing compacted graphite cast iron by using thermal analysis. A sample is taken from a bath of molten cast iron and this sample is permitted to solidify during 0.5 to 10 minutes. The temperature is recorded simultaneously by two temperature responsive means, one of which is arranged in the centre of the sample and the other in the immediate vicinity of the vessel wall. So-called cooling curves representing the temperature of the iron sample as a function of time are recorded for each of the two temperature responsive means. According to this document it is then possible to determine the necessary amount of structure-modifying agents that must be added to the melt in order to obtain the desired microstructure.
Moreover, WO 92/06809 discloses a method for production of compacted graphite iron using thermal analysis. A melt of a suitable composition and structure is prepared and a modifying agent, such as magnesium, is added to the melt in an amount which is expected to be sufficient to produce compacted graphite iron. A sample is then extracted from the melt in a sample vessel, the wall of which is coated on its inside surface with a layer consisting of a material which will react with dissolved elementary magnesium present in the vicinity of said wall. Two thermocouples, one placed in the centre of the melt and the other in the vicinity of the vessel wall, are used to record the temperatures as a function of time during solidification of the sample melt, thereby giving information of phase transformations during solidification. The recorded temperature curves are thus used to determine if the magnesium content and the inoculation of the melt, from which the sample has been taken, has to be modified in order to achieve the desired phase transformations of the melt when producing a casting thereof in order to achieve the desired structure of graphite in the casting.
The fact that the vessel wall is coated with a layer consisting of a material which will react with dissolved elementary magnesium, and the arrangement of the thermocouples in the sample, gives two separate temperature readings giving information regarding the magnesium content of the melt. The thermocouple in the vicinity of the vessel wall records a temperature curve of a melt with a predetermined lower level of dissolved elementary magnesium (determined by the selected coating) than the thermocouple arranged in the centre of the sample melt and thus the structural changes of said composition. Thus, by comparing the readings of the two thermocouples, a more accurate measurement of the magnesium content of sample melt and thus the solidification properties of the melt from which the sample has been taken, is achieved.
The use of a coating which reduces the content of magnesium in the vicinity of the vessel wall of a sampling device may also advantageously be used when conducting thermal analysis of other metal melts, such as ductile cast iron (comprising nodular graphite particles) or grey iron (comprising flake/lamellar graphite particles).
WO 97/35184 discloses a sampling vessel where a part of the inner surface is coated with a reactive layer, the layer being of a substance which will lower the concentration of dissolved elementary magnesium to increase the accuracy of the solidification structure predictions of molten cast iron. According to this document, one temperature responsive means is placed in the centre of the sample vessel, another temperature responsive means is placed close to the inner surface of the sample vessel which has been coated with the reactive layer and a third temperature responsive means close to the inner surface of the sample vessel which has not been coated with the reactive layer. Each of the temperature responsive means are used to record the temperature of the melt during the solidification process as a function of time to obtain temperatures which are to be evaluated to determine the evolution of the solidification process. The reactive coating comprises 0-5 sulphur, 0-10% oxides of silicon, manganese or iron, and/or 0-0.5% oxides of potassium and sodium.
It has now been found that the previously known coatings for sampling devices intended to be used for thermal analysis does not always work as intended and may be difficult to give sufficiently accurate readings during thermal analysis, especially in the case of thermal analysis of ductile iron. Thus, there is still room for further improvements of previously known coatings.

Composition for coating of a surface, and a coating