A method comprising: obtaining a value of source data; encoding the value of source data using an encoding process, to thereby obtain an encoded value; calculating a difference value based on the value of source data and the encoded value; mapping the difference value to a multi-digit binary value associated with a voltage level based on a mapping scheme; causing a cell of a multi-level cell memory to store the mapped multi-digit binary value; and causing the encoded value of source data to be stored in the multi-level cell memory.

Digital storage devices may store digital information representing data from an information source. For many applications, the information source may not be digital itself, but may instead be analog. In such cases, the analog source information may typically be first converted into a digital format and then stored in a digital medium. Some information may be lost in the analog-to-digital conversion. Moreover, during compression of the digital data, additional data may be lost, particularly where "lossy" compression is used.
In particular, a storage medium may be inherently analog; however, through error correction, it may be represented as a "perfect" digital medium. Therefore, the storage procedure may include first encoding the analog source in digital format such that only acceptable distortions are allowed (source coding), and then encoding the resulting digital information against errors that may occur in the analog storage media such that following some retention the digital data could be perfectly reconstructed (channel coding).
One example of such analog-to-digital conversion and compression is in digital images, specifically, JPEG compression of images. The standard JPEG encoding is well documented, however, the following is a brief description of the steps of JPEG encoding.
First, in the image representation stage, an image is broken up into pixels and each pixel is represented using three components: the brightness (Y), and chrominance (Cb and Cr, for blue and red color components). Images in other formats, e.g., RGB, may be reformatted into YCbCr format. The image is now represented by 3 matrices, a matrix for each component.
In the block splitting stage, the matrices are broken up into sub-matrices, for example, 8×8 or 16×16 sub-matrices of the whole image array of pixel values.
In the cosine transform stage, each sub-matrix is transformed into the frequency domain by using a two dimensional cosine transform. The result of this step is a sub-matrix, e.g., 8×8, whose elements are the frequency domain representation of the original sub-matrix.
In the quantization stage, each element in the frequency domain is quantized. As the human eye is more sensitive to amplitude of the lower frequency, the higher frequencies are quantized more coarsely. The quantization is performed by dividing the result of the cosine transform by a quantization matrix and then rounding the result. In this step, original source information may be lost. This step also determines the compression ratio: quantization matrices with higher values will result in higher compression, but with more loss of information in the reconstructed image.
Finally, the entropy coding stage is a compression step for storage purposes. Typically, Huffman coding is used to compress the quantized results of the cosine transform. Before the Huffman coding, the elements of the cosine transform are ordered in a predefined manner as to facilitate a higher compression rate.
FIG. 1 depicts a generalized schematic diagram of prior art system 100 for source and channel encoding and decoding. A processor 105 may obtain data from an analog source 110 and provide it to a source encoder 120, which outputs digitized source information to a channel encoder 130 to create encoded data. The encoded data is stored on storage medium 140. Upon retrieval, retrieved encoded data may include a limited number of errors. Some of these may be corrected by channel decoder 150 to obtain corrected retrieved encoded source information, which is then source-decoded by source decoder 160, to obtain retrieved or reconstructed source data 170.
It is expected that when there are no errors, the analog source may be reconstructed almost perfectly, and that when there are errors the analog source may still be reconstructed, albeit with some errors. However, one drawback of this scheme is that if the number of errors in the return source channel is beyond a certain threshold, the original source information may be reconstructed incorrectly such that it is far removed from the original.
In such conventional systems and methods, distortions may occur during source encoding, e.g., converting the analog information into digital information. In addition, errors may occur during storage and retrieval. The above process may suffice for many applications, even where data is lost in the source coding and/or channel coding. However, in instances requiring high fidelity, reconstruction of the information obtained using the above exemplary process may result in distorted or damaged output. Thus, for example, to correct such storage errors with increased accuracy, a channel encoder may increase the amount of error correction data (redundancy bits) generated and stored for the transformed digital information. However, the amount of error correction data used to achieve sufficient accuracy, e.g., a maximum error probability on the order of 10−15 according to flash memory system standards, may be great, occupying an inflated amount of the digital storage resources, and requiring additional computing time.
There is therefore a need for an improved method for storing information, particularly analog information, for which high fidelity may be beneficial.

System and method for storing information in a multi-level cell memory


An embedded epitaxial semiconductor portion having a different composition than matrix of the semiconductor substrate is formed with a lattice mismatch and epitaxial alignment with the matrix of the semiconductor substrate. The temperature of subsequent ion implantation steps is manipulated depending on the amorphizing or non-amorphizing nature of the ion implantation process. For a non-amorphizing ion implantation process, the ion implantation processing step is performed at an elevated temperature, i.e., a temperature greater than nominal room temperature range. For an amorphizing ion implantation process, the ion implantation processing step is performed at nominal room temperature range or a temperature lower than nominal room temperature range. By manipulating the temperature of ion implantation, the loss of strain in a strained semiconductor alloy material is minimized.

Providing some degree of strain to the channel of a semiconductor device such an n-type field effect transistor (NFET) or a p-type field effect transistor (PFET) to improve device performance is known in the art. High performance semiconductor devices employ such strain to provide higher carrier mobility, lower transistor on-resistance, increased drive current (on-current), etc.
One method of providing strain to the channel of a semiconductor device is to embed a lattice-mismatched and epitaxially aligned semiconductor material adjacent to the channel of the field effect transistor. Exemplary latticed mismatched materials that may be embedded into a silicon substrate to provide a strain to a channel comprising silicon include a silicon-germanium alloy, a silicon-carbon alloy, a silicon-germanium-carbon alloy, etc. The placement of the embedded lattice-mismatched and epitaxially aligned semiconductor material in proximity to the channel induces a compressive strain or a tensile strain in the channel. Typically, a compressive strain is employed to enhance the charge carrier mobility of a PFET, and a tensile strain is employed to enhance the charge carrier mobility of an NFET. The greater the strain, the greater the enhancement of the charge carrier mobility and the enhancement of performance, as long as epitaxial alignment between the embedded semiconductor material and the semiconductor material of the substrate is maintained.
Some of the most destructive processing steps that often serve to reduce the stain generated by embedded semiconductor material portions are ion implantation steps that are employed to dope portions of the semiconductor substrate. Such ion implantation steps include deep source/drain ion implantation steps (or "source/drain ion implantation" steps), source/drain extension ion implantation steps (or "extension ion implantation" steps), and halo ion implantation steps. Such ion implantation steps introduce crystalline defects into the embedded semiconductor material portions, and thereby induce reduction of the magnitude of the strain applied to the channel of the semiconductor device. Such reduction in the magnitude of the strain reduces the degree of performance enhancement in the semiconductor devices.

Strain preserving ion implantation methods

International Business Machines Corporation

Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.


An antenna element includes a first conductor at a first lateral surface of a substrate having a feed line portion and a monopole portion with a neck extending from the feed line portion and a head at a distal end of the neck. The head has a width greater than a width of the neck and greater than a width of the feed line portion. The head has a slot to increase a bandwidth of the first conductor to at least a first frequency band and a second frequency band. A second conductor is provided on the first lateral surface having first and second ground planes and first and second stubs. The ground planes are disposed adjacent to the feed line portion at opposite sides thereof. The stubs are disposed at opposite sides of the ground planes and extend in a direction essentially parallel to the feed line portion. The ground planes and the stubs are arranged relative to the first conductor to form a coplanar waveguide.

The subject matter herein relates generally to antenna elements for wireless communications.
In the field of vehicular communication, specific antenna elements are provided for wireless communication. For instance, in automotive applications, roof-top antenna assemblies have been designed to incorporate multiple antenna elements for communication at various frequencies and with various devices, such as analog and digital radio reception, cellular communication, satellite communication and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, WIFI™ communication, Bluetooth™ communication, and the like. It is desirable to incorporate the various antenna elements into a roof-top antenna assembly. However, positioning the multiple antenna elements in the same roof-top antenna assembly may negatively affect the functionality of the various antenna elements. The sizing and positioning of the antenna elements may be limited to geometrically fit into the housing of the roof-top antenna assembly.
A need remains for an antenna element that may be operable in multiple frequencies for wireless communication at multiple frequency bands.

Antenna element for wireless communication


A system for automatically generating a schematic user interface of an electrical system is disclosed. The system includes a data acquisition component, a power analytics server and a client terminal. The data acquisition component acquires real-time data output from the electrical system. The power analytics server is comprised of a virtual system modeling engine, an analytics engine, a machine learning engine and a schematic user interface creator engine. The virtual system modeling engine generates predicted data output for the electrical system. The analytics engine monitors real-time data output and predicted data output of the electrical system. The machine learning engine stores and processes patterns observed from the real-time data output and the predicted data output to forecast an aspect of the electrical system. The schematic user interface creator engine is configured to create a schematic user interface that is representative of the virtual system model and link the schematic user interface to the data acquisition component.

I. Field
The present invention relates generally to computer modeling and management of systems and, more particularly, to computer simulation techniques with real-time system monitoring of electrical system health and performance.
II. Background
Computer models of complex systems enable improved system design, development, and implementation through techniques for off-line simulation of system operation. That is, system models can be created on computers and then "operated" in a virtual environment to assist in the determination of system design parameters. All manner of systems can be modeled, designed, and operated in this way, including machinery, factories, electrical power and distribution systems, processing plants, devices, chemical processes, biological systems, and the like. Such simulation techniques have resulted in reduced development costs and superior operation.
Design and production processes have benefited greatly from such computer simulation techniques, and such techniques are relatively well developed, but they have not been applied in real-time, e.g., for real-time operational monitoring and management. In addition, predictive failure analysis techniques do not generally use real-time data that reflect actual system operation. Greater efforts at real-time operational monitoring and management would provide more accurate and timely suggestions for operational decisions, and such techniques applied to failure analysis would provide improved predictions of system problems before they occur.
That is, an electrical network model that can age and synchronize itself in real-time with the actual facility's operating conditions is critical to obtaining predictions that are reflective of the system's reliability, availability, health and performance in relation to the life cycle of the system. Static systems simply cannot adjust to the many daily changes to the electrical system that occur at a facility (e.g., motors and pumps switching on or off, changes to on-site generation status, changes to utility electrical feed . . . etc.) nor can they age with the facility to accurately predict the required indices. Without a synchronization or aging ability, reliability indices and predictions are of little value as they are not reflective of the actual operational status of the facility and may lead to false conclusions. With such improved techniques, operational costs and risks can be greatly reduced.
For example, mission critical electrical systems, e.g., for data centers or nuclear power facilities, must be designed to ensure that power is always available. Thus, the systems must be as failure proof as possible, and many layers of redundancy must be designed in to ensure that there is always a backup in case of a failure. It will be understood that such systems are highly complex, a complexity made even greater as a result of the required redundancy. Computer design and modeling programs allow for the design of such systems by allowing a designer to model the system and simulate its operation. Thus, the designer can ensure that the system will operate as intended before the facility is constructed.
As with all analytical tools, predictive or otherwise, the manner in which data and results are communicated to the user is often as important as the choice of analytical tool itself. Ideally, the data and results are communicated in a fashion that is simple to understand while also painting a comprehensive and accurate picture for the user. For example, graphical displays (e.g., two-dimensional and three-dimensional views) of the operational aspects of an electrical system greatly enhances the ability of a system operator, owner and/or executive to understand the health and predicted performance of the electrical system.
Currently, no solution exists for an automatic and intelligent electrical power system schematic creation and visualization tool for the rapid development and deployment of schematic-based user interfaces for real-time monitoring the health, performance, and reliability of an electrical power system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for creation of a schematic user interface for monitoring and predicting the real-time health, reliability and performance of an electrical power system


An improved technique for storing trace data involves storing software operation debug trace information in a buffer memory rather than in a log file in the main memory, and after completion of the software operation either (1) deleting the debug trace information upon the successful completion of the operation, or (2) transferring the debug trace information to a log file memory upon a failure of the operation.

Complex electronic systems, such as data storage systems, typically run a large number of processes during a typical operation. Software utilized to execute these processes may be accordingly complex and large in scope. Developing software for electronic systems involves writing code and then testing the operation of the code in the electronic system to determine if the system performs as desired while running the software.
Some complex electronic systems send process data to a management system for tracking and analysis. For example, management software such as Unisphere® by EMC Corporation of Hopkinton, Mass., tracks and analyzes the data storage system's response to storage requests received over various time periods. In order to properly debug the software, the operation of the electronic system is traced so that each step in producing the final result is available for a software developer to analyze. Conventional techniques of debugging software configured to run processes within complex systems involve storing trace data in a log file within a management system. The trace data is then available to a developer should the need to debug the software arise, e.g., in response to a software-related failure.

Smart logging of trace data for storage systems


A method for the treatment of vaginal atrophy in a human patient in which retinoic acid is administered topically to the patient's vagina.

This invention relates to vaginal atrophy.
Vaginal atrophy is a condition occurring in some women, typically postmenopausal women, in which there is significant thinning of the mucosa of the vagina. The thin vaginal mucosa lacks maturation, i.e., it consists of numerous parabasal cells and little or no superficial and intermediate cells, which results in decreased glycogen deposits and a higher pH.
Symptoms resulting from the abnormally thin vaginal mucosa include vaginal dryness, discomfort, itching, dyspareunia, infection, inflammation, ulcers, discharge, and bleeding Vaginal atrophy is caused chiefly by an estrogen deficiency; the mucosa of the vagina is an estrogen sensitive tissue and a well-known target organ for estrogen.
The administration of exogenous estrogen can dramatically reverse the atrophic process by causing the vaginal epithelium to undergo proliferation and maturation, causing an increase in superficial and intermediate cells, and thereby causing an increase in vaginal mucosal thickness. The administration of exogenous estrogen also influences glycogen deposits and vaginal acidity. Many postmenopausal women are however unable to use estrogens due to medical contraindications such as a history of breast, endometrial or ovarian cancer and various hematological disorders. In addition, some postmenopausal women who would benefit from estrogen replacement do not receive replacement due to fears of estrogens in general or undesirable side effects. The treatment of vaginal atrophy in patients who do not use exogenous estrogen is a significant therapeutic problem; most of these women are forced to endure their symptoms due to the lack of effective treatment alternatives.

Use of retinioc acid to treat vaginal atrophy

University of Massachusetts Medical Center


The invention relates to an improved process for producing a catalyst useful for the epoxidation of ethylene to ethylene oxide. In forming the catalyst, a silver-impregnated support is subjected to two calcinations. The support is subjected to a first calcination in a first atmosphere comprising air. Next the support is subjected to a second calcination in a second atmosphere which is substantially entirely comprised of inert gas, and which second atmosphere is substantially absent of hydrogen. This two-stage calcination produces an improved catalyst which contains fewer organics left over under standard conditions of air calcination alone, while costing less than calcination in an inert gas alone.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an improved process for producing a catalyst useful for the epoxidation of ethylene to ethylene oxide. It relates to a process wherein a solid support is impregnated with a silver-containing compound and one or more optional promoters, and is calcined to convert the impregnated support into a catalyst. The improvement of this process is that a two-stage calcination is conducted. That is, the impregnated support is subjected to a first calcination in an air atmosphere, and a second calcination in an inert gas atmosphere.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the catalytic epoxidation of ethylene, modern silver-based supported catalysts are highly selective towards ethylene oxide production. Preparation of such catalysts typically involves impregnating a solid support with a silver solution and optional promoters such as transition metals or alkali metals, and thereafter calcining the impregnated support in order to reduce the silver solution to metallic silver, and to separate volatiles from the catalyst. U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,243 shows silver catalysts for ethylene oxidation to ethylene oxide prepared by impregnating an inert support with a silver/amine and silver lactate solutions. The impregnated carriers are than heat treated on steel belt transported through a heating zone for 2.5 minutes, the heating zone being maintained at 500° C. by passing hot air upward through the belt, or at 400° C. for 4 minutes.
It is further known in the art to conduct the calcination/heating of such impregnated supports in a nitrogen atmosphere. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,034 relates to silver catalyst preparation wherein a support is impregnated with a hydrocarbon solution of a silver salt of an organic acid and activated in stages up to a temperature of 500° C. under an inert gas such as nitrogen.
While several conventional processes conduct their calcinations in inert gas atmospheres such as nitrogen, these inert gas calcinations are expensive. Attempts have thus been made to calcine an impregnated support in an air atmosphere, to reduce costs. However, several disadvantages result from calcination in air alone. First, it has been observed that air calcination of an impregnated support produces a gray-black material that is less uniform in color than a catalyst which is produced by calcination in an inert gas such as nitrogen. Air calcination is typically conducted at lower temperatures to ensure that the catalyst is not damaged in the production process. This lower temperature calcination undesirably leaves greater amounts of residual organic species on the surface of the produced catalyst than during a higher temperature nitrogen calcination. Thus it takes longer to remove the residual organic species resulting from an air calcination process than from a nitrogen calcination during catalyst start up. This represents lost production time as well as reduction in the profitablility of the process.
It has now been unexpectedly found that it is beneficial to conduct two calcinations of an impregnated support. According to this invention, a first calcination is conducted in an air atmosphere, and a second calcination is conducted in an inert gas atmosphere, such as a nitrogen atmosphere. This two-stage calcination produces an improved catalyst which takes less time to manufacture, and contains fewer organics left over under standard conditions of air calcination alone, while costing less than calcination in an inert gas alone.

Two-stage calcination for catalyst production

SD Lizenzverwertungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG


A method of displaying a progressive degree of channel setting in a digit vision receiver having automatic channel settings including setting a kind of channel and acquiring the total number of channels corresponding to the kind of the channel which is set. In addition, a start channel is selected and a tested number of channels is obtained by calculating an absolute value of the difference between the start channel and a present channel. Next, a percentage value of the tested number of channels to the total number of channels is calculated and then stored in a memory. The percentage value stored in the memory is then displayed on a display unit to a user enabling the user to determine the current percentage of channels which have been previously selected. Additionally, the method determines whether the present channel is a final channel and increments the channel by one channel when the present channel is not the final channel and returns to the step of calculating the tested number of channels to repeatedly perform the subsequent steps.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a television receiver, and particularly to a method for displaying a progressive degree of channel setting which informs of a progressive degree of automatic channel setting when an automatic channel setting mode is operated in a television receiver having various channels.
The present application is based upon Korean Application No. 97-44522, which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Arts
As cable and wireless broadcasting technologies have been developed, television receivers having high performance receive broadcasting signals transmitted through a cable/wireless transmitting unit and then output the received broadcasting signals to users.
Referring to the attached drawings, a process of setting channels automatically in a conventional television receiver is explained. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the conventional television receiver. As shown in the drawing, when power is applied to the conventional television receiver, as the user selects a desired channel by pressing a key equipped in a key input unit 20 which is located at a television main body 130 or in a remote controller 30 which is separated from the television main body 130, a selected signal is input to a microcomputer 10 through a remote receiving unit 30a and an on-screen display unit 120 receives a control signal of the microcomputer 10, thereby displaying the selected channel number on the screen of a cathode ray tube 110.
Simultaneously, a tuner 50 receives the control signal of the microcomputer 10 and then outputs a broadcasting signal corresponding to the selected channel out of the broadcasting signals received through an antenna ANT. The broadcasting signal output from the tuner 50 is input to an audio signal processing unit 80 and a video signal processing unit 90 through an intermediate frequency unit 60 for processing an intermediate frequency and a detection unit 70 for detecting the signals.
In addition, the audio signal processing unit 80 processes only audio signals out of combined video signals output from the detection unit 70 and then outputs the processed signals to a speaker 100. The video signal processing unit 90 only processes video signals out of combined video signals output from the detection unit 70 and then outputs the processed signals to the cathode ray tube 110. As a result, viewers can enjoy the video and audio each output from the cathode ray tube 110 and the speaker 100.
In the above-described television receiver, the viewer can select a desired channel using two methods. First, using a number key equipped in the key input unit or the remote controller, the viewer can select the channel by directly inputting the number of the desired channel. Second, using a channel up/down key equipped in the key input unit or the remote controller, the viewer can select the channel by ascending or descending order number neighboring the present channel number.
Conventionally, since the first method is troublesome in inputting the channel number of two digits, the second method is widely used in selecting the channel excluding the case of selecting a channel which is far apart from the present channel.
As the communication types have been developed, with the increase of the communication sources such as the cable television broadcasting in addition to the conventional public television broadcasting, it takes much time to select one channel in watching the television. As a result, an automatic setting function on the channels capable of being selected is required.
Actually, the number of channels capable of being selected in the television receiver is varied according to the kind of a channel. That is, a general channel has 68 channels, i.e., channel 02 to channel 69, and an extended channel has 125 channels, i.e., channel 01 to channel 125. Since it is necessary to store the channels capable of being selected out of a plurality of channels in a memory 40 shown in FIG. 1, the user can select a desired channel by scanning the channels stored in the memory 40 successively. However, in the conventional automatic channel setting method, only one channel which is set automatically is displayed. Accordingly, the user cannot know how many channels have been tested for an automatic setting out of all the channels capable of being selected and must wait until the test is completely performed on all of the channels to know the extent of the automatic set channels.

Method for displaying progressive degree of channel setting


The invention presented personalized biofeedback computerized system, an End-to-End eHealth smart platform for analysis, diagnosis and therapy of types of behavioral disorders. The system comprises a Captive Portal (CP) data input for initial input data and for continuous input data, a database comprising data, a Computer Processing Manager (CPM) for processing the patient data and the database, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for interfacing with a user, and an Electroencephalography (EEG) or hemoencephalography (HEG) cap for stimulating predetermined areas in the brain, wherein the CPM is interconnected to the CPP, the database and the GUI, the CPM provides instructions for cranial electrode mediated stimulation to the areas in the brain according to a predetermined patient data dependent protocol, and the database provides external data. A preferred embodiment of the invention is a multilayered bio-feedbacking system.

To date, subjective questionnaires or sophisticated objective physiological scans have been used to assess emotional or behavioral cognitive disorders
Emotional or behavioral cognitive disorders such as eating disorders, obesity, uncontrolled eating and unbalanced eating, ADHD, addictions, eating behaviors, depression, anxiety, autism, as well pain, fertility fibromyalgia, sleep disorders adversely affect individuals both medically and psychologically, leading to reduced life expectancy and poor quality of life.
Despite the clear evidence of clinical significance and despite availability of evidence-based, effective treatments, research has shown a paradox of elevated health services use and, yet, infrequent treatment. Moreover, While there exists a number of treatments for these emotional or behavioral cognitive disorders, many patients do not respond favorably to current behavioral, medical or surgical management.
It is hence evident that there is a high unmet treatment need and need for cost-effective and available simple means and interventions method to assist community members, health professionals and treatment services to recognize and diagnose these disorders efficiently and rapidly as well as providing appropriate and timely treatment.
Furthermore, there is unmet need for encouragement and motivation of the users and patients toward medical adherence and compliance for the available treatments.

Means and methods for personalized behavioral health assessment system and treatment


Intracorporeal warming apparatus includes a catheter for placement in a patient, the catheter having a distal end and a proximal end. An antenna lies adjacent to the distal end of the catheter and a cable having one end connected to the antenna extends from the proximal end of the catheter. A transmitter transmits a first signal of a first frequency capable of heating blood or tissue and a receiver receives a second signal of a second frequency which is indicative of thermal radiation, the receiver producing an output signal in response thereto. A diplexer connects the proximal end of the cable to the transmitter and receiver so as to couple the first signal from the transmitter only to the antenna and the second signal from the antenna only to the receiver so that the apparatus can simultaneously heat the blood or tissue and determine the actual temperature of that material. Preferably also, the catheter includes an expandable stand-off device adjacent to the antenna which can be expanded to properly position the catheter when in use. There is also provision for indicating the condition of the stand-off device, i.e., open or closed, before the apparatus is activated.

This invention relates to an intracorporeal microwave warming method and means. It relates more particularly to microwave apparatus including a catheter capable of being introduced into a patient's blood vessel or body cavity to provide uniform and controlled heating of fluid or tissue within the patient. The invention has particular application as an intravascular blood warmer for raising the body core temperature of a hypothermic trauma patient and so the invention will be described primarily in that context. It should be understood, however, that aspects of the invention have equal application in other contexts such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) ablation and myocardial ablation.
Hypothermia in trauma patients (i.e., body core temperature less than 35.degree. C.), has been shown to be associated with high mortality. According to studies, trauma patients having a temperature less than 34.degree. C. have a 60% mortality and those patients with a temperature less than 32.degree. C. have a 100% mortality. The effects of hypothermia on trauma patients are numerous. For example, a decrease in core temperature results in decreased mental status, decrease heart rate and cardiac output and diminished renal blood flow. Hypothermia also results in prolonged clotting times and portal sequestration of platelets causing peripheral thrombocytopenia as well as decreased platelet function. The resultant coagulopathy may make futile all attempts at surgical control of traumatic bleeding.
There are currently several methods of rewarming a trauma patient in general use today. These include use of warm resuscitation fluids, airway rewarming, heating blankets, overhead radiant warmers, body cavity lavage, continuous arteriovenous rewarming (CAVR) and cardiopulmonary bypass. The most effective method of rewarming is currently cardiopulmonary bypass, but this technique is often unavailable and is technically difficult to perform. CAVR has been shown to be much more efficient than other standard rewarming techniques, but it requires cannulation of both the femoral artery and vein in order to connect the patient to a conventional external heat exchanger and it is somewhat work intensive. Furthermore, it results in loss of blood because a considerable amount of fluid is required in order to fill up or prime the various IV tubes connected to the warmer.
It would be desirable, therefore, to be able to provide a simple, efficient means of rewarming trauma patients, especially soldiers in combat who are significantly injured and therefore at risk for developing. Controlled intracorporeal heating for other reasons is also a desirable objective.

Intracorporeal microwave warming method and apparatus


The present invention provides a slit-scan multi-wavelength confocal lens module, utilizing at least two lenses having chromatic aberration for splitting a broadband light into continuously linear spectral lights having different focal length respectively. The present invention utilizes the confocal lens module employing slit-scan confocal principle and chromatic dispersion techniques and the confocal microscopy with optical sectioning ability and high resolution in spectral dispersion to establish a confocal microscopy method and system with long DOF and high resolution, capable of modulating a broadband light to produce the axial chromatic dispersion and focus on different depths toward an object's surface for obtaining the reflected light spectrum from the surface. Thereafter, the spectrum is spatially filtered by a slit and then a peak position with respect to the filtered spectrum along the scanning line is detected by a spectral image sensing unit for generating the sectional profile of the measured surface.

In the industries utilizing high precision microstructure processing such as IC industry, semiconductor industry, LCD industry, automation industry, electro-optical measurement industry, and so on, a three-dimensional surface profile measurement is always the key procedure required for ensuring the consistency of their manufacturing process. Among all those currently available surface profile measurement techniques, the most commonly used are those optical or electro-optical measuring methods since they can perform a surface profile measuring process in an non-contact manner for accurately inspecting any microstructure formed on the surface of measured object with regard to its profile, thickness or size. There are many optical measurement techniques currently available, including confocal microscopy, phase-shifting interferometry, and white-light vertical scanning interferometry, etc. They are designed for different measurement environments and for different applications.
Conventionally, confocal microscopy is an optical imaging technique used to reconstruct three-dimensional images of a measured object by using a spatial pinhole to eliminate out-of-focus light or flare in the measured object that are thicker than the focal plane. As only one point is illuminated at a time in confocal microscopy, 2D or 3D imaging of the measured object requires scanning over a regular raster in the specimen that usually includes a fast horizontal scan in conjunction with a slower vertical scan for generating optical sections of different depths relating to the measured object. Thereafter, by the use of computers for performing a reconstructing process upon the obtained optical sections of different depths, an image containing information relating to the three-dimensional profile of the measured object can be obtained.
There are already many studies relating to the use of confocal microscopy, for instance, the confocal wafer inspection system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,934,019. As shown in FIG. 1, a confocal imaging optical setup is an optical setup for imaging a point of light source "S" 11 through a lens 12 into a sharply focused second point "S1" 13 and then reversing the image from the second point 13 onto a splitter 14 that reflects the image onto a tiny spatial filter "S2" 15. Field extension can be obtained by stretching the chromatic aberration of the focusing lens 12 having a setup with an infinity of purely confocal systems, one for each wavelength with a different sharply focused point 13a, 13b, 13c and so on. For example, the first color has a first sharply focused point 13a, the second color has second sharply focused point 13b and the third color has a third sharply focused point 13c. Moreover, only one color arrives to the filter 15, according to height of the surface, which matches the focus length. If the surface height matches the first sharply focused point 13a, then the first color is detected, if the surface height matches the second sharply focused point 13b the second color is detected and so on. By placing an inspected wafer on a movable platform or enabling the whole confocal imaging optical setup to be movable in relative to the inspected wafer, height information relating to the three-dimensional profile of the inspected wafer can be obtained. Since such an optical setup of point light field is absolutely blind for all the space except for the sharply focused second point 13, one inspection can only inspect one single dot on the wafer surface that the process for inspection the whole surface of the inspected wafer can be very time consuming and thus might cause the production yield of wafer manufacturing to drop significantly. It is noted that since only one color can arrive to the filter 15 for imaging at each inspection, the obtained image is monochrome that can simply be detected and analyzed by the use of spectrometer.
There is another confocal microscope disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,651. In the operation of a confocal microscope disclosed in this US patent, the polychromatic light from a light source is projected onto a achromatic collimator lens where it is collimated without undue chromatic aberration and then be projected onto a Fresnel optical element so as to form a spectral spread light field, where the focal point of the projected light varies according to wavelength, to be used for inspecting the surface profile of a measured object. Similarly, since the polychromatic light is modulated into a spectral spread light field, where the focal point of the projected light varies according to wavelength, one inspection using the aforesaid confocal microscope can only inspect one single dot on the measured object that the process for inspection the whole surface of the measured object can be very time consuming and thus might cause the production efficiency to drop significantly, and also since only one color can arrive to the imaging device for imaging at each inspection, the obtained image is monochrome that can simply be detected and analyzed by the use of spectrometer.
Yet, there is another confocal distance sensor disclosed in U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2004/0109170. The aforesaid confocal distance sensor is for rapid optical distance measurement based on the confocal imaging principle, by which different spectral components of the illuminating light are focused at different distances from the optical imaging system due to a chromatic aberration of the optical imaging system. Nevertheless, although the aforesaid confocal distance sensor can be adapted for inspecting the surface profile of a measured object, it can also only capable of inspection one single dot on a measured object during one inspection.
Please refer to FIG. 1B, which is a schematic diagram showing a conventional optical device using a diffractive optical element (DOE) for generating a liner linear dispersion field. In FIG. 1B, the optical device 16 projects a broadband light emitted from a broadband light source 160 to a diffractive optical element (DOE) 165 through a semi-cylindrical lens 161, a slit 162, a collimation lens 163 and a beam splitter 164 so as to form a linear dispersion field. Since the numerical aperture (NA) of the linear dispersion field generated from the DOE 165 is comparatively lower, the linear light field is required to be collimated by the use of another collimation lens 166 before it is guided to an objective lens 167 for projecting the same onto a measured object 1000, where it is reflected back to the objective lens 167 and then being guided to another slit 169 through the beam splitter 164 and a conjugate lens 168. After passing through the slit 169, the resulting light field is modulated by a lens 170 and a light grid 171 and then being detected by an image sensor 172 to be used for generate an image of the measured object accordingly. Although the required liner linear dispersion field can be generated by the DOE, there are a considerable amount of components in the aforesaid optical device that not only it is very complex and bulky in view of system design, but also it may be very expensive to build.

Slit-scan multi-wavelength confocal lens module and slit-scan microscopic system and method using the same

National Taipei University of Technology


A method of cleaning a turbine engine includes directing a cleaning solution towards a component of the turbine engine having a layer of foreign material thereon, the cleaning solution including water, a first organic acidic component, a second organic acidic component, isopropylamine sulphonate, alcohol ethoxylate, triethanol amine, and sodium lauriminodipropionate. The cleaning solution has a pH between 2.5 and 7.0.

The present disclosure relates generally to turbine engines and, more specifically, to systems and methods of cleaning turbine engines using a reagent composition that selectively dissolves constituents of foreign material therefrom.
Aircraft engines used to propel aircraft through certain routes often experience significant fouling due to heavy environmental particulate matter intake during flight, idling, take-off, and landing. Environmental fouling degrades performance in turbine components of such known aircraft engines. For example, one known mechanism for fouling is the increased roughness of turbine components caused by mineral dust ingestion. Specifically, this increased roughness results from the formation of micropits caused by particle impact. Subsequently, mineral dust particles accumulate in these pits and block cooling passages by forming layers of fouling material therein. High temperatures on surfaces in downstream stages of the turbine result in thermal alteration and solid-state mineral reactions of the accumulated mineral dust particles, which forms a calcia, magnesia, alumina, silica (CMAS) based reaction product. Consequently, water wash treatments, which are frequently used to clean the turbine components, often are not successful in removing the accumulated mineral dust and its secondary reaction products.
At least one known method of removing the accumulated mineral dust includes impinging dry ice particles against the turbine components. More specifically, the dry ice particles expand as they sublimate to facilitate cleaning the turbine components. However, dry ice is not specifically tailored to dissolve fouling deposits based on the elemental composition of the accumulated mineral dust and its reaction products, and instead focuses on mechanical removal of the foulant. Another known method includes treating surfaces of the turbine engine with an acid solution including HxAF6. Such known acid solutions are generally only tailored to remove low-temperature reaction-based products of mineral dust, and are generally only applied following engine tear-down in a service repair shop environment.

Cleaning solution and methods of cleaning a turbine engine


A high level replication fowl adenovirus (FAdV) isolate capable of reaching a viral titer of at least 3 log 10 is described. Said FAdV is a non-pathogenic strain of fowl adenovirus serotype 4, identified as FAdV-4 ON1. Additionally, the present disclosure also provides a viral vector comprising the fowl adenovirus, which has inserted an exogenous nucleotide sequence coding for at least one antigenic site of a disease of concern, as well as a method for obtaining said viral vector and an immunogenic composition comprising the same.

Adenoviruses (AdVs) of the genus Mastadenovirus have been examined as anticancer agents (Huebner, R. J., Rower W. P., Schatten, W. E., Smith, R. R, & Thomas, L. B. (1956). Studies on the use of viruses in the treatment of carcinoma of the cervix. Cancer 9(6), 1211-1218; Cody, J. J. & Douglas, J. T. (2009). Armed replicating adenoviruses for cancer virotherapy. Cancer Gene Ther 16, 473-488; Yamamoto, M. & Curiel, D. T. (2010). Current issues and future directions of oncolytic adenoviruses. Mol Ther 18, 243-250.) and vaccine vectors (Lasaro, M. O. & Ertl, H. C. J. (2009). New Insights on Adenovirus as Vaccine Vectors. Molecular Therapy 17, 1333-1339.). The problem of preexisting immunity against HAdV-5, exemplified in the STEP HIV trial that employed recombinant HAdV-5 (Buchbinder, S. P., Mehrotra, D. V., Duerr, A., Fitzgerald, D. W., Mogg, R., Li, D., Gilbert, P. B., Lama, J. R., Marmor, M. & other authors. (2008). Efficacy assessment of a cell-mediated immunity HIV-1 vaccine (the Step Study): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, test-of-concept trial. Lancet 372, 1881-1893; McElrath, M. J., De Rosa, S. C., Moodie, Z., Dubey, S., Kierstead, L., Janes, H., Defawe, O. D., Carter, D. K., Hural, J. & other authors. (2008). HIV-1 vaccine-induced immunity in the test-of-concept Step Study: a case-cohort analysis. Lancet 372, 1894-1905), has generated interest in the development of less common AdV serotypes and nonhuman AdVs as both oncolytic (Cody & Douglas, 2009; Gallo, P., Dharmapuri, S., Cipriani, B. & Monaci, P. (2005). Adenovirus as vehicle for anticancer genetic immunotherapy. Gene Ther 12, S84-S91; Shashkova, E. V., Cherenova, L. V., Kazansky, D. B. & Doronin, K. (2005). Avian adenovirus vector CELO-TK displays anticancer activity in human cancer cells and suppresses established murine melanoma tumors. Cancer Gene Ther 12, 617-626) and vaccine vectors (Barouch, D. H. (2008). Challenges in the development of an HIV-1 vaccine. Nature 455, 613-619; Lasaro & Ertl, 2009; Sharma, A., Tandon, M., Ahi, Y. S., Bangari, D. S., Vemulapalli, R. & Mittal, S. K. (2009). Evaluation of Cross-Reactive Humoral and Cell-Mediated Immune Responses among Human, Bovine and Porcine Adenoviruses. Molecular Therapy 17, 113). Fowl adenoviruses (FAdVs) of the genus Aviadenovirus, including species FAdV-A to FAdV-E (Adair, B. & Fitzgerald, S. (2008). Group I Adenovirus Infections. In Diseases of Poultry, 12th ed, pp. 252-266. Edited by Y. Saif, A. Fadly, J. Glisson, L. McDougald, L. Nolan & D. Swayne. Hoboken, N. J.: Wiley-Blackwell; Benkö, M., Harrach, B., Both, G., Russell, W., Adair, B., Ádam, É., de Jong, J., Hess, M., Johnson, M. & other authors. (2005). Family Adenoviridae. In Virus taxonomy Eighth report of the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses, pp. 213-228. Edited by C. Fauquet, M. Mayo, J. Maniloff, U. Desselberger & L. Ball. San Diego, Calif.: Elsevier Academic Press.), are being developed as vaccine vectors. The first generation of FAdV-based vaccine vectors have proven effective at eliciting an antibody response against a delivered transgene (Corredor, J. C. & Nagy, E. (2010b). The non-essential left end region of the fowl adenovirus 9 genome is suitable for foreign gene insertion/replacement. Virus Res 149, 167-174; Ojkic, D. & Nagy, E. (2003). Antibody response and virus tissue distribution in chickens inoculated with wild-type and recombinant fowl adenoviruses. Vaccine 22, 42-48.), and in chickens have conferred protective immunity against infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) (Francois, A., Chevalier, C., Delmas, B., Eterradossi, N., Toquin, D., Rivallan, G. H. & Langlois, P. (2004). Avian adenovirus CELO recombinants expressing VP2 of infectious bursal disease virus induce protection against bursal disease in chickens. Vaccine 22, 2351-2360; Sheppard, M., Werner, W., Tsatas, E., McCoy, R., Prowse, S. & Johnson, M. (1998). Fowl adenovirus recombinant expressing VP2 of infectious bursal disease virus induces protective immunity against bursal disease. Arch Virol 143, 915-930) and infectious bronchitis virus (Johnson, M. A., Pooley, C., Ignjatovic, J. & Tyack, S. G. (2003). A recombinant fowl adenovirus expressing the S1 gene of infectious bronchitis virus protects against challenge with infectious bronchitis virus. Vaccine 21, 2730-2736.). Analysis of the complete genomes of FAdV-1, the chicken embryo lethal orphan (CELO) virus Chiocca, S., Kurzbauer, R., Schaffner, G., Baker, A., Mautner, V. & Cotten, M. (1996). The complete DNA sequence and genomic organization of the avian adenovirus CELO. J Virol 70, 2939-2949.), and FAdV-9 (Ojkic, D. & Nagy, E. (2000). The complete nucleotide sequence of fowl adenovirus type 8. J Gen Virol 81, 1833-1837.) (species FAdV-A and FAdV-D, respectively), and the terminal genomic regions of FAdV-2, -4, -10, and -8 Corredor, J. C., Garceac, A., Krell, P. J. & Nagy, E. (2008). Sequence comparison of the right end of fowl adenovirus genomes. Virus genes 36, 331-344; Corredor, J. C., Krell, P. J. & Nagy, E. (2006). Sequence analysis of the left end of fowl adenovirus genomes. Virus genes 33, 95-106.) has shown that the FAdVs share a common genome organization.
Adenovirus-based veterinary vaccine vectors have proven to be promising tools for controlling veterinary pathogens (Bangari, D. S. & Mittal, S. K. (2006). Development of nonhuman adenoviruses as vaccine vectors. Vaccine 24, 849-862; Ferreira, T. B., Alves, P. M., Aunins, J. G. & Carrondo, M. J. T. (2005). Use of adenoviral vectors as veterinary vaccines. Gene Ther 12, S73-S83). The first generation of fowl adenovirus (FAdV) based vaccine vectors have been effectively used to induce an antibody response against an inserted foreign gene (transgene) (Corredor, J. C. & Nagy, E. (2010a). A region at the left end of the fowl adenovirus 9 genome that is non-essential in vitro has consequences in vivo. J Gen Virol 91(1), 51-58; Ojkic & Nagy, 2003), and in chickens have conferred protective immunity against infectious bursal disease virus (Francois et al., 2004; Sheppard et al., 1998) and infectious bronchitis virus (Johnson et al., 2003).
The use of adenovirus as vectors is described in International Publication No. WO 2003/039593, which discloses an attenuated serotype 4 fowl adenovirus (FAV 4) having a deletion of about 2-3 kb and which is able to produce a cytopathic effect in cells of a QT 35 cell line and to induce protective immunity in birds, in contrast to an inactivated FAV 4 and a live natural a-pathogenic FAV 4, which show a poor immunogenicity. This virus can be used as well as a vector to heterologous nucleic acid fragments encoding for a polypeptide, allowing the immunisation of animals against FAV and other avian pathogens.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,852 there is described a recombinant vector comprising a recombinant avian adenovirus which incorporates at least one heterologous nucleotide sequence, which is inserted into a non-essential region at the right hand end of the genome of the avian adenovirus between map units 60 and 100, the avian adenovirus being selected from serotypes 4, 8, 9 and 10.
Additionally, US Patent Application No. 2010/0150958 describes a coccidiosis vaccine comprising a recombinant avian adenovirus vector having a promoter operably linked to a hydrophobic signal sequence comprising a nucleic acid that encodes a membrane anchoring domain, a multiple cloning site for insertion of an ORF to allow insertion of an ORF in frame with said hydrophobic signal sequence, a polyadenylation signal; and an avian adenovirus genome. The avian adenovirus genome is selected from serotypes 1 to 12.
US Patent Application No. US 2010/0158939 discloses adenovirus vectors, human and non-human, containing polynucleotide sequences that encode one or more influenza antigens. Among the adenovirus suitable for being used as vectors, there are included several serotypes (1 to 10) of avain adenovirus, which are available in the ATCC.
Accordingly, it can be seen from the above that, even when there are several serotypes of avian adenoviruses used as viral vectors, there is a need for new adenoviruses having better characteristics, such as a high replication, that can be used to prepare viral vectors useful for immunogenic applications.

Non-pathogenic serotype 4 fowl adenovirus (fadv-4) and viral vector thereof


The present invention includes a method for identifying an Alzheimer's disease (AD) patient prior to reaching clinical disease classification, comprising: obtaining a dataset associated with a blood, serum, or plasma sample from the patient, wherein the dataset comprises data representing the level of one or more microRNA biomarkers in the blood, serum, or plasma sample; assessing the dataset for a presence or an increase in an amount of miRNA-455-3p; determining the likelihood that the patient will develop AD patient prior to reaching clinical disease classification by detecting the presence or the increase in miRNA-455-3p to produce a score that is indicative of a likelihood of developing AD, wherein a higher score relative to a healthy control indicates that the patient is likely to have the prognosis for transitioning to classified AD, wherein the healthy control is derived from a non-AD patient with no clinical evidence of AD.

Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease.
One such invention is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 9,188,595, issued to Zhao, et al., and entitled "Alzheimer's disease diagnosis based on mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation." Briefly, these inventors teach a method of diagnosing Alzheimer's disease in a patient by determining whether the phosphorylation level of an indicator protein in cells of the patient after stimulus with an activator compound is abnormally elevated as compared to a basal phosphorylation level, the indicator protein being e.g. Erk1/2 and the activator compound is bradykinin.
Another invention is taught in United States Patent Publication No. 20140378439, filed by Derso, et al., entitled "MicroRNA Biomarkers Indicative Of Alzheimer's Disease." These inventors are said to teach a method of diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease in a subject, by determining the level of at least one miRNA in a sample derived from the subject, wherein a change in the level of the at least one miRNA relative to a suitable control is indicative of Alzheimer's Disease in the subject. Methods for monitoring the course of Alzheimer's Disease, methods of treating a subject having Alzheimer's Disease, and kits for diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease are also said to be taught.
Yet another invention is taught in United States Patent Publication No. 20140302068, filed by Khoo, et al., entitled "MicroRNA Biomarkers for Diagnosing Parkinson's Disease", which is said to teach the identification, development and validation of plasma-based circulating microRNA (miRNAs) biomarkers useful in determining if a subject has Parkinson's disease (PD), is at increased risk of developing PD, or has PD that is progressing or is in remission.
Another such invention is taught in United States Patent Publication No. 20140031245, filed by Khan, et al., and entitled "Alzheimer's Disease-Specific Alterations Of The Erk1/Erk2 Phosphorylation Ratio-Alzheimer's Disease-Specific Molecular Biomarkers (ADSMB)". Briefly, these applicants are said to teach methods of diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease as well as to methods of confirming the presence or absence of Alzheimer's Disease in a subject. These application methods of identifying a lead compound useful for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease by contacting non-Alzheimer's cells with an amyloid beta peptide, stimulating the cells with a protein kinase C activator, contacting the cells with a test compound, and determining the value of an Alzheimer's Disease-specific molecular biomarker. The invention is also said to be directed to kits containing reagents for the detection and diagnosis of the presence or absence of Alzheimer's Disease using the Alzheimer's Disease-specific molecular biomarkers disclosed.
Yet another invention is taught in International Patent Publication No. WO2009009457A1, filed by Wang, et al., entitled "Alzheimer's disease-specific micro-RNA microarray and related methods." These inventors are said to disclosed the diagnosis and/or prognosis of Alzheimer's disease in subjects by measuring amounts of one or more micro-RNAs correlated with Alzheimer's disease present in a biological sample, including blood for example, from a subject.
Despite the prior art disclosures, compositions and methods to detect Alzheimer's disease (AD) early, before clinical symptoms develop, are urgently needed to intervene as soon as possible in disease progression. Also needed are early peripheral microRNA (miRNA) biomarkers for AD.

MicroRNA-455-3p as a peripheral biomarker for Alzheimer's disease


A radar device mounted in a moving object includes a radar transmitter and a radar receiver. The radar receiver includes a plurality of antenna brunch processors that perform correlation processing of the received returning signals and the radar transmission signal, and generate respective correlation signals each including arrival delay information of each of the received returning signals, an electric power profile generator that generates an electric power profiles for each arrival direction of the received returning signals and Doppler frequency component, using the generated correlation signals, and a stationary object group distribution generator that, based on the generated electric power profiles, obtains a first distribution of a Doppler frequency components of a stationary object group including a plurality of stationary objects as the plurality of targets in the perimeter of the moving object, for each azimuth angle.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a radar device installed in a moving object (e.g., a vehicle), the moving object in which the radar device is installed, and a moving object speed detection method of detecting a speed of travel of the moving object.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are known radar devices which receive returning signals reflected off of a target at an antenna array, and measure the phase difference of the reception signals received by reception antenna elements, thereby estimating a direction of arrival of returning signals from the target over a wide angle range.
Examples of related art relating to installing a radar device capable of wide angle range measurement in a moving object (e.g., a vehicle), and detecting the position and relative speed of a target in the perimeter, include Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-177289 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-043960.
A target speed calculating device shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-177289 calculates, based on a radar device measuring relative speed Vr and an azimuth θr as to a target vehicle ahead of a subject vehicle, a vehicular speed sensor that detects vehicular speed Vs of the subject vehicle, and an azimuth θr of the object (target) which is to be measured by the radar device, an angle θ between the direction of travel of the vehicle and the azimuth of the object (=θr+θs). The speed Vo of the target is corrected to Vo=Vs×cos(θr+θs)−Vr at a computing unit, based on the relative speed Vr, speed Vs of the vehicle and the angle θ. Note that the angle θs between the direction of travel of the subject vehicle and the axle is calculated one combination out of the combinations "rudder angle sensor, vehicular speed sensor, and yaw rate sensor" and "vehicular speed sensor and side acceleration sensor".
Also, a vehicular moving state detection device shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-043960 uses multiple side monitoring radar devices to identify stationary objects. Specifically, based on detection values of azimuth and relative speed for each electromagnetic wave reflection part, the vehicular moving state detection device uses an azimuth φ of an electromagnetic wave reflection part situated closest to the subject vehicle out of the electromagnetic wave reflection parts, and a relative speed Vd0, so as to correct the measurement value of relative speed Vd0 at the electromagnetic wave reflection part to Vd=Vd0×cos φ. In a case where the relative speed Vd after correction is equivalent to the detection value is equivalent to the detected value VO of the onboard speedometer, an aggregate of electromagnetic wave reflection parts is identified as being a stationary object. The azimuth φ of the electromagnetic wave reflection part is an azimuth with reference to the frontal direction of the subject vehicle (φ=0).

Radar device, vehicle, and moving object speed detection method


Method is provided for selectively opening rings of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) compounds to from functionalized derivatives thereof or new POSS species. Per the inventive method, the POSS compound is reacted with an acid to selectively cleave bonds in the POSS rings to add functionalities thereto for grafting, polymerization or catalysis, to thus form new familes of POSS derived compounds. Also provided are the new compounds so formed. Method is also provided for expanding rings of POSS compounds. Per the inventive method, a POSS compound is reacted with silane reagents to obtain an expanded POSS framework with added Si ring substituends to form new families of POSS compounds. Also provided are the new compounds so formed.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalty thereon.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to altering rings of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) and more particularly to opening and/or expanding such rings to form other species thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Recent art in the silsesquioxane field has taught processes for the chemical manipulation of the organic functionalities (substituents, e.g., denoted by R) contained on the silicon oxygen frameworks of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS). While these methods are highly useful for varying the organic functionalities contained on POSS molecules, they do not offer the ability to cleave and/or manipulate the silicon-oxygen frameworks of such compounds. Thus, these methods are of no utility for transforming the multitude of readily available polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes systems into useful compounds that can be subsequently utilized for a multitude of catalysis and material applications.
Earlier art has reported that bases (e.g., NaOH, KOH, etc.) could be used to: (1) catalyze the polymerization of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes into partly networked resins, (2) convert polysilsesquioxane resins into discrete polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane structures, and (3) catalyze the redistribution of selected fully condensed polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane structures into other related fully condensed polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane structural types. While the base assisted/catalyzed method does afford the manipulation of silicon-oxygen frameworks, it is not effective at selectively producing incompletely condensed frameworks from completely condensed species. This limitation results from the intolerance of the silicon-oxygen framework present in polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes to base.
Accordingly there is need and market for a method for opening and/or substituting on POSS rings that overcomes the above prior art shortcomings.
There has now been discovered a method that rapidly and effectively opens the silicon-oxygen frameworks of POSS compounds to produce species that can subsequently be converted to various functionalized POSS compounds.
Broadly the present invention provides a method for selectively opening rings of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) compounds to form functionalized derivatives which includes reacting [(RSiO1.5)n]xcexa3# (where R=aliphatic, aromatic, olefinic, alkoxy or siloxy or H and n=4-24) with an acid to form POSS species bearing one or more functionalities suitable for polymerization, grafting or catalysis. In such method, xcexa3 and # are as defined below and the acid is selected from the group of HBF4/BF3, CF3SO3H, ClSO3H, CH3SO3H, H2SO4, HClO4 and combinations thereof. Also provided are the POSS species formed by the above inventive method.
The invention further provides a method for expanding rings in polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) compounds which includes, reacting [(RSiO1.5)n(R(OH)SiO1.0)m]xcexa3# where n=1-24, m=1-12 with Y2SiR1R2 silane reagents to obtain at least one expanded POSS ring in [(RSiO1.5)n(R1R2SiO1.0)i]xcexa3#, where R, R1 and R2 are aliphatic, aromatic, olefinic, alkoxy, siloxy or H, Y is halide or amine, n is 4-24, and j is 1-10. Again xcexa3 and # are as defined below Also provided are the POSS species formed by such inventive method.
For the purposes of explaining this invention""s processes and chemical compositions the following definition for representations of nanostructural-cage formulas is made:
Polysilsesquioxanes are materials represented by the formula [RSiO1.5]∞ where ∞=degree of polymerization within the material and R=organic substituent (H, cyclic or linear aliphatic or aromatic groups that may additionally contain reactive functionalities such as alcohols, esters, amines, ketones, olefins, ethers or halides). Polysilsesquioxanes may be either homoleptic or heteroleptic. Homoleptic systems contain only one type of R group while heteroleptic systems contain more than one type of R group.
POSS nanostructure compositions are represented by the formula:
[(RSiO1.5)n]xcexa3# for homoleptic compositions
[(RSiO1.5)n(RSiO1.5)m]xcexa3# for heteroleptic compositions
[(RSiO1.5)n(RXSiO1.0)m]xcexa3# for functionalized heteroleptic compositions
[(RSiO1.5)n(RSiO1.0)m(E)j]xcexa3# for heterofunctionalized heteroleptic compositions
[(XSiO1.5)]xcexa3# for homoleptic silicate compositions
In all of the above R is the same as defined above and X includes OH, Cl, Br, I, alkoxide (OR), acetate (OOCR), peroxide (OOR), amine (NR2) isocyanate (NCO), and R. The symbol E refers to elements within the composition that include (silanes and silicones e.g. SiR2, SiR2OSiR2OSiR2), (metals and nonmetals e.g. CrO2, PO2, SO2, NR) The symbols m, n and j refer to the stoichiometry of the composition. The symbol xcexa3 indicates that the composition forms a nanostructure and the symbol # refers to the number of silicon atoms contained within the nanostructure. The value for # is the sum of the lettered substituents in a compound e.g m+n or m+n+j. It should be noted that xcexa3# is not to be confused as a multiplier for determining stoichiometry, as it merely describes the overall nanostructural characteristics of the POSS system (aka cage size).
By xe2x80x9cstrong acidxe2x80x9d, as used herein, is meant one with a pKa number ranging from xe2x88x927 to 5 and is inclusive of superacids which cannot be assigned pKa values but which are characterized by Hammett acidity values H0 that range from 30 to 2.0 with the preferred range being 8-16.
Thus the present invention discloses methods that enable the selective manipulation of the silicon-oxygen frameworks in polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) cage molecules. It is desired to selectively manipulate the frameworks of POSS compounds because they are useful as intermediate-chemical agents that can be further converted or incorporated into a wide variety of chemical feed-stocks useful for the preparation of catalyst supports, monomers, and polymers wherein they impart new and improved thermal, mechanical and physical properties to common polymeric materials.
Further the present invention teaches processes that enable the manipulation of the silicon-oxygen frameworks (aka. the cage-like structure) of common polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) compounds [(RSiO1.5)n]xcexa3# (where R=aliphatic, aromatic, olefinic, alkoxy, siloxy or H and n=4-24) into new POSS species bearing frameworks with functionalities (e.g. silanes, silylhalides, silanols, silylamines, organohalides, alcohols, alkoxides, amines, cyanates, nitriles, olefins, epoxides, organoacids, esters, and strained olefins) for grafting, polymerization, or catalysis reactions.
Also in contrast to the prior art, the invention provides for the development of acid catalyzed processes that rapidly and effectively open the silicon-oxygen frameworks of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes to produce species that can subsequently be converted into stable incompletely condensed POSS-silanol and related functionalized POSS compounds. The use of acid reagents is desirable because the silicon-oxygen frameworks in polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes are more tolerant of acids and hence will not as readily polymerize to form random networks, ladder polymers or other resinous systems. Acid reagents are also desirable in that their selectivity, rate of action, and the extent of reaction with fully condensed silicon-oxygen frameworks can be controlled through concentration, acid strengths (pH), and the chemical nature of the acid and its conjugate base. The nature of the solvent medium can also impart control over the cage opening process. Manipulation of these process variables allows for the optimization of conditions by which the silicon-oxygen frameworks of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes such as [(RSiO1.5)n]xcexa3# (where R=aliphatic, aromatic, olefinic, alkoxy, siloxy or H and n=4-24) can be selectively manipulated to produce new polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes with functionalized structures. The polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes produced from the acid treatment processes can be used directly as reagents in polymerizations or they can be additionally derivatized through reaction with a variety of organosilanes or organic reagents such as amines, phosphines, transition metals, or tin complexes to form a diverse number of new POSS chemical reagents.
Thus processes for the selective ring opening, stereochemical interconversion, expansion and reduction of the silicon oxygen frameworks in polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) to form new polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane chemical species have been developed. The selective ring-opening and stereochemical interconversion processes principally utilize strong acids (e.g., HBF4/BF3, CF3SO3H (trifluoromethanesulfonic acid), ClSO3H (chlorosulfonic acid), CH3SO3H (methanesulfonic acid), H2SO4 (sulfuric acid), HClO4 (perchloric acid), etc.) to react with the silicon-oxygen-silicon framework""s (Sixe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94Si) bonds. Conditions in the processes can be controlled so that the Sixe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94Si frameworks are selectively cleaved to afford species containing Sixe2x80x94X bonds where X is the conjugate base of the respective strong acid (e.g., X=F, CF3SO3, ClSO3, HSO4, ClO4) or where X=OH. The resulting new polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane species can then undergo additional chemical manipulations, such as cage expansion or reduction to ultimately be converted into POSS-species bearing one or more functionalities suitable for polymerization reactions.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force


A base station detects the transition of a mobile station from a DTX mode to a continuous transmission mode. The base station schedules an uplink transmission by the mobile station during an uplink transmission period while the mobile station is in DTX mode and receives an uplink LLC PDU from said mobile station during the scheduled uplink transmission periods. The base station determines the operating mode of the mobile station based on the size of the received uplink LLC PDU.

The GSM Packet Radio Service (GPRS) standard was developed to provide packet data services to mobile stations. The GPRS standard enables multiple mobile stations to share the same time slot or time slots for uplink communications. When establishing a packet data session, the mobile station is assigned one or more time slots in the uplink and downlink. In the channel assignment, the mobile station is given a Temporal bit Flow Identity (TFI) and Uplink State Flag (USF).
For downlink communications, the data blocks transmitted on the downlink include a TFI in the header to identify the mobile station for which the data block is intended. The mobile stations monitor their assigned time slots on the downlink for downlink transmission and decode the data blocks that include their own TFI.
For uplink communications, a scheduler at the base station schedules the mobile stations sharing the same time slot or time slots. The scheduler indicates when the mobile station is scheduled to transmit in a given uplink time slot by including that mobile station's USF in a data block transmitted in a corresponding downlink time slot. A mobile station is allowed to transmit on the uplink when it detects its USF in the data block transmitted in the corresponding downlink time slot.
In order to reduce interference and save battery power, the mobile station may operate in a Discontinuous Transmission mode (DTX). In DTX mode, the mobile station may turn its transmitter off during periods when it does not have any data to send. For example, in voice over IP (VoIP) the user may be listening to a remote user. Because the user is not speaking, there is no data to send. Therefore, interference may be reduced and power saved by DTX mode. When the user begins speaking the mobile station may switch back to a continuous transmission mode (CTX).
Typically, when the mobile station is in discontinuous transmission mode, the scheduler at the base station is notified or may otherwise determine when the mobile station transitions into DTX mode to avoid wasting uplink bandwidth since the mobile station will not have any data to send to the base station. Similarly, when the mobile station transitions from DTX mode back to CTX mode, the scheduler needs to be notified or otherwise determine that a transition to CTX mode has occurred so that it may resume normal USF scheduling for that mobile station, which is required when the user is actively speaking. Some applications, such as VoIP, are highly sensitive to latency. Therefore, when a mobile station transitions from DTX mode to CTX mode, normal USF scheduling needs to resume as quickly as possible in order to avoid latency in the delivery of speech payload to the far end user. Excessive latency will cause speech payload to be discarded and therefore noticeable interruptions in speech (i.e. missing speech) and degradation of the perceived quality of the connection will result.

Method and apparatus for discriminating between control messages and speech payload


Disclosed are a wireless power transmitter capable of transmitting power wirelessly according to an impedance of an output side and a wireless power transceiver. There are provided a wireless power transmitter and a wireless power transceiver including: a wireless power transmitting unit converting input power into a preset transmission power and transmitting the converted input power wirelessly; and a controlling unit controlling a transmission of the transmission power according to a level of output impedance of the transmission power output from the wireless power transmitting unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless power transmitter capable of transmitting power wirelessly, according to an impedance of an output side and a wireless power transceiver.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, with the development of wireless communications technology, an ubiquitous information environment in which people may transmit and receive desired information at any time and and in any location has been created.
However, most information telecommunications devices are supplied with power by a power cord or wire, thereby limiting the movements of a wireless terminal user. Meanwhile, some information telecommunications devices are supplied with power by a battery, but in even this case, there are problems in that a use time of an information telecommunications device may be limited after charging, and the information telecommunications devices are supplied with power by a power cord or wire at the time of the charging of the battery thereof.

Wireless power transmitter and wireless power transceiver


Trimethylaluminum can be formed by reacting a methylaluminum chloride, such as dimethylaluminum chloride, with sodium in the presence of an effective amount of an alkali or alkaline earth metal fluoride (e.g., sodium fluoride) to enhance the reaction.

Trimethylaluminum (TMAL) has the potential of becoming a significant commercial product with many applications such as a polymerization co-catalyst, a substrate for production of compound semiconductors, a starting material to produce trimethylgallium and methylaluminoxanes, and so forth.
Several methods have been known for trimethylaluminum synthesis such as the "Magalium" process (U.S. Pat. No. 2,744,127), the cryolite process (U.S. Pat. No. 2,839,556), the phenyl sodium process (Adv. Inorg. Chem. Radiochem. 7, 269, 1967), the Grignard route (K. Ziegler, Organometallic Chemistry (ACS Monograph No. 147) p. 197, 1960), and so forth. The alkali reduction method has been the process most extensively used in the industrial as well as the laboratory scale preparation.
The overall reaction is described by Grosse and Mavity, J. Org. Chem., Vol. 5, pp. 106-121 as follows: EQU 3 Me.sub.2 AlCl+3 Na.degree..fwdarw.2 Me.sub.3 Al+Al.degree.+3 NaCl
This method involves reacting dimethylaluminum chloride (DMAC) with molten metallic sodium which is dispersed in a suitable hydrocarbon solvent. TMAL produced can be isolated by vacuum distillation. The yield obtained by this method is low because the resulting sodium chloride and metallic aluminum deposit a coating on the surface of sodium metal. This effect which can cause severe reaction fouling may be magnified by the side reaction between TMAL and excess sodium to produce metallic aluminum and insoluble sodium tetramethylaluminate. EQU 4 Me.sub.3 Al+3 Na.degree..fwdarw.3 Me.sub.4 AlNa+Al.degree.
The sodium reduction of DMAC has been studied in glassware using several different solvents (Soltrol 160 solvent, Tetralin solvent, n-heptane, n-decane, and dodecane). The yields ranged from 47% to 85% and the product was contaminated with unreacted DMAC even though excess sodium was used.
Experimental work has also been conducted earlier whereby DMAC was reacted with sodium as the sole reducing agent in a larger, pilot plant reactor. Although a yield of about 70% was obtained, a large excess of sodium and a very long reaction time was required for complete reduction of DMAC. In addition, reactor fouling due to formation of by-products was severe.
From these experiments, it can be concluded that there are numerous drawbacks to this route: The yield is low; sodium chloride and metallic aluminum by-products and unreacted sodium form a considerable amount of lumps which are difficult or impossible to transfer out of reactor causing problems in waste disposal and safety; the reduction does not readily go to completion resulting in a product which is contaminated with unreacted DMAC and; excess sodium is required for a complete reduction to take place at a reasonable rate. A larger excess of sodium is undesirable due to yield loss (reaction 2) and reactor fouling. This side reaction reduces the amount of TMAL produced and thus diminishes the final yield; reaction time is long; and the use of high boiling solvents gives reduced yield and purity (unreacted DMAC contamination in distilled product). But high boiling solvents are desirable because they remain in the vessel after TMAL recovery to fluidize the solid by-products, NaCl and Al.degree.. In contrast, lower boiling point solvents codistill with TMAL to contaminate final product.


A stacked static random access memory SRAM having a plurality of memory cells is disclosed. Individual memory cell has a portion formed in an upper active element layer in the device structure and a portion formed in a lower active element layer in the device structure separated from the upper layer by an intermediate insulating layer. A word line, a bit line and access transistors are formed in the same upper active element layer, eliminating the need for interconnecting them through the insulating layer. The elimination of the inter-layer connections helps to reduce the number of through-holes required to be made in the insulating layer. This in turn reduces the area to be occupied by the memory cell and leads to a simplified manufacturing process of the SRAM.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a static random access memory device, and in particular to a stacked static random access memory device in which active component elements are formed and arranged in two layers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to have a brief background understanding on the prior art related to the field of the present invention, reference is made to FIG. 5 which schematically illustrates in block diagram the general arrangement of one prior-art static random access memory (hereinafter referred to as SRAM). As shown, the SRAM includes a plurality of memory cells 40 arrange in an array 40 for storing data signals. The SRAM also includes X and Y decoders 42 and 43 for providing signals X.sub.O -X.sub.n and Y.sub.O -Y.sub.n, respectively, to designate the memory cells 40, and a sense amplifier 44 for reading out and amplifying the data signal stored in the memory cells 40.
In FIG. 6, there is shown a circuit configuration of a typical memory cell incorporated in the conventional SRAM. The memory cell 40 includes a CMOS flip flop connected between a supply voltage V.sub.cc and a ground potential V.sub.ss, and a pair of accessing NMOS field effect transistors Q5 and Q6 connected between the flip flop and bit lines 33 and 34.
The flip flop has a pair of cross-coupled CMOS inverter. One inverter comprises a PMOS field effect transistor Q1 and an NMOS field effect transistor Q2, while the other inverter comprises a PMOS field effect transistor Q3 and an NMOS field effect transistor Q4. The accessing field effect transistors Q5 and Q6 have their gates connected to the word line 35. Conventionally, these six transistors for the SRAM cell are formed in a planar arrangement on a semiconductor substrate.
A description concerning to an operation of such SRAM cells as shown in FIG. 6 is seen, for example, on pages 356 to 358 of a textbook entitled "MICROELECTRONICS" (second edition copyrighted in 1987) authored by J. Millman et. al and published by McGraw-HILL BOOK COMPANY.
FIG. 7 shows schematically in a perspective illustration the arrangement of the six transistors for forming a memory cell on a flat semiconductor substrate. Reference characters used correspond to those in FIG. 6.
Three major layers of component parts for forming the memory cell in the flat semiconductor substrate of FIG. 7 are shown in FIGS. 8A-8C.
In a lower layer shown in FIG. 8A, there are provided n.sup.- and p.sup.- impurity diffusion regions, and coatings of gate oxide and polysilicon are successively applied over these impurity diffusion regions to form six transistors Q1-Q6. Contact portions C1-C4 indicated by the slashed designation are for interconnecting the electrodes of the transistors. The contact portions are connected by aluminum layers 31 and 32 formed in an intermediate layer of the substrate shown in FIG. 8B. The intermediate layer also has a word line 35 formed of aluminum and an interconnection 36 made of aluminum. The aluminum interconnection 36 is communicated to the supply voltage V.sub.cc. In an upper layer of the substrate shown in FIG. 8C, there are formed aluminum bit lines 33 and 34 and aluminum interconnections 37 and 38 to the ground potential V.sub.ss.
The SRAM cells have conventionally been formed in a planar arrangement on the semiconductor substrate as has been described above. However, as the cell density increases, additional structures have been incorporated into the memory device, for example, guard rings for the prevention of latch-ups, making the memory device more complex in construction. In order to overcome the problem, it has been proposed to form the SRAM memory in stacked arrangement.
In FIG. 9, there is schematically illustrated in perspective a circuit configuration of a memory cell for a prior-art double-layer stacked SRAM. The stacked SRAM of the type shown is disclosed in Japanese Laying-Open Gazette No. 32467/1986. The SRAM comprises a plurality of transistors formed and arranged in two layers on a semiconductor substrate. The transistors in different layers are interconnected via through-holes made to extend between the two layers on the substrate. The stacked SRAM is formed using Silicon-on-insulation (hereinafter refer to as SOI).
Referring to FIG. 9, on the upper or first active element layer, there are provided PMOS field effect transistors Q1 and Q3, and bit lines. 33 and 34. The first electrode of each of the transistors Q1 and Q3 is connected to the supply voltage V.sub.cc. The gate electrode of the transistor Q1 and the second electrode of the transistor Q3 are coupled together at a node N21. Similarly, the gate electrode of transistor Q3 and the second electrode of the transistor Q1 are connected together at a node N11.
Provided on the lower or second active element layer are NMOS field effect transistors Q2, Q4, Q5 and Q6 and a word line 35. Of these transistors, the transistors Q2 and Q4 have their first electrodes connected together to the ground potential V.sub.ss. The gate electrode of the transistor Q2 and the second electrode of the transistor Q4 are coupled together at a node N22, while the gate electrode of transistor Q4 and the second electrode of the transistor Q2 are linked together at a node N12.
The upper and lower layers being separated by an insulating layer (not shown) desired electrical interconnections between these layers are attained by a conductive through-holes made to extend between them. Thus, a through-hole 51 is made through the intermediate insulating layer for an electrical interconnection between the node N11 on the upper layer and the node N12 on the lower layer. Made also through the insulating layer is a through-hole 52 for an electrical interconnection between the node N21 on the upper layer and the node N22 on the lower layer. Transistors Q1, Q3, Q2 and Q4 on the different layers are interconnected via the through-holes 51 and 52 to form a CMOS flip flip.
On the second or lower layer, the accessing field effect transistor Q5 has its first electrode connected to the node N12 and its gate electrode connected to the word line 35. Similarly, the transistor Q6 has its first electrode connected to the node N22 and its gate electrode connected to the word line 35. The second electrode of transistor Q5 is coupled to the bit line 33 on the upper layer via the through-hole 53. In a similar manner, the second electrode of transistor Q6 is coupled to the bit line 34 on the upper layer via the through-hole 54.
FIGS. 10A and 10B show plane configurations of the upper and lower active layers of the SRAM cell of FIG. 9.
As shown in FIG. 10A and 10B, a p type impurity diffusion layer 55 is created in a SOI layer of the upper layer. The impurity diffusion layer 55 is covered by a gate oxide coating (not shown), on which polysilicon 60 is selectively deposited, thereby to form transistors Q1 and Q3. On the other hand, in the lower layer, a n type impurity region 56 is created in the p.sup.- region of the semiconductor substrate. The impurity region 56 is covered by a gate oxide coating (not shown), on which polysilicon 71 is selectively deposited, thereby to form transistors Q2, Q4, Q5 and Q6. Through-holes 51, 52, 53 and 54 are made to extend between the upper and lower layers as has been described hereinabove. The cross-coupled interconnections between the transistors are not shown.
With the arrangement of the prior art stacked SRAM cell shown in FIG. 9, four through-holes 51, 52, 53 and 54 are required for every memory cell. Of these through-holes, the through-holes 53 and 54 are shared by adjacent memory cells. Accordingly, the total effective area occupied by the through-holes 53 and 54 is equal to the effective area S occupied by a single through-hole. The total effective area of the through-holes 51 and 52 is equal to 2S. This brings the total area occupied by the through-holes 51, 52, 53 and 54 to 3S. A relatively large area consumed by the through-holes is a notable factor working against an increased cell density in the SRAM.
Referring to FIG. 11, there is shown in cross section a local oxidation of silicon (hereinafter refer to as LOCOS) 81 formed on the lower layer in the SRAM cell of FIG. 9 for the device isolation in the lower layer. A coating 69 of SiO.sub.2 is formed over the p.sup.- region 66 of the substrate. Applied on the SiO.sub.2 coating is a coating 68 of SiN. As can be seen in FIG. 11, the LOCOS 81 includes portions called bird's beaks extending between the SiN layer 68 and the p.sup.- substrate 66. Assuming that the thickness of the LOCOS 81 is 5,000 A, the length L1 of the bird's beak would be about 5,000 A. In the SRAM cell shown in FIG. 9, four transistors are provided in the lower layer. In order to isolate these transistors, many LOCOS regions 81 must be made, which is undesirable in terms of increasing the cell density.
FIG. 12 shows in enlarged cross-section a small portion of the SRAM cell of FIG. 9. The SOI layer 62 in the upper layer is covered by a gate oxide coating 61, on which polysilicon 60 is selectively deposited, thereby to form a field effect transistor. On the other hand, in the lower layer, a p.sup.- region 66 is created in the n-type silicon substrate 67. The p.sup.- region 66 is covered with a gate oxide coating 65, upon which polysilicon is selectively deposited to form a field effect transistor. The resulting field effect transistor is covered by an insulating coating (72), which in turn is covered with a polysilicon layer 64. The polysilicon layer 64 is connected to the drain or source of the resultant transistor. Provided between the polysilicon layer 64 and the SOI layer 62 is an insulating layer 63 for separating the upper layer from the lower layer.
The substrate through-holes 51 and 53 of FIG. 9 may be formed having different depths by etching and filling the holes with a conductive material. For the formation of holes having different depths by means of etching, the etching rates for the silicon and oxide layer must be precisely controlled to be much different from each other as required, making the fabrication process ever-more complicated.

Multiple layer static random access memory device


In an embodiment, a source device encodes source information corresponding to a frame, assembles an initial data frame that includes the encoded data blocks, and transmits the initial data frame to a destination device. The destination device decodes the encoded data blocks and assembles a restored version of the initial data frame. The destination device identifies corrupted data blocks and uncorrupted data blocks within the restored version, stores the uncorrupted data blocks, generates a message that identifies the corrupted data blocks, and transmits the message to the source device. In response, the source device encodes source information corresponding to the corrupted data blocks identified in the message, assembles a responsive data frame, and transmits the responsive data frame to the destination device. The destination device produces a corrected data frame from the retransmitted data blocks and the previously-stored uncorrupted data blocks.

In a digital communications system, a source device may send information to a destination device according to a frame-based data transmission protocol. Because the communication channel may be noisy and unreliable, the data transmission protocol may implement a frame exchange protocol to allow the source device to determine whether a sent frame has been successfully received at the destination device. The protocol may include two frames: 1) a sent frame that includes a frame sent from the source device to the destination device; and 2) a response frame that includes an acknowledgment (ACK) from the destination device that the sent frame was received correctly.
To enable the destination device to determine whether a frame is received correctly, the source device may encode and send a frame check sequence, and possibly a header check sequence, along with the sent frame. If the destination device's evaluation of the frame check sequence and the header check sequence indicates that the sent frame was received correctly, then the destination device may send an ACK frame to the source device. If the evaluation indicates that sent frame was received with errors, then the destination device may refrain from sending the ACK frame. In this case, upon the expiration of an acknowledgment timer, the source device may retransmit the entire sent frame to the destination device. This retransmission method may result in more robust communications. However, for severely compromised channels, retransmissions also may consume significant amounts of system bandwidth, particularly for communications that include relatively large frames.

Data communications methods and apparatus


Provided are: a citrus seed extract-containing composition, a food and a drug all of which sufficiently exert a novel function of a citrus (specifically, a citrus seed extract), and a method for producing the citrus seed extract-containing composition. The citrus seed extract-containing composition includes obacunone and nomilin both derived from a citrus seed extract. Herein, the ratio of the obacunone content to the nomilin content (i.e., obacunone content/nomilin content) is at least 0.020.

A citrus fruit (e.g., belonging to genus Citrus, genus Poncirus and genus Fortunella of family Rutaceae of order Sapindales) is widely applied around the world to a food for eating raw, juice, a confectionery material, and seasoning for cooking. Further, a citrus fruit is recognized as a food for promoting health because a citrus contains quantities of vitamin C and dietary fibers.
Among those citruses, especially Yuzu (botanical name: Citrus junos) is reported to have various excellent functions according to recent investigations.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that a Yuzu extract has a function for promoting productivity of hyaluronic acid. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses that a single-celled product of Yuzu has a function for peeling keratin.
In short, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose applications of Yuzu extracts (i.e., for promoting productivity of hyaluronic acid, and peeling keratin).

Citrus seed extract-containing composition, food, drug, and method for producing citrus seed extract-containing composition