A semiconductor device includes at least first and second electrodes, and a layer including a transition metal oxide layer sandwiched between the first and second electrodes. The transition metal oxide layer includes first and second transition metal oxide layers formed of different first and second transition metals, respectively. The first transition metal oxide layer is provided on the first electrode side, the second transition metal oxide layer is provided on the second electrode side, the first transition metal oxide layer and the second transition metal oxide layer are in contact with each other, the first transition metal oxide layer has an oxygen concentration gradient from the interface between the first transition metal oxide layer and the second transition metal oxide layer toward the first electrode side, and the oxygen concentration at the interface is greater than the oxygen concentration on the first electrode side.

In a non-volatile memory field, many studies have been conducted on especially flash memory and also ferroelectric memory (FeRAM), MRAM (Magnetic RAM), OUM (Ovonic Unified Memory), and the like.
In recent years, a Resistance Random Access Memory (ReRAM) different from these non-volatile memories has been proposed. Information can be written into ReRAM by setting a resistance value of a variable resistance layer of a memory cell by applying a voltage pulse and read out information without destruction. With respect to the ReRAM, the cell area is small and a multivalued memory can be realized. Therefore, it is recognized that there is a possibility that the ReRAM will have performance exceeding that of the existing non-volatile memory.
In a status in which it is absolutely necessary to process a great number of information, the ReRAM in which a large volume data can be read and written at low power consumption, high reliability, and high speed is needed. In order to realize this ReRAM, the various technologies are proposed for the variable resistance layer used for the ReRAM (patent document 1 and non-patent document 1).
In patent document 1, a non-volatile element using the variable resistance layer composed of a tantalum oxide layer and a transition metal oxide layer that is formed of a metal different from tantalum is disclosed. In non-patent document 1, the variable resistance element using a tantalum oxide layer having an oxygen concentration gradient across the layer from an interface with one electrode layer to an interface with the other electrode layer as the variable resistance layer is disclosed. Further, it is described that the resistance change described in non-patent document 1 occurs when the oxygen atoms gather at the vicinity of the interface between the electrode layer and the tantalum oxide layer and diffuse by the electric field.

Semiconductor device with variable resistance element and method for manufacturing the same


A plug for establishing an electrical connection to a plug module includes: a plug body having a contact carrier upper part which includes multiple first channels to accommodate electrical lines, and a plug base accommodating a collar of the plug module; a contact carrier lower part which includes multiple second channels to accommodate the electrical lines; and a locking element insertable into the plug from the outside and configured to fix the electrical lines in the channels. The first channels terminate in the second channels to form continuous channels accommodating the electrical lines. The contact carrier lower part is enclosed by the collar of the plug module and accommodates multiple electrical contacts of the plug module in order to establish electrical connections between the multiple electrical lines in the plug and the multiple electrical contacts of the plug module.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plug for creating an electrical connection to a plug module, e.g., a wiring harness for a control unit in a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous electrical and electronic control units, which must be electrically connected to each other and to other components in the vehicle, such as sensors and actuators, for example, are installed in the engine compartment and in the body shell of a vehicle.
A control unit may be equipped with a plug module for this purpose, at whose male multipoint connector a few hundred electrical contacts may be situated, such as for a power supply or for the transmission of signals. A corresponding plug, which is connected to a wiring harness, can be plugged into the plug module in order to establish an electrical connection.
A durable and stable electrical connection between the wiring harness and the plug must be ensured in order to avoid a failure of a control unit as a result of an interruption in the power supply or in the signal transmission. A secondary locking mechanism is frequently used for this purpose, so that electrical lines are fixed in place inside the plug at a location in the interior of the plug where it is ensured that the electrical lines inside the plug are connected to electrical contacts of the plug module once the plug has been plugged into the plug module.


This invention provides improved production, continuous or batch, especially of metals which have been produced by versions of the Kroll and Ames processses. This list includes titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, rhenium, molybdenum, tungsten, and uranium. It also offers a process for growing particular shapes of metallic crystals, e.g., needlelike. This invention is intended to be less expensive to operate and to provide a superior product than from Kroll batch processing, as often used: For the continuous metal production, circulating molten salt supports two principal reaction stages, which together allow continuous metal production: Titanium powder production with one possible set of reactants may be used as an example for the group of metals listed: In Stage 1 a pumped solution of titanium ions (Ti.sup.++) dissolved in molten salt (e.g., MgCl.sub.2 --KCl) flows onto, then down beside, molten magnesium that floats on molten salt below. Titanium ions in molten salt pass molten magnesium and grow titanium crystals, which settle in the salt and are mechanically removed. In Stage 2, solutions of titanium ions are regenerated in the circulating molten salt by reaction of TiCl.sub.4 and titanium powder. The circulation allows Stages 1 and 2 continuous reactions to proceed simultaneously in different regions of the circulating system. For the crystal growth, single stage operation is described. UF.sub.6 can also be used.

This invention relates to improved processing for continuous or batch production of a metal or alloy from one or more compounds of that metal. Usually a halide compound dissolved in molten salt reacts with molten magnesium floating on molten salt. The invention was specifically designed for titanium production but use of the process is expected also for other metals, especially those for which Kroll is used, either as calcium reductions of oxides or magnesium reductions of halides.
Depending on conditions these products may be formed as metals or alloys, liquids or solids. Chemical and physical guidance of product formation may lead to structures including crystalline powder, powder agglomerates, and single crystal needles in various sizes. Such production has economic value in lowered costs relative to present production, in improved metal product quality, in supplying special needs, and in safer and environmentally improved operations, as compared with production by variations of the Kroll and Ames processes, e.g., respectively titanium or uranium.
An example of special needs is metallic needles for metal-organic composites for automobile panels. In using the present invention, the production of crystals of a metal involves the reduction of one or more compounds of that metal dissolved in a molten salt phase. With proper conditions for a given metal, it may be possible to grow needles or other useful shapes of that metal using the invention.
Prior Art:
Word Usage:
Commercial terms used regarding the Kroll process in various forms, e.g., in titanium production, are in some ways confusing. The industry's term "sponge" may be used more or less interchangeably with "powder" for describing the original Kroll process product, which may resemble a dirty clinker, and also for describing derivatives from the original product that form after crushing the process product and after cleaning it.
Usage in this disclosure may include identifying terms like "Kroll sponge" for the uncleaned product and "cleaned Kroll sponge" after substantial removal of the reaction by-product. Fine particles of metal product from this invention may be described by general terms: powder (with individual particles often made up of many small crystals); crystals (with various shapes depending on which faces of a crystal grew); and needles (often single crystals deposited electrolytically as the metal was forming during reduction of ions of the metal).
Older Related Art in Production of Titanium and Other Metals:
Kroll:
Conventional commercial production of titanium almost entirely utilizes pressure vessels for erratic, one-stage, Kroll batch reductions: For example, titanium tetrachloride (TiCl.sub.4) as gas, and excess molten magnesium metal react in a sealed reduction vessel at about 800-1000.degree. C. to form titanium "sponge." Reactions such as excess calcium with ZrO.sub.2 to form zirconium sponge and CaO have also been used widely in Kroll form. These reactions typically yield rather poor, expensive, often hazardous products that may, or may not, be suitable to clean to an adequate product. Many metals can be made in batch versions of this process, however.
In particular, the Kroll sponge is agglomerated metal particles that, when cooled, hold trapped by-products, such as magnesium chloride, excess magnesium, and impurities, e.g., magnesium oxide, TiCl.sub.2, and other metals. The acid and water washes originally used for Kroll cleaning are now inadequate. Much of the Kroll reduction by-product content can be removed by high-temperature vacuum distillation from the relatively nonvolatile titanium; later alloy melting can settle out some impurities and stir the melt.
Kroll and this Invention:
Metallic scrap or products of Kroll-type reductions might be recycled or purified by use in the invention of this application. Such treatments might increase the overall U.S. rate of quality product metal formation, as well as providing a way in which otherwise effectively unremovable impurities could actually be removed--both treatments have economic value.
This usage has not been taught previously, and it is an unobvious application of the present invention.
Ames:
The Ames process has been used for most production of uranium: In one-stage batch reductions, magnesium reacts with UF.sub.4 (not a gas) at about 1400.degree. C. to form molten uranium. It is recognized that Ames processing should be replaced.
Elliott, et al., Uranium; Replacing the Ames Process:
The first continuous molten salt-molten metal processing by metallothermic reduction for molten uranium or its alloys was invented by Elliott, U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,588, the present inventor, and coworkers at his laboratory, intermittently using Federal and private funds. This work was especially for depleted uranium tank armor but also for other needs. (Ames is batch only.)
Further development and demonstration at Elliott's laboratory and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory led to an improved form as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,855 for use with enrichment of natural uranium for commercial nuclear electric power
This older invention cannot handle volatile reactants like UF.sub.6 ; it is single stage, like Ames, and it requires low volatility reactants like UF.sub.4 and UCl.sub.4.
Earlier Alternatives to Kroll:
Hunter electrolysis was long used for titanium production, but in the U.S. it proved non-economic relative to Kroll and was shut down. Sodium reductions can provide excellent titanium but are too expensive for all but small markets and are mostly done outside of the U.S. Other approaches to titanium production include an early iodide decomposition process, newer approaches including Japanese electrolysis (which may become commercial), plus high temperature vapor reductions, and dehydriding.
TiCl.sub.2, an intermediate used in the present invention, is also an intermediate with Hunter and in sodium reductions; however, techniques to form and use the TiCl.sub.2 are not obviously related to the present invention.
Current Related Art:
Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) to Improve over Kroll:
White, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,862 invented a second continuous approach (CSTR) to continuous metallothermic production of metal (after U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,588). That system is now moving toward commercial usage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,862 dissolves sodium or other reductant metal into molten salt, and mixes that salt with another solution that holds suspended titanium and has TiCl.sub.4 vapor bubbling up. It operates at approximately steady state with TiCl.sub.4, TiCl.sub.2, Ti, and dissolved sodium, all in the same stirred bath. Technically it is one-stage because it is one big bath, but it also provides regions where various steps go on.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,862 and This Invention:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,862 appears to this inventor to have an economic future in rough parallel, though apparently not as broad usage, as the future for this present invention. The two appear to be complementary in satisfying industrial needs.
Although dissolved magnesium is claimed for use in U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,862, sodium is presumably the obvious choice for reductant metal, with magnesium marginal at best there. In contrast, magnesium is generally the preferred reductant with the present invention; it operates with a magnesium as a second phase.
Magnesium Reduction of TiCl.sub.4, and Other Species to Replace Kroll:
Although uranium equipment claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,588 has been around for 12 years and was adapted (U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,855) for use with AVLIS uranium enrichment, it was not obvious to this inventor or to those versed in the art, that U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,588 had relevance for production of Ti from TiCl.sub.4.
Two-Stage Magnesium Reduction of TiCl.sub.4 to Replace Kroll Reductions:
To arrive at an alternative production approach that will correct Kroll's problems, it is first useful to analyze the Kroll reaction: EQU TiCl.sub.4(g) +2Mg.sub.(l) =Ti.sub.(s) +2MgCl.sub.2(l) (1)
Please note the following facts: (a) The MgCl.sub.2 by-product wets and coats the molten magnesium. (b) TiCl.sub.4 gas does not dissolve in molten MgCl.sub.2. (c) MgCl.sub.2, therefore, obstructs the main reduction reaction, Eq. 1.
To solve this incompatibility problem, this invention offers two reaction stages operating smoothly in a molten-salt medium: In one stage (named Stage 2) TiCl.sub.4 is formed in a solution of molten salt; unlike TiCl.sub.4, the TiCl.sub.2 dissolves readily in the molten salt. The chemistry is discussed later.
In another stage (named Stage 1) TiCl.sub.2 in molten salt reacts with magnesium floating on molten salt to form the products of Eq. 1.
The invention of Stage 2 is new and unobvious, and new equipment concepts had to be devised. Concepts similar to earlier uranium equipment were also adapted to Stage 1: however, the equipment for connecting Stage 1 and Stage 2 and for continuous cycling of the molten salt are all new. Also, the means of removing the product by a screw mechanism, and the by-product MgCl.sub.2 on a cool probe, are both new.
The present invention teaches two new aspects of continuous metal production: (i) It teaches two stage reductions in one continuously operating system for continuous formation of metal product forms, e.g., as molten or solid metals or alloys. (ii) It teaches regarding ways to control chemical and physical conditions that also can lead to guidance of formation of particular solid forms, e.g., crystal needles.
Thus reductions with only Stage 1 are adequate for the earlier usage (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,552,588 and 5,421,855) because ionic UCl.sub.4 or UF.sub.4 would not boil away during the reduction. Stage 2, however, is required for chemical behavior like that of TiCl.sub.4 of this invention, and it leads to new claims that give an improved process over that taught and claimed by Hayden U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,855 and other Elliott patents.
This two stage improvement on earlier teaching appears to solve titanium problems that have been recognized for at least 30 years.
Also, a problem of continuous UF.sub.6 to U conversion may be soluble by similar treatments following this invention as some 600,000 metric tons of depleted UF.sub.6 by-product are brought from outdoor Federal storage and into appropriate control.
Additionally, the commercial value of producing needle-like crystals, possibly single crystals, of titanium or of other metals or alloys was not taught earlier: Elliott U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,588 notes that, when molten salt that includes dissolved uranium ions is in contact with molten magnesium at temperatures below the uranium melting point, there form "small crystals of solid uranium which sink and form small uranium droplets" in hotter regions of the uranium production system.
However, it was not taught that physical and chemical control of the reaction offered a potential method of producing useful needle-like crystals of pure uranium. Again, this is an unobvious method of forming metallic crystals, especially needle-like crystals.
Therefore, this disclosure now claims controlling physical and chemical conditions so as to guide the preparation of desired shapes, e.g., small crystals, single crystals, or both, of a desired metal by reduction of dissolved ions under particular chemical and physical conditions.

Continuous production of titanium, uranium, and other metals and growth of metallic needles


The present invention relates to a method for establishing telecommunication between at least a first and a second users within a telecommunication network comprising the following steps:                receiving a request from said first user to set up a telecommunication with said second user,        monitoring telecommunication activity in accordance with said request to detect a telecommunication activity of said second user with a third user different from said first user, and, in case of detection of said telecommunication activity of said second user, setting up a telecommunication between said first and second users after the end of said telecommunication activity of said second user with a third user different from said first user. The invention also relates to devices for performing the method.

The present invention relates to the field of telecommunication management especially in the case of workflow management.
Telecommunication has become a crucial issue for the companies due to globalization and the need for companies to work with persons in remote locations. Workflow management is used by the companies in order to improve and accelerate file processing. Indeed, computational programs are used to send notifications to the persons working on a common project to inform them of the updates or changes concerning the file. Nevertheless, to find agreements or to solve problems occurring on a project, direct telecommunications between the different collaborators may be needed. Managing to be in touch with a collaborator, especially if said collaborator is employed by a different company can be difficult and time consuming (collaborator on line, busy or on vacations, messages not received, . . . ). Thus, the time wasted by the employees of the company and the delays in the file processing can decrease the global productivity of the company.
To cope with this problem, network communication companies have developed automatic call-back systems. These systems allow, in the case when the interlocutor is already on line, to be registered and recalled as soon as the interlocutor's call has ended. Nevertheless, such systems are efficient only if the interlocutor is already on line but is not efficient in the case when said collaborator is out of his/her office for example.

Method and equipments for establishing telecommunication


Systems, methods, and associated devices for casingless production of food products include: (a) providing at least one forming tube having sufficient structural rigidity to be substantially non-deformable and having a preformed internal cavity space of predetermined size and shape; (b) introducing a quantity of flowable food emulsion into the at least one forming tube; and (c) advancing the emulsion through the at least one forming tube while exposing the emulsion to predetermined processing conditions that convert the flowable emulsion held in the at least one forming tube to a non-flowable food product having the molded shape of the forming tube cavity.

The present invention relates to the casingless production of food product.
Conventionally, natural or artificial casings can be used to form and hold food products to help retain the shape and/or content integrity during processing, such as cooking, heating, or freezing. The food product can start as a flowable emulsion that can be stuffed into the casing or the casing can be formed around the emulsion by employing a co-extrusion process using a stuffer, extruder, or the like. The casing itself may be disposable and removed from the food product prior to shipping and/or eating or may remain intact on the food product during consumption and ingested.
Known extruders and co-extruders are available from various commercial manufacturers including, but not limited to, Kontura an apparatus manufactured by Townsend Engineering Co., located in Des Moines, Iowa. Stuffers are available from various commercial manufacturers including, but not limited to, HITEC Food Equipment, Inc., located in Elk Grove Village, Ill., Townsend Engineering Co., located in Des Moines, Iowa, Robert Reiser and Co., Inc., located in Canton, Mass., and Handtmann, Inc., located in Buffalo Grove, Ill. Exemplary stuffer and/or linker apparatus are also described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,788,563; 5,480,346; 5,049,108; and 4,766,645. The contents of these patents are hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein.
However, there remains a need to provide cost-effective automated casingless processing systems of food items.
The present invention provides casingless food production systems and methods. In certain embodiments, the methods and systems are configured to provide casingless lengths of food product using elongated substantially rigid forming tubes. The flowable food can be configured to enter the forming tube as a flowable emulsion that is moved (pumped, pushed, conveyed) downstream of the entry location. In operation, as the food product moves forward, it can be exposed to predetermined processing conditions that alter the physical form of the emulsion to a non-flowable state having increased viscosity relative to its entrance state. The change in the physical state can be chemically or thermally initiated. Over time, the product can take on the shape of the forming tube so that it has sufficient structural rigidity to retain its tube formed shape without substantial deformation after its release therefrom. As such, in certain embodiments, the released food item may be compressible (semi-solid and yielding to tactile compression forces) or substantially incompressible (frozen or solid) at ambient conditions. Although formed into a desired shape, it may be cooked or uncooked at its exit.
The present invention provides casingless food production systems and methods. The term xe2x80x9ccasinglessxe2x80x9d means that the food product can be produced without requiring the assistance of a holding skin such as a collagen or natural skin casing. The term encompasses food items that are conventionally produced using casings (such as hot dogs and sausages and the like), as well as food items that have not required the use of casings (meatballs, popsicles, baked goods, shaped burgers, and the like).
In certain embodiments, the forming tube is configured from a non-metallic material suitable for cooking in a microwave oven. The forming tube may have a non-stick inner surface. In particular embodiments a plurality of forming tubes are arranged in a common processing system (such as a microwave oven) to concurrently produce a plurality of discrete lengths of food product increasing the production capacity, as may be suitable for particular commercial high-capacity applications.
The food may be cooked, frozen, smoked, cured, pickled, partially dehydrated, or otherwise processed as it moves through the forming tube via a single or multiple processing regions.
In certain embodiments, a casingless method for producing food products, includes: (a) providing at least one forming tube having sufficient structural rigidity to be substantially non-deformable and having a preformed internal cavity space of predetermined size and shape; (b) introducing a quantity of flowable food emulsion into the at least one forming tube; and (c) advancing the emulsion through the at least one forming tube while exposing the emulsion to predetermined processing conditions that convert the flowable emulsion held in the at least one forming tube to a non-flowable food product having the molded shape of the forming tube cavity.
Other embodiments are directed to casingless food production systems. The systems include: (a) at least one forming tube having sufficient structural rigidity to define a preformed cavity space with a predetermined configuration, the at least one forming tube having opposing ingress and egress portions; (b) at least one flowable food emulsion source in fluid communication with the ingress portion of the at least one forming tube; (c) at least one pump in fluid communication with the at least one forming tube for introducing the emulsion from the emulsion source with sufficient pressure into the at least forming tube to cause the emulsion to advance along the length of the tube to exit at the egress portion thereof; and (d) a processing region operably associated with the at least one forming tube. In operation, the processing region is configured to expose the emulsion to predetermined processing conditions that converts the emulsion held in the at least one forming tube to a non-flowable state having the molded shape of the forming tube cavity at the egress portion of the forming tube.
Other embodiments are directed to apparatus or producing casingless food products. The apparatus include: (a) at least one forming tube having sufficient structural rigidity to be substantially non-deformable and having a preformed internal cavity space of predetermined size and shape; (b) a pump for flowably introducing a quantity of flowable food emulsion into the at least one forming tube; and (c) means for advancing the emulsion through the at least one forming tube while exposing the emulsion to predetermined processing conditions that convert the flowable emulsion held in the at least one forming tube to a non-flowable food product having the molded shape of the forming tube cavity.
Still other embodiments are directed to forming tube assemblies for the production of casingless foodstuffs. The assemblies include an elongate forming tube having a preformed cavity with a predetermined mold shape and opposing ingress and egress portions and an emulsion source in fluid communication with the forming tube. The emulsion source includes a quantity of flowable emulsion comprising meat and/or meat analogs.
These and other objects and aspects of the present invention are explained in detail in the specification set forth below.

Casingless flowable food production methods, systems, and associated elongated forming tubes


The present invention relates to an agricultural water-recycling system comprising an iron (Fe)-ionizing module and a method of recycling agricultural water using the same, and more particularly to an agricultural water-recycling system comprising an iron (Fe)-ionizing module and a method of recycling agricultural water using the same, in which phosphorus (P) contained in effluent from a sewage treatment plant is removed by using the iron (Fe)-ionizing module comprising an iron (Fe)-ionizing electrode consisting of an iron plate serving as a cathode and a titanium plate serving as an anode and an electrode-washing device. According to the present invention, an effluent treatment process of a sewage treatment plant and an electrode washing process needed for iron ionization can be simultaneously performed, the iron ionization is controlled depending on the concentration of phosphorus contained in the effluent, thereby improving effluent treatment efficiency.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an agricultural water-recycling system comprising an iron (Fe)-ionizing module and a method for recycling agricultural water using the same, and more particularly to an agricultural water-recycling system comprising an iron (Fe)-ionizing module and a method for recycling agricultural water using the same, in which phosphorus (P) contained in effluent from a sewage treatment plant is removed by using the iron (Fe)-ionizing module including: an iron (Fe)-ionizing electrode consisting of an iron plate serving as a cathode and a titanium plate serving as an anode; and an electrode-washing device.
(b) Background of the Related Art
Recently, most lakes in Korea suffer from a water bloom of cyanobacteria and aggravation of water quality due to their sharp eutrophication caused in the second half of the 1980s. In particular, since farm lands and livestock farmhouses are located near the banks of all the lakes except some of small reservoirs in the mountainous regions where people don't dwell, a large amount of phosphorus is leaked enough to eutrophicate the lakes.
As a result of comparison between the generation sources of phosphorus in Korea, it is estimated that the largest amount of phosphorus is generated from a fertilizer, and an extraordinarily larger amount of phosphorus is generated from livestock than human beings. Particularly, it is reported that fertilizers and livestock excretions are main supply sources of phosphorus in the upper and middle stream areas of the lakes where a great city does not exist on their basins. The fact that the livestock becomes a main supply source of phosphorus means that since Korean Livestock Industry mostly depends upon imported animal feedstuffs, a large amount of nutrient salt is introduced externally into the basin of the lake. The livestock excretions possess the characteristics of a non-point source in that they are spread as composts over the farm lands, and then are leaked into the lake during a heavy rain fall. Thus, the main cause of eutrophication of reservoirs in Korea can be considered to be fertilizers and livestock excretions.
Since the basin of Lake Soyang is sparsely populated and has no industrial activity, contribution of point source pollution is small, and small-scaled point source pollutions are scattered with taking the characteristics of a non-point source pollution or take a form of area source pollution. This can be considered to be a typical form of a reservoir situated at the upper stream of the river in Korea, and the inflowing pattern of a non-point source pollution in the Lake Soyang basin is exemplary in Korean lakes.
The discharge rate of rivers in Korea greatly varies seasonally depending on the rainfall. In the case where a heavy downpour does not fall, the flow rate of effluent discharged from the river basin is very small, resulting in a considerable decrease in contribution to annual loads. Since there was no large rainfall during the period from 1991 to 1994, the flow rate of effluent from the river basin was small. A heavy rain whose precipitation is 100 mm fell in July 1995 after several years of drought, so that an initial effluent of the rain contained higher concentration pollutants.
Phosphorus discharged from a non-point source pollution resulting from agricultural activities occupies the majority of the entire phosphorus loads on the basins of large-scale dams in Korean. Therefore, all the attempts to prevent eutrophication of the lakes must be focused on the management of a non-point source pollution including fertilizers, livestock excretions and the like as well as the sewage treatment.
It is considered that the fertilizers and livestock excretions are an important contamination source of the river basin. Thus, a system for collecting and treating the fertilizers and livestock excretions is regarded as a target which must be invested most preferentially so as to improve water quality, and will be a secure alternative which is the most effective as an investment for improvement of water quality. Since it is nearly impossible for small-scale farmhouses to collect and treat livestock excretions, the central government and a local government must support the collection of the night soil and the construction of a night soil treatment plant. This will exhibit effects of reducing a burden for the treatment of livestock excretions of farmhouses, and simultaneously alleviating a damage burden of water quality pollution of the lower stream of the river.
A technology which has been developed so far to purify the water quality is largely classified into a chemical treatment process, a biological treatment process, a physical treatment process and an electrolytic process which has been recently developed.
As a representative technology of the electrolytic process, there is proposed a agricultural wastewater treatment method using electrolysis characterized in that wastewater is treated by means of electrochemical oxidation and electrofloatation using an iron or aluminum electrode (Korean Patent Registration No. 533,246). However, such a agricultural wastewater treatment method has an inconvenience of having to separately performing a step of alternately reversing the polarities of a pair of electrodes made of iron (Fe) or aluminum (Al) for operation and a step of washing a contaminated electrode.
The present inventor has also developed a wastewater treatment system using an iron precipitation reactor adopting an electrolysis method (Korean Patent Registration No. 787,122). However, such a wastewater treatment system still entails a drawback in that polarities of electrodes must be switched arbitrarily and the problem of electrode pollution is not resolved.

Agricultural water-recycling system comprising Fe-ionizing module and method for recycling agricultural water using the same

Kyungpook National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation


Display devices and image rendering processes increase the resolution of displayed images in the horizontal and vertical dimensions. The increased resolution is obtained on LCD display devices or other display devices having separately controllable pixel sub-components. Assuming the display devices have vertical stripes, much of the increased resolution in the horizontal direction is obtained by mapping spatially different sets of one or more samples to the individual pixel sub-components. In this way, the pixel sub-components are treated as separate luminous intensity sources. The improved resolution in the vertical dimension is achieved by increasing the pixel sub-component density in the vertical dimension. To accommodate the increased number of pixel sub-components, image data compression can be performed if bandwidth limitations are present. The image data compression involves controlling sets of vertically adjacent pixels using red, green, and blue luminous intensity values and a bias value. The red, green, and blue luminous intensity values control the overall luminance of the sets of red, green, and blue pixel sub-components, while the bias value indicates if, and to what extent, the luminance is to be shifted to a particular pixel in the set of pixels.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for displaying images, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for increasing the perceived resolution of the displayed images and compressing image data to enable control signals to be efficiently transmitted to display devices.
2. The Prior State of the Art
Color display devices have become the principal display devices of choice for most computer users. The display of color on a monitor is normally achieved by operating the display device to emit light, typically a combination of red, green, and blue light, which results in one or more colors being perceived by a human viewer.
In cathode ray tube (CRT) display devices, the different colors of light are generated by phosphor coatings that may be applied as dots in a sequence on the screen of the CRT. A different phosphor coating is normally used to generate each of the red, green, and blue colors, resulting in repeating patterns of phosphor dots. When excited by a beam of electrons, the phosphor dots generate the colors red, green and blue.
The term pixel is commonly used to refer to one spot in, for example, a rectangular grid of thousands of such spots. Many computer applications and other types of applications assume that each pixel corresponds to a square portion of a display screen. Pixels are individually used by a computer to form an image on the display device. For a color CRT, where a single triad of red, green and blue phosphor dots cannot be addressed, the smallest possible pixel size will depend on the focus, alignment and bandwidth of the electron guns used to excite the phosphors. The light emitted from one or more triads of red, green and blue phosphor dots, in various arrangements known for CRT displays, tends to blend together giving, at a distance, the appearance of a single colored light source representing a pixel.
Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and other flat panel display devices are commonly used in portable computer devices in place of CRTs. This is because flat panel displays tend to be small and lightweight in comparison to CRT displays. In addition, flat panel displays generally consume less power than comparably sized CRT displays, making them better suited for battery powered applications. As the quality of flat panel color display devices increases and their cost decreases, flat panel displays continue to replace CRT displays in desktop applications. Accordingly, flat panel displays, and LCDs in particular, are becoming ever more common.
Color LCD displays are exemplary of display devices that utilize multiple separately addressable and controllable elements, referred to herein as xe2x80x9cpixel sub-components,xe2x80x9d to represent each pixel of an image being displayed. In many known LCD displays, each pixel is a single square element that includes non-square red, green and blue (RGB) pixel sub-components. When combined, the RGB pixel sub-components form the square pixel.
FIG. 1 illustrates a portion of a known LCD device 100. The illustrated LCD device 100 includes four columns (C1-C4) and three rows (R1-R3) of pixels, each of which has a separate red pixel sub-component 102, green pixel sub-component 104 and blue pixel sub-component 106. Each of the three pixel sub-components 102, 104, 106 is three times taller than it is wide. As a result of their aspect ratios of 3:1, the RGB pixel sub-components 102, 104, 106 produce a square pixel. The RGB pixel sub-components 102, 104, 106 are arranged to form stripes along LCD device. The RGB stripes normally run the entire length of the display in one direction. Common LCD devices used for computer applications are wider than they are tall and tend to have RGB stripes running in the vertical direction. For convenience, the invention is described herein primarily in the context of LCD devices having vertical stripes, although the principles of the invention apply to display devices having other pixel sub-component configurations.
In color displays, the intensity of the emitted red, green and blue light produced by the corresponding pixel sub-components 102, 104, 106 can be varied to generate the appearance of almost any desired color pixel. Emitting no light from the pixel sub-components 102, 104, 106 produces a black pixel, whereas emitting all three colors at 100 percent intensity results in a white pixel.
While conventional displays have proved satisfactory for many applications, there is a need for resolution improvement. The resolution of flat panel display devices, which is considerably lower than the resolution achieved by print media, makes it difficult to display high quality Latin-based and similar alphanumeric characters at small text sizes commonly used for reading. The problem of low resolution is even more pronounced when complex script languages, such as Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and the Indic languages, are displayed. Ideographic languages, such as Japanese, use large numbers of Kanji characters or other characters that often rely as heavily on vertical resolution as horizontal resolution.
The most complex Kanji character has nine horizontal lines, thus requiring 17 pixels to represent the lines and the spaces between them. At current display resolutions near 100 dots per inch, a true representation is not feasible at font sizes smaller than about 14 point type ({fraction (14/72)} of an inch). At 100 dots per inch, display devices simply do not have enough dots to depict complex Kanji characters at text sizes that would be preferred for comfortable reading.
Japanese books are commonly printed in 9, 10 and 11-point type, which are similar to those used in Western books. This is a desirable size for reading based on human physiology. Manga comic books, hugely popular in Japan, use even smaller type sizes. Further complicating matters is the fact that small frutigana characters used to provide Japanese with pronunciation guidance for less-common Kanji characters are typically displayed using 3 or 4 point type. Representing characters at these sizes on computer screens, particularly LCDs, presents huge challenges.
One known technique to addressing the unavailability of screen pixels to represent the full strokes of complex characters has been to use hand-tuned bitmaps at small sizes. Unfortunately, these hand-tuned bitmaps are, at best, crude representations of characters that cannot be drawn accurately at the desired display sizes given the resolution of conventional displays. In such implementations, some strokes in the true character outlines have to be run together or completely eliminated. Decisions as to which strokes can be edited in such a manner require extensive knowledge of the specific language and involve a great deal of time and effort. For example, it would not be unusual for it to take over two years to produce a single typeface in this manner, because there are upwards of 7,000 characters involved in some languages. Embedded bitmap fonts also have the disadvantage of requiring large amounts of memory to store. Because of such limitations, Japanese operating systems tend to ship with very few supported typefaces. In fact, one common operating system of Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington, for Japanese personal computers currently includes only two Japanese typefaces, MS-Gothic and MS-Mincho. Although Kanji characters represent a particularly difficult type to render on LCD display devices, similar low resolution problems are encountered when displaying any characters.
In view of the foregoing, it is apparent that there is a need for improved techniques for displaying images on display devices. It would be desirable for any such techniques to improve resolution in at least one, and more preferably, two-dimensions (i.e., the horizontal and vertical dimensions). It would also be desirable, from the manufacturing standpoint, for at least some new display devices to be manufactured using existing display technology and manufacturing equipment, thereby avoiding the expense that would be associated with developing or obtaining new display device manufacturing equipment.
The present invention relates to methods and systems for improving the resolution of displayed images in the horizontal and vertical dimensions of LCD or other flat panel display devices that have separately controllable pixel sub-components. One factor that is responsible for at least some of the improved resolution is that the separately controllable pixel sub-components, rather than full pixels, are treated as individual luminous intensity sources. Each pixel sub-component represents a spatially different portion of the image. In order to obtain such results, spatially different sets of one or more samples of the image data are mapped to the individual pixel sub-components, rather than to entire pixels.
Such displaced sampling is responsible for increasing the resolution of the display device in the direction perpendicular to the stripes of the display device. Increased resolution in the orthogonal direction (i.e., the direction parallel to the stripes) is achieved by increasing the pixel sub-component density beyond that of conventional display devices. For instance, each region of the display device that would ordinarily consist of a single pixel with three pixel sub-components is configured to include two or three full pixels, each having three pixel sub-components. The pixel sub-components have heights 1.5 times greater than their widths if the pixel sub-component density is doubled, or are square if the density is tripled. The pixel sub-component density can be increased by other factors, as well, although a factor of two or three has the advantage that the height dimension is no smaller than the width dimension, and existing pixel sub-component manufacturing techniques can be readily adapted to construct such display devices.
Display devices having the foregoing pixel and pixel sub-component configurations can enable images to be displayed with resolutions that are improved both in the vertical and horizontal dimensions compared with conventional rendering processes. The two-dimensional improvement in resolution can be particularly advantageous for displaying complex characters, such as Kanji characters, that rely heavily character features that have fine detail in both the horizontal and vertical dimensions.
Many existing computers do not have the capability of transmitting luminous intensity values in control signals to display devices at a rate great enough to support the increased pixel sub-component densities of the display devices disclosed herein. In order to make use of the available bandwidth of such computers, the image data processing and image rendering processes of the invention also extend to image data compression techniques.
The image data compression processes are adapted to encode the luminous intensity values to be applied to a set of vertically adjacent pixels referred to as a control element of the display device. The control element includes a set of two vertically adjacent pixels when the pixel sub-component density is doubled and a set of three vertically adjacent pixels when the pixel sub-component density is tripled, such that the control element occupies a substantially square portion of the display device.
The luminous intensity values applied to the pixel sub-components in a control element are encoded in a data structure having a length, for example, of 8, 16, or 24 bits. The data structure includes a red luminous intensity value, a green luminous intensity value, a blue luminous intensity value, and a bias value. The red, green, and blue luminous intensity values correspond to the overall or average luminance to be generated in the pixel sub-components of the control element. The bias value indicates the relative luminance between the multiple pixels in the control element. For instance, if the control element includes two vertically adjacent pixels, the bias value indicates whether the luminance is to be biased toward the upper pixel, toward the lower pixel, or to be distributed evenly.
The data compression techniques of the invention allow the control signal to be transmitted to the display device at substantially the same rate as would be experienced if the pixel sub-component density were not increased. In other words, if a particular display system operating on a computer transmits 16 bits of data per square pixel in the absence of increased pixel sub-component density, the compressed control signal for the display device having the increased pixel sub-component density can also use 1.6 bits of data per control element (i.e., square region of the display device). Of course, the cost of the data compression is generally the loss of some resolution compared to the resolution that would be obtained if each pixel were to be independently controlled without data compression.
The invention also extends to display devices that are further adapted to decrease the color artifacts that can be generated from treating each pixel sub-component as a separate luminance source. In one implementation, the position of the red and blue pixel sub-components in a pixel is transposed in alternating adjacent rows. This pixel sub-component configuration breaks; up the vertical stripes of same colored red and blue pixel sub-components that are present in many conventional display devices, thereby diminishing the color fringing effects that can be experienced. In other implementations, successive rows of pixels have red, green, and blue pixel sub-components that are offset by ⅓ or ⅔ the width of the full pixel, so that the stripes are not formed from same-colored pixel sub-components, but are instead formed from alternating red, green, and blue pixel sub-components.
Additional advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.

Compression of image data associated with two-dimensional arrays of pixel sub-components


A gas lighter (10) equipped with a disposable razor, wherein a part of the gas lighter's body is so shaped as to be suitable to fix a removable housing (28) which on one hand contains a disposable razor blade assembly (17) therein in ordinary times and on the other hand is used as a handle of the razor during shaving. The gas lighter equipped according to the present invention provides increased the convenience and portability of the razor to the user since it can be kept and contained inside the housing (23) whose shape is coincidental with the recess (5) of the gas lighter.

This application claims priority from Korean Utility Model Application No. 12127/1992, which was filed on Oct. 6, 1992.
This invention relates to a gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor, and, in particular, to a type of gas lighter, the body part of which has an L-shaped recess to which a removable housing is fixed which housing contains a disposable razor blade assembly therein and is also so shaped as to be used as a handle of the razor during shaving.
In general, coventional disposable razors may be divided into two types; one type is that composed of two separated elements, that is, a handle which is not discarded but used continuously and a disposable razor blade assembly which can be inter changeably fitted to the head of the handle, the other being the type where the handle and the razor blade assembly are so formed in a single body that the handle and the razor blade assembly are to be discarded at the same time after use.
The separated type is suitable for home use and has economical merits in that the handle, which is comparatively more expensive than the razor blade assembly, may be saved for continued use by replacing only the used disposable razor blade assembly with a new one after its use. However, in consideration that a disposable separated razor of this type must usually be carried in a certain package or case, it is somewhat inconvenient, unhandy or bulky to carry around on one's person if one wants to conveniently provide oneself with the razor at most times in one's jacket, shirt or trousers pocket.
On the contrary, the single body type is so formed whereby its handle is made of comparatively less expensive material than that of the separated type so that it may be said to be more advantageous economically than the separated type when it is used for the purpose of one time only use.
However, the single body type has some disavantages in that the handle and the razor blade assembly must be discarded simultaneously after use, therefore, even though the manufacturing cost of this type razor is less expensive than that of the separated type razor, it is resource consumptive and is still inconvenient, unhandy or bulky to carry around on one's person at most times in one's jacket, shirt or trousers pocket and is unfavorable in view of environmental protection.

Gas lighter equipped with disposable razor

402 ho, 4 Floor, Duckchang Building 24-1


The invention relates to plasmids derived from pBluescript KS(+), which contains more than 1, preferably 2, 7, 14, 21 and 27, respective SK primer elements, and their use in analytical electron microscopy.

The invention relates to plasmids derived from pBluescript KS(+), comprising more than 1 SK primer sequence element, preferably 2, 7, 14, 21 and 27 repetitive SK primer sequence elements, and their use as molecular-biological markers in analytical electron microscopy.
Electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI) is a method of analytical electron microscopy (EM), which pictures the distribution of certain chemical elements within an analyzed preparation. In order to elucidate the structural organizations of biological systems, it must be possible to optically differentiate the individual macromolecular components. At present, charging with, gold particles or other particles, which are visible in refraction contrast, is used to label macromolecules for electron microscopy.
Multiple labeling experiments have been carried out in electron microscopy, where particles of various sizes are used, which enable differentiation of different target structures in a single preparation. For example, one type of molecule is linked to gold particles having a size of 5 nm while another type is linked to 10-20 nm sized particles in a double labeling experiment, to ensure that in a subsequent evaluation different molecules can be clearly localized and distinguished from one another. Large gold particles (larger than 10 nm) are disadvantageous, because of lower penetration capacity into the tissue and reduced coupling efficiency to a target molecule (Giberson, T. R., and Demaree, R. S.: The influence of immunogold particle size on labeling density. Microscopy Research and Technique, 27, 355-357, 1994). In addition, such a large particle is no longer assigned to a binding site of a target structure, because, resolution capability would be lost. If a triple labeling experiment is aimed at, the above drawbacks would become particularly striking. Only ferritin molecules, i.e. large protein units, which contain hundreds of iron atoms in their centers and can be linked to target structures, which are alternative to the gold particles. However, their electron density and detectability under the transmission electron microscope is very poor. Therefore, their use has been proved feasible only in rare cases.
On the other hand, florescence methods enable triple and quadruple labeling without any major problem in optical microscopy. Electron microscopy with the existing labeling techniques could not compete with optical microscopy. Therefore, scientists have been using optical microscopes with comparatively poor resolution capability. The development of an alternative labeling technique for gold labeling would render electron microscopy more attractive, because its advantageous labeling provides a resolution capability over 100 times as good as that of the optical microscopy. The gold labeling method for conventional transmission electron microscopy is based on the electron density of heavy metal gold and there is a demand for an alternative labeling method for ESI. This technique, which utilizes interactions between beam electrons and the atoms in the preparation, differs from conventional transmission electron microscopy. In principle, all of the elements can be detected specifically, which raises the number of elements in consideration for labeling methods. However, to establish alternative labeling methods, it is decisive to check detection limits for the elements in consideration. This means, information is required on the number of detectable element atoms per nm2 area. Therefore, the detection limits of the ESI technique are relevant. Only a few study-reports and vague indications on this parameter are available. Although the ESI technique is often used, no data on detection limits have been published to date.
There is a demand for alternative labeling methods for electron microscopy. It should be possible to readily test and assess the detectability of a marker complex.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of obtaining data, to evaluate the prospects of the intended experiment with the element in question and/or the marker structure in question, before time-consuming cytobiological and molecular-biological experiments are carried out. Furthermore, the parameter for the detectable number of elementary atoms per unit area shall become measurable to obtain necessary information to establish EM labeling methods.
This object is achieved by the subject matters defined in the claims section.
Until now, there has been no accurate limiting values of detectability known for the ESI detection of the various chemical elements. This is inter alia due to the fact that preparing a suitable test sample is not a trivial matter. Such a sample must have special properties. There must be regions in which the target element is available in a clearly defined amount. It must be possible to clearly detect these regions. The target element may not occur in the remaining regions. This problem has been reported by investigators who tried to record the resolution and detectability by means of grainy precipitates, using uranium, for example (see, Golla and Kohl, Micron, 28:(5), 397-406, 1997).
In one aspect, the invention provides plasmids derived from pBluescript KS(+), comprising more than 1 SK primer sequence element, preferably 2, 7, 14, 21 and 27 repetitive SK primer sequence elements.
In another aspect, the invention provides methods of analytical electron microscopy, comprising: providing the plasmid as described herein; adding a detectable element to the SK primer, thereby forming a marker complex; and imaging the marker complex by electron microscopy.
In yet another aspect, the invention provides a test kit for use in electron microscopy comprising: host E. coli JM110 bacterial cells suitable for replicating the plasmid as described herein; and a single-stranded plasmid comprising 2, 7, 14, 21, and 27 repetitive SK primer sequence elements.

Molecular-biological marker for analytical electron microscopy

Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum Stiftung Des Oeffentlichen Rechts


An embodiment of the invention provides a time of flight 3D camera comprising a photosensor having a plurality of pixels that generate and accumulate photoelectrons responsive to incident light, which photosensor is tiled into a plurality of super pixels, each partitioned into a plurality of pixel groups and a controller that provides a measure of an amount of light incident on a super pixel responsive to quantities of photoelectrons from pixel groups in the super pixel that do not saturate a readout pixel comprised in the photosensor.

Time of flight (TOF) three-dimensional (3D) cameras determine distances to features in a scene by acquiring an image, conventionally referred to as a "range image", of the scene that can be processed to determine how long it takes light to travel from the camera to the features and back to the camera. The round trip flight times of the light to, and back from the features, and the speed of light are used to determine the distances to the imaged features.
In a gated TOF-3D camera, light pulses are transmitted to illuminate a scene and the camera is shuttered on, "gated on", following each light pulse for a relatively short exposure period to enable pixels in a photosensor of the camera to receive and register light from the light pulses reflected by features in the scene that reaches the camera. A pixel in the photosensor registers an amount of incident light it receives by generating, and accumulating, a quantity of electrons, hereinafter "photoelectrons", in the pixel that is substantially proportional to the amount of incident light. The accumulated photoelectrons are transmitted to a readout pixel comprised in the photosensor. A readout circuit converts a charge provided by the photoelectrons transferred to the readout pixel to a voltage, hereinafter also "photo-voltage", which provides a measure of the charge, and thereby the number of photoelectrons and the corresponding amount of incident light. A process of converting photoelectrons in a pixel to a photo-voltage is referred to as "reading" the pixel.
In order to provide reliable measurements of amount of light, photosensors are typically provided with a readout pixel that can accumulate a number of photoelectrons before it saturates that is equal to about twice a number of photoelectrons that saturates a pixel of the photosensor. A pixel saturates when a number of photoelectrons generated or received by the pixel is greater than the pixel's capacity to store photoelectrons. Photoelectrons in excess of a saturation threshold drain off to ground and cannot contribute to measurements of light.
Determination of a quantity of photoelectrons accumulated in a pixel by reading the pixel is subject to error from shot noise and read noise. Shot noise is a statistical error that is a function of the number of photoelectrons accumulated. If Ne is the number of photoelectrons, shot noise may be estimated to result in a fractional error (fractional error is % error multiplied by 100) in Ne equal to about 1/✓Ne. Read noise is independent of the number of photoelectrons. Read noise is a "device" noise that is introduced into a determination of a number of photoelectrons by the process of determining the number. If read noise is represented by a constant RE a fractional error in Ne may be estimated to be equal to about RE/Ne.
Distance to a feature in the scene imaged on a pixel of the camera photosurface is determined as a function of photo-voltage representing an amount of light that reaches the pixel from the feature during the short exposure periods, normalized to a photo-voltage representing a total amount of light reflected from the pulses that reaches the pixel from the feature. For convenience, light registered during the short exposure periods of the camera is referred to as "gated" light. An amount of light used to normalize gated light to determine distance is received during exposure periods that are substantially longer than the short exposure periods used to provide gated light, and is referred to as "ungated light".
Typically, widths of the light pulses and the short exposure periods are very small, and may for example be less than or about equal to 20 nsec (nanoseconds). As a result, amounts of gated light registered by pixels in a gated TOF-3D camera are often relatively small, and errors in measurements of gated light, and consequently in distance measurements provided by the TOF-3D camera due to shot and read noise can be relatively large. For features of a scene that have low reflectivity and/or are relatively far from the camera, amounts of light from the features registered by pixels on which the features are imaged can be so small that shot noise error in measurements of the light generates unacceptably large errors in distance measurements to the features. If camera parameters and/or lighting are adjusted to compensate for low reflectivity and/or for relatively large distances of features in the scene, near and/or high reflectivity features in the scene may be poorly imaged because light from these features saturates pixels in the camera.
As a result, for many applications of a TOF-3D camera, the camera does not have a dynamic range (DNR) for measuring incident light sufficiently large to acquire range images that provide acceptable distance measurements for both "dim" and "bright" features in a scene. A camera DNR is typically measured as a ratio between a maximum amount of light per unit area of the camera photosensor, which the camera measures with an acceptable precision, divided by a minimum amount of light per unit area of the photosensor, which the camera measures with an acceptable precision.
Light incident on a surface per second per unit area of the surface is referred to as irradiance. A maximum amount of light incident per unit area of a photosensor that a camera measures with an acceptable precision may therefore be referred to as a maximum integrated irradiance, (MaxIr). Similarly, a minimum amount of light incident per unit area of a photosensor that a camera measures with an acceptable precision may be referred to as a minimum integrated irradiance, (MinIr). A camera DNR may conveniently be defined by an expression DNR=MaxIr/MinIr.


The present invention is provided for considerably shortening the construction time of a building that is applied to nuclear power plants. When constructing the building, megablocks having a height that extends to a plurality of floors are produced, and together with combining those megablocks, concrete is poured inside them to form a wall member composed of a megawall structure of steel plate reinforced concrete construction. Alternatively, in addition to the wall megablocks, floor megablocks for forming the floor member of the building are used, and together with combining those megablocks, concrete is poured inside or above them to form a structural member (wall member and floor member) composed of a megawall structure of steel plate reinforced concrete construction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a building suitable for application to a nuclear power plant, and more particularly, to a building structure and its construction method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reinforced concrete (RC) construction, steel-framed reinforced concrete (SRC) construction or a combination of these two constructions are typically used for the structures of the reactor buildings and turbine buildings at nuclear power plants. However, since the buildings at this type of facility are required to have much higher levels of safety and reliability than in the case of ordinary structures, extremely rigid structures are required. Thus, since the wall and slab thicknesses are considerably thicker in comparison with ordinary buildings, and the amounts of iron and steel reinforcing members are much greater, construction costs are inevitably higher and the construction period is longer.
FIGS. 13 and 14 show an example of the design of this type of reactor building. This building consists of RC construction for the below ground portion and lower levels of the above ground portion, SRC construction for the upper levels, and steel frame (S) construction for the roof, and has a structure in which cylindrical containment vessel 2 is arranged in the center of the outer peripheral wall 1, the planar shape of which is nearly square, and columns 3, beams 4, slabs 5 on each floor and earthquake-resisting walls 6 are provided on multiple floors around its periphery. Reference symbol 7 indicates a foundation plate, 8 a pressure vessel, 9 its pedestal, 10 a diaphragm floor inside the containment vessel 2, 11 a top slab of the containment vessel 2, 12 a pool wall for providing pool P above containment vessel 2, 13 an operating floor, and 14 a roof truss. In addition, examples of the pool P include a spent fuel pool (SFP) and a dryer and separator storage pool (DSP).
This type of reactor building is constructed in the form of a wall member having a reinforced concrete construction in which the outer peripheral wall 1 has a thickness of about 0.3-2 meters, and the containment vessel 2 has a thickness of 2 meters. In addition, various types of numerous equipment and apparatuses are installed on each floor inside the building constructed in this manner. When constructing such a reactor building having this large size as well as complex structure and form, a construction period is required that is roughly twice as long as thermoelectric power plants of the same size. In particular, since the structural member of each floor and the structural member of the pool P and so forth are integrally provided around and above the containment vessel 2, its form becomes complex and the conditions under which stress is generated also become complex. As a result, construction is extremely difficult and intricate.
In contrast, there has been a request in recent years to shorten construction time during the construction of nuclear power plants, and various structures and construction methods have been developed in order to realize this. However, an effective structure and construction method that is able to realize a significant shortening of construction time have yet to be developed.
In consideration of the above circumstances, the object of the present invention is to provide a building and its construction method that are particularly suitable for nuclear power plants and so forth, and which are capable of realizing a significant shortening of construction time at the time of their construction.
The present invention relates to a building used for a nuclear power plant and characterized in that a wall portion which forms at least apart of the building is formed from a megawall structure of steel plate reinforced concrete construction that is composed by pouring concrete into megablocks composed of outer shell steel plates having a height equivalent to the plurality of floors of the building.
For example, a wall member which forms an outer peripheral wall of the building is formed from the megawall structure of steel plate reinforced concrete construction that is composed by pouring concrete into megablocks composed of outer shell steel plates having a height equivalent to the plurality of floors of the building.
According to this building, since the wall member is formed from the megawall structure of steel plate reinforced concrete construction, the ease of construction can be considerably improved as compared with reinforced concrete construction and steel-frame reinforced concrete construction of the prior art, and the form of the structural member can be simplified and abbreviated. As a result, construction time can be shortened considerably.
Alternatively, in the present invention, a structural member which is composed of the wall member and a floor member of the building is formed from the megawall structure of steel plate reinforced concrete construction composed by combining megablocks composed of outer shell steel plates having a height equivalent to the plurality of floors of the building for forming the wall member and megablocks composed of outer shell steel plates for forming the floor member, and by pouring concrete therein or there above.
According to this building, in addition to the megablocks for the wall member, since megablocks are also used for forming the floor member, and the structural member composed of the megawall structure of steel plate reinforced concrete construction is formed by combining these megablocks, the ease of construction is further improved, thereby making it possible to further shorten construction time.
In case of construction of the building, the megablocks composed of outer shell steel plates having a height equivalent to the plurality of floors of the building are produced in advance followed by forming an outer shell of the wall member using these megablocks, and then the wall member composed of the megawall structure of steel plate reinforced concrete construction is formed by pouring concrete into the above megablocks.
Alternatively, in case of construction of the building, the megablocks composed of outer shell steel plates having a height equivalent to the plurality of floors of the building for forming the wall member of the building, and megablocks composed of outer shell steel plates for forming the floor member of the building, are produced in advance followed by forming an outer shell of the structural member by combining these megablocks, and then the structural member composed of the megawall structure of steel plate reinforced concrete construction is formed by pouring concrete into and above these megablocks.
According to these methods, the wall member or structural member composed of a megawall structure of steel plate reinforced concrete construction is formed simply by forming outer shell of a wall member or structural member by assembling megablocks produced in advance followed by pouring concrete. Thus, the building can be constructed extremely efficiently, and the construction time can be shortened considerably.
Furthermore, an equipment module may be provided inside the building. This equipment modules is composed of steel frames formed by support columns that have a height equivalent to the plurality of floors and function as columns inside the building and floor frames that are supported by the support columns and function as floors in the building, and various types of equipment to be installed in the building that are provided in the steel flames along with their ancillary piping.
According to this building, construction of the columns and floors of the building as well as installation of equipment can be carried out collectively simply by installing the equipment module in the building. Thus, the building can be constructed extremely efficiently and the construction time required for constructing the building and installing equipment can be shortened considerably.
In this case, the equipment module preferably being self-standing in the above building, and the horizontal force that acts on the equipment module is preferably supported by the structural member of the building which surrounding the equipment module.
According to this building, since a structure is employed in which the horizontal force that acts on the self-standing equipment module is supported by the surrounding structural member, it is not necessary to give horizontal bearing force to the equipment module themselves. Thus, the steel frames only require a simple, lightweight structure.
In this case, it is preferable that the structural member surrounding the equipment modules is composed of the megawall structure of steel plate reinforced concrete construction that is composed by pouring and filling concrete into megablocks composed of outer shell steel plates.
When the building is a reactor building provided with a pool above a containment vessel, a peripheral wall of the containment vessel is extending upward to form a pool outer peripheral wall that has a cylindrical shape when viewed from overhead, and a pool inner peripheral wall is provided on a top slab of the containment vessel so as to be concentric with the pool outer peripheral wall, and as a result, a ring-shaped pool employing the top slab for its bottom is integrally provided with the containment vessel.
According to this building, since the ring-shaped pool is integrally provided with the containment vessel above the containment vessel, the form of the structural member above the containment vessel can be simplified considerably as compared with reactor buildings of the prior art. Thus, the ease of construction is improved significantly, and construction time can be shortened considerably. Moreover, since the upper structure of the containment vessel is simplified, the status of stress generation in that section is improved and the pool has the effect of reinforcing the containment vessel, thereby allowing the obtaining of favorable results in terms of structure as well.
In this case, it is preferable that the containment vessel and pool are composed of a megawall structure of steel plate reinforced concrete construction that is composed by pouring and filling concrete into megablocks composed of outer shell steel plates.
According to this building, since the formwork and work for providing reinforcing bars are omitted due to the use of steel plate reinforced concrete construction, the ease of construction can be improved considerably and construction time can be shortened considerably.
In addition, the containment vessel and pool outer peripheral wall are preferably separated from the peripheral structural member and made to stand alone.
According to this building, by isolating the containment vessel and pool outer peripheral wall from the surrounding structural member and allowing them to stand alone, it is no longer necessary to join the two structural members, and work for providing the two structural members can be carried out independently. As a result, a rational process can be compiled during building construction, thereby making it possible to shorten construction time even more.

Building and construction method therefor


In the production of a matched set of golf clubs, the most accurate method for matching the flex of each shaft in the set is through the use of an electronic frequency analyzer which measures the vibrational frequencies of the shafts or clubs. With most high quality steel shafts, such frequency measurements are generally reproducible and serve as a reliable index of shaft flexibility. It has been found for some shafts, particularly for composite shafts, that frequency measurements taken along different cross-sectional diameters may vary. For such shafts, it has been found that frequency measurements will be reproducible, if the frequency measurement is made on the same diameter. The diameters used for such measurements are marked on the shaft and then employed in the construction of the golf club, such that the diameter is substantially perpendicular to the striking face of the club head.

High quality golf club sets are produced and marketed in what is termed "frequency matched sets", each golf club being constructed such that the flexing characteristics of the club will provide the same degree of "feel" throughout the set. Although "feel" is somewhat subjective, it is generally well accepted that a golf club which provides proper "feel" will aid the golfer in achieving: (i) optimum club head velocity and club head position at the point of ball impact--providing better overall shots; and (ii) greater uniformity from shot to shot--both of which will contribute to lower total scores. U.S. Pat. No. 4,070,022, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, is directed to a method for accurately quantifying relative "feel", based on accurate determinations of the frequency of vibration of a specific shaft. After the frequency determinations are made, shafts are selected from a plurality of selected shafts in which the frequencies fall on a predetermined gradient formed by a plot of shaft frequency versus shaft length, in which shaft frequency increases as shaft length decreases. Subsequent mating of the shafts with weight-matched club heads, i.e., wood and iron heads, produces a set of matched golf clubs.
The utility of the method described in the '022 patent is, in part, based on the finding that frequency measurements of various shafts can be reproducible and therefore serve as a reliable index of shaft flexibility. Frequency measurement is generally accomplished by securing the butt end of the shaft in a clamp or chuck. A predetermined test weight is fixed to the tip end of the shaft, after which the shaft is plucked so as to cause it to vibrate. Reproducibility of such vibrating frequency is achieved by depressing the tip end to a predetermined stop (i.e., such that each shaft will have the same amplitude of vibration) and thereafter releasing the shaft such that the resulting oscillations may be measured utilizing an electronic counter unit. Utilizing this system, reproducibility of measurements of +0.2 cpm can be realized--at least with respect to the high quality steel shafts presently available.
It was found, however, when the same method was employed for the frequency measurement of composite (generally graphite) shafts, that reproducibility was poor or non-existent. Composite shafts are made of fiber, e.g., graphite, reinforced resin. The shafts are made by cross lapping various plies of reinforced fibers which have been impregnated with a resin. A cylindrical steel mandrel, which has been precoated with a release agent, is then rolled between flat planes--such that the resin-impregnated, woven fabrics are rolled upon the mandrel and upon the fabric itself a number of times. After the multiple plies are wrapped around the mandrel to achieve the desired diameter, the entire unit is wrapped to maintain the plies tightly wrapped during the subsequent curing procedure. It is therefore readily seen, unless special precautions are taken, that the resulting composite shaft will not be completely uniform in cross section. This cross sectional non-uniformity results in a tube in which the flex (frequency) will vary along different lines of the shaft, parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft. Various manufacturers of shafts have labeled their product as "frequency matched". While there is no industry-wide standard, that term is generally understood to define a set of clubs in which a plot of shaft frequency, "f", versus shaft length, "1", will fall on essentially a straight line (i.e., f=ml+b) with a variation not exceeding .+-.1.0%, preferably not exceeding +1 cpm. The graphite products that are presently marketed exhibit far greater discrepancies in frequency.

Method for producing frequency matched sets of composite golf club shafts


The present invention provides a method for producing polylactic acid-based resin foamed particles for in-mold foam-molding from which a polylactic acid-based resin foam-molded article excellent in heat resistance and mechanical strength can be obtained by in-mold foam-molding. In the method of the present invention for producing polylactic acid-based resin foamed particles for in-mold foam-molding, a rotary blade is rotated at a given rotation speed while being always in contact with the front end surface of a nozzle and a polylactic acid-based resin extrudate extrusion-foamed through a nozzle is cut with the rotary blade, so that it is possible to cut the polylactic acid-based resin extrudate surely to obtain substantially spherical polylactic acid-based resin foamed particles. Therefore, when polylactic acid-based resin foamed particles are used for in-mold foam-molding, the polylactic acid-based resin foamed particles foam uniformly in all directions and, as a result, the foamed particles are thermal fusin bonded to unite together strongly in all direction.

A polylactic acid-based resin is a resin obtained by polymerizing naturally occurring lactic acid and is a biodegradable resin which can be decomposed by naturally occurring microorganisms. Moreover, it is also excellent in mechanical properties at normal temperatures. It has therefore been attracting public attentions.
A polylactic acid-based resin has been produced generally by polymerizing D-lactic acid and/or L-lactic acid, or ring-opening polymerizing one or two or more lactides selected from the group consisting of L-lactide, D-lactide and DL-lactide.
A polylactic acid-based resin to be obtained varies in physical properties, especially crystallinity, depending upon the content of the D-form component or the L-form component contained in the polylactic acid-based resin. Specifically, the crystallinity of a polylactic acid-based resin to be obtained decreases as the content of the less optical isomer of the D-form component or the L-form component contained in the polylactic acid-based resin increases, and eventually the resin will become amorphous.
As a method for producing a polylactic acid-based resin foam-molded article by causing polylactic acid-based resin foamed particles to foam, in-mold foam-molding has been proposed. The above-mentioned in-mold foam-molding is a method for producing a polylactic acid-based resin foam-molded article having a desired shape in which polylactic acid-based resin foamed particles are filled into a mold, and the polylactic acid-based resin foamed particles are heated with a heat medium, such as hot water or steam, to foam them, and the foamed particles are fusion-bonded to unite together by the foam pressure of the polylactic acid-based resin foamed particles.
Specifically patent document 1 discloses a resin composition prepared by aging under given conditions the resin composition obtained by incorporating a polyisocyanate compound having an isocyanate group of ≧2 equivalents/mol into a polylactic acid having an L-form to D-form molar ratio of from 95/5 to 60/40 or from 40/60 to 5/95, in an amount of 0.5 to 5% by weight based on the polylactic acid, and causing them to react. In addition, it discloses that particles are produced from the aforementioned resin composition, the particles are impregnated with a foaming agent and a foaming aid, the resulting foamable particles are preliminarily foamed to produce preliminarily foamed particles, and the preliminarily foamed particles are filled into a mold and then are foamed to form a molded article with a desired shape.
However, the polylactic acid-based resin constituting the resin composition has a molar ratio of the optical isomer component of the L-form or the D-form, whichever is less, of 5 mol % or more, and the polylactic acid-based resin is low in crystallinity or amorphous and is poor in heat resistance. Therefore, a molded article obtained from this resin composition has insufficient heat resistance, i.e., about 50° C. at most, which has caused problems in practical use.
In the above method, it is considered to use, as the polylactic acid-based resin for constituting the resin composition, a highly crystalline polylactic acid-based resin in which the molar ratio of the less optical isomer of the L-form or the D-form is 5 mol % or less. However, since particles of the above resin composition are impregnated with a foaming agent to form foamable particles and the foamable particles are preliminarily foamed by being heated, crystallization of the polylactic acid-based resin proceeds due to the heat added during the preliminary foaming process. As a result, the preliminarily foamed particles obtained become preliminarily foamed particles with high crystallinity degree, so that the fusion bonding property thereof deteriorates. Therefore, there has been a problem with a molded article obtained using such preliminarily foamed particles that the article is low in mechanical strength due to its low fusion bonding property.
Moreover, although preliminarily foamed particles containing relatively fine cells can be obtained by the above-mentioned method, this method has a problem that the productivity is low because it requires a step of producing particles from a resin composition, and a step of impregnating the particles with a foaming agent and a foaming aid, followed by preliminarily foaming the resulting foamable particles.
Furthermore, patent document 2 discloses a method for continuously producing biodegradable polyester-based resin preliminarily foamed particles wherein in producing preliminarily foamed particles for in-mold molding from a biodegradable polyester-based resin, the biodegradable polyester-based resin and a foaming agent are kneaded with an extruder and extruded in the form of a foamed strand, and the foamed strand is cut to obtain preliminarily foamed particles. It also discloses that as a method for cutting the foamed strand, so-called hot cutting system, in which a strand under foaming is cut while being cooled is preferred (paragraph [0030]).
In the above-mentioned continuous production method, however, since a strand is cut at its portion which has already foamed as described in paragraph [0030], there is a fear that a cut section of the strand may fall into a condition that cut sections of cells are exposed. As a result, the resulting preliminarily foamed particles have had a problem that foaming gas is apt to escape from the cut sections of cells exposed on their surfaces and therefore they are low in foaming property.
Furthermore, preliminarily foamed particles obtained by cutting a strand have another problem that the crystallinity degree of the polyester-based resin constituting the preliminarily foamed particles has increased because they have not been cooled forcibly, and, as a result, the thermal fusion bonding property will be deteriorated.
Patent document 3 discloses a method for producing foamable polylactic acid particles by which foamed particles excellent in moldability and thermal fusion bonding property can be obtained. This production method is a method in which resin particles having a calorific value in differential scanning calorimetry of 15 J/g or more are impregnated with carbon dioxide under particular conditions.
However, since the calorific value in differential scanning calorimetry is 15 J/g or more, the polylactic acid resin is low in crystallinity and is insufficient in heat resistance, i.e., having a heat resisting temperature of about 80° C.
Moreover, since the gas pressure applied when resin particles are impregnated with carbon dioxide is 0.5 to 10 MPa, there has been arisen a problem that crystallization of the polylactic acid proceeds during the impregnation of the resin particles with carbon dioxide, so that the thermal fusion bonding property of the resulting foamable polylactic acid particles is deteriorated and that foamable polylactic acid particles become flat, so that the foaming property thereof will be deteriorated.
Patent document 1: JP-A 2000-17038
Patent document 2: JP-A 2002-302567
Patent document 3: JP-A 2003-73495

Polylactic acid-based resin foamed particles for in-mold foam-molding and method for producing the same, as well as method for producing polylactic acid-based resin foam-molded article


A phase-change random access memory (PRAM) device and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. The PRAM device includes a semiconductor substrate in which a switching device is formed, a lower electrode configured to be formed on the switching device and having a void formed in a portion of an upper surface thereof, and a phase-change layer configured to be formed on the lower electrode having the void.

1. Technical Field
The inventive concept relates to a nonvolatile memory device, and more particularly, to a phase-change random access memory (PRAM) device and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Related Art
In recent years, as semiconductor memory devices, next-generation devices that are nonvolatile and are not necessary refresh have been researched with demands on high performance and low power. The next-generation memory devices may include PRAMs.
The PRAMs have properties that a resistance value thereof may be changed according to current or voltage and maintained as it is when the current or voltage is interrupted.
The PRAMs perform a memory operation by receiving current from a lower electrode and heating a phase-change material to change a resistance value. For example, when a reset pulse is applied to the phase-change material, the phase-change material is melted to be in a high resistance state, for example, logic value "1", and when a set pulse is applied to the phase-change material, the phase-change material is in a low resistance state, for example, logic value "0".
However, a heating temperature of the phase-change material constituting the PRAMs is proportional to an amount of current and thus it may be difficult to obtain high degree of integration. In particular, since current required for switching to the reset state larger than that required for switching to the set state, it may be desirable to reduce the current for the switching to the reset state in order to obtain high degree of integration.

Phase-change random access memory device and method of manufacturing the same


The application relates to synthetic compositions containing one or more human milk oligosaccharides for treating serotonin and/or tryptophan dysregulation.

A regulated communication between the gut and the brain plays a very important role in the wellbeing of a human, and normal gastrointestinal (GI) health relies on a properly functioning brain-gut axis. Serotonin, which functions as a neurotransmitter, facilitates communication between the enteric nervous system and the rest of the gut, and plays an important role in regulation of gut motility and secretion. Serotonin can activate neurons causing either bowel contraction or relaxation, can initiate secretion, and contribute to the dilution and neutralization of luminal contents, causing protective responses to eliminate luminal pathogens.
The GI tract is the largest producer of serotonin in the human body. Since 95 percent of the serotonin is found in the gut, an imbalance in its signalling can cause alterations in motility and secretion. This has been shown in a study, where disruption of serotonin signalling resulted in loss of peristaltic motility (McGill et al. FASEB J. 30, Supplement 1254.6 (2016)).
Tryptophan is the precursor of a wide array of metabolites, which are involved in a variety of aspects of human nutrition and metabolism. Tryptophan can be metabolized to serotonin, however, it can also enter the kynurenine pathway. The kynurenine pathway is regulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IFN-γ and TNF-α, and metabolites from this pathway have been shown to be able to negatively modulate immune responses. Hence, accumulating evidence indicates that shunting tryptophan down the kynurenine pathway at the expenses of serotonin biosynthesis may cause abnormalities in serotonin signalling and could lead to functional GI disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Studies have shown that IBS patients have impaired levels of serotonin compared to controls, with higher levels in IBS-D and lower levels in IBS-C (Yu et al. World J. Gastroenterol. 22, 3451 (2016); Wang et al. ibid. 13, 6041 (2007)). Additionally, abnormal tryptophan catabolism has been found to correlate with severe IBS symptoms (Faure et al. Gastroenterology 139, 249 (2010); Fitzgerald et al. Neurogastroenterol. Motil. 20, 1291 (2008)). Since tryptophan is an essential amino acid with an estimated dietary requirement of 5 mg/kg/day and it is the limiting amino acid in nearly all protein sources, dietary sources of tryptophan may not be enough to obtain a regulated serotonin synthesis, and maintain normal GI function. Therefore, there is a need for a safe, effective intervention for obtaining sufficient tryptophan for regulating serotonin synthesis.
In addition to tryptophan and serotonin metabolism, an optimal functioning GI tract requires a healthy bacterial population of beneficial bacteria. The human intestinal microbiota is a complex and very dynamic microbial ecosystem that consists of various populations, which are important to preserve human health. Selective stimulation of specific beneficial intestinal bacteria to promote their growth and metabolic activity could be a helpful approach in regulating the tryptophan and serotonin metabolic pathways, resulting in improvement of gut motility and secretion.
Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are a heterogeneous mixture of soluble glycans found in human milk. They are the third most abundant solid component after lactose and lipids in human milk and are present in concentrations of 5-25 g/l (Gabrielli et al. Pediatrics 128, e1520 (2011)). HMOs are resistant to enzymatic hydrolysis in the small intestine and are thus largely undigested and unabsorbed (ten Bruggencate et al. Nutrition Reviews 72, 377 (2014); Rudloff et al. Glycobiology 16, 477 (2006)). The majority of HMOs that reaches the colon serves as a substrate to shape the gut ecosystem by selectively stimulating the growth of specific beneficial bacteria. HMOs are believed to substantially modulate the infant gut microbiota and play a decisive role in the differences in the microbiota of formula-fed and breast-fed infants. These differences include the predominance of Bifidobacterium in the gut of breast-fed infants compared to a more diverse gut microbiota in formula-fed infants (Bezirtzoglou et al. Anaerobe 17, 478 (2011)). This is viewed as beneficial for the infant because strains of Bifidobacterium species and their metabolites are believed to have a positive effect on human health (Rudloff et al. Glycobiology 16, 477 (2006); Bezirtzoglou et al. Anaerobe 17, 478 (2011)). Recently, it has also been demonstrated that some sialylated and fucosylated HMOs has a positive effect on the growth of certain strains of Bifidobacterium species that are typically found in both infant and adult microbiota (WO 2013/154725).
WO 2013/054001 has recently described a positive correlation between the level of serotonin in the blood and proportion of bifidobacteria and/or clostridia species in the intestine flora of tested individuals.
However, the effect of HMOs on serotonin level and gut motility has never been studied and therefore is unknown. Therefore, there remains a need for a safe, well tolerated and effective way of managing serotonin synthesis and thereby improve gut motility.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.