The invention relates to microcapsules consisting of a polymer degradable by a polypeptide comprising a drug or other compound of interest and a genetically engineered cell expressing said polypeptide in response to a triggering compound, and to methods of directed release of the compound of interest. The preferred polymer is optionally modified cellulose sulfate/poly-diallyl-dimethyl-ammonium chloride. Such microcapsules are non-toxic, do not elicit an immunological response and have an extended half-life time in mammals. The expression system for cellulase is, for example, based on TET and doxycycline, or E.REX and erythromycin. In another example, expression of cellulase is triggered by luteinizing hormone, which can be used for artificial insemination with microcapsules carrying sperm.

The controlled release of bioactive molecules from polymer matrices or polymer capsules has been proposed as a promising approach in various therapeutic interventions in order to avoid multiple dosing and to sustain continuous or pulsed release over time. The entrapment and immuno-isolation of small-molecule drugs, hormones, protein therapeutics or cell lines engineered for production of biologics in the patient's body have been designed for the treatment of various diseases such as infections, cancer, diabetes and different genetic disorders. Most controlled release systems currently available have either been chemically designed for sustained auto-catalytic or tissue-specific discharge of the therapeutic cargo, or engineered to release the therapeutic load in response to physical cues such as pH, light, ionic strength, magnetic resonance, or an electric field. Unfortunately, polymers designed for controlled release are often limited in their chemical flexibility, while most physical stimuli are impractical for in vivo applications. Also, the timing of release and overall release kinetics are often difficult to control.
Microencapsulation of viable genetically modified cells has become a widely used technology for cell-based therapeutic strategies and biopharmaceutical manufacturing. The encapsulation in biocompatible and immuno-isolating matrices protects the cells from environmental stress while providing favourable local conditions. Additionally, nutrients, waste products and therapeutics may freely penetrate the semi-permeable membrane of capsules. The ability to implant genetically engineered cells in immuno-protective materials may have great potential for therapeutic uses. The integration of mammalian cells in varying encapsulating polymers have lead to therapeutic strategies for the treatment of cancer, diabetes, hemophilia B, ischemia heart disease and other human disorders [see e.g. Zhang Y, Wang W, Zhou J, Yu W, Zhang X, Guo X, Ma X, Ann Biomed Eng 2007; 35:605-14]. In animal models, the immuno-protection by microcapsules even allowed the transplantation of xenogenic cells without rejection of implanted cells [Schneider S, Feilen P J, Brunnenmeier F, Minnemann T, Zimmermann H, Zimmermann U, Weber M M, Diabetes 2005; 54:687-93]. Additionally, a host-independent long-term drug delivery method by encapsulated cells has been reported in a mouse disease model [Orive G, de Castro M, Ponce S, Hernandez R M, Gascon A R, Bosch M, Alberch J, Pedraz J L, Mol Ther 2005; 12:283-9].
In the last three decades various materials were tested for their potential immuno-protection and biocompatibility properties. Sodium alginate, a natural polymer isolated from brown algae, which is able to precipitate in the presence of poly-L-lysine (PLL) was widely used for the production of microcapsules. However, the low quality reliability and poor biocompatibility of the precipitation agent PLL resulted in its replacement by other materials. In various studies sodium cellulose sulfate (CS)/poly-diallyl-dimethyl-ammonium chloride (pDADMAC) capsules showed less immunogenicity and higher biocompatibility than alginate/PLL. Furthermore, CS/pDADMAC capsules can be produced in a one-step high throughput procedure [Weber W, Rimann M, Schafroth T, Witschi U, Fussenegger M, J Biotechnol 2006; 123:155-63]. A clinical phase I/II long-term study demonstrated that CS/pDADMAC encapsulated cells showed no foreign body reaction or alteration of the recipient immune system and that cells may survive for a nearly unlimited time span [Gunzburg W, Salmons B, Trends Mol Med 2001; 7:30-7]. CS/pDADMAC encapsulated cells can be also successfully frozen and retain viability after thawing. Cellulases, which can cleave the polymer backbone of CS/pDADMAC capsules, are typically absent from mammalian tissues.
TET [Gossen M, Bujard H, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 1992; 89(12):5547-51] or E.REX [Weber W, Fux C, Daoud-el Baba M, Keller B, WeberC C, KramerB P, Heinzen C, Aubel D, BaileyJ E, Fussenegger M, Nature biotechnology 2002; 20(9):901-7] are systems for trigger-inducible expression and secretion by mammalian cells. TET/E.REX are prototypic transgene control system which are responsive to clinically licensed antibiotics (tetracycline/doxycycline, erythromycin) and consist of chimeric transactivators designed by fusing bacterial response regulators to a eukaryotic transactivation domain, which binds and activates promoters containing transactivator-specific operator sites 5′ of minimal eukaryotic promoters. In the presence of regulating antibiotics the transactivators are released from their cognate promoters and transgene expression is silenced in a dose-dependent manner [Weber W, Fussenegger M, Current opinion in biotechnology 2007; 18(5):399-410; Weber W, Fussenegger M, The journal of gene medicine 2006; 8(5):535-56].
Artificial insemination (AI) of cattle is the major reproduction technology used in modern stock farming. In northern and western European countries the artificial inseminated reproduction of diary cattle exceeds 95%. The success of AI is strongly dependent on a precise determination of ovulation and a temporally coordinated insemination. The efficiency of AI is limited by the sperm survival in utero, which is compromised by leucocyte mediated phagocytosis and sperm retrograde transport, limiting the fertilization period to approximately 20 hours. As a result, the rate of successful artificially inseminated cows (non-return rate) does not exceed 70%. The ovulation in mammalian is a complex and primarily hormone-controlled process that plays a critical role in reproductive physiology. Initiation of ovulation is stimulated by a strong and highly specific preovulatory surge of the pituitary luteinizing hormone (LH). The LH binds to the luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR) that is expressed on the granulosa and theca cells of the mature preovulatory ovarian follicle. Upon activation the LHR couples to numerous G-proteins resulting in the stimulation of the cyclic adenosine monoposphate (cAMP) and inositol-phosphate signaling cascades followed by reprogramming of the cells. The luteinization of the granulosa and theca cells leads to a rupture of the mature follicle and a release of the fertilizable oocyte.


A camera includes a light transmitter configured to transmit light pulses at a first rate, a light receiver configured to receive return signals corresponding to the light pulses transmitted by the light transmitter, and a sampler configured to sample electrical signals corresponding to the return signals received by the light receiver, wherein the sampler is configured to sample the electrical signals at a second rate that is lower than the first rate.

There are several different approaches for implementing auto-focus in a digital camera. According to a relatively simple and inexpensive approach, when a user presses a shutter button part-way down, the camera takes a series of exposures while moving the lens through a focus range. An auto-focus region at the center of the sensor is read out, and a focus metric (a value identifying the extent to which objects are in focus) is generated. Logic in the camera then identifies the focus metric corresponding to the best focus position for the camera lens. However, this technique is slow, since the lens must be stepped through a number of possible focus positions. As a result, there is a relatively long delay period (e.g., about one second) between the time that the shutter button is pressed and the time that a picture is taken.
Another approach for implementing auto-focus in a camera involves using an auto-focus module comprising optical elements such as prisms or beam-splitters, in addition to an array of light-sensing elements. This approach has the advantage of rapidly measuring a desired focus distance based on input from the optical elements. As a result, the camera lens may be moved only once, directly to the desired focus position. Such an approach, however, requires relatively expensive optical components.
Yet another approach determines a focus distance using ultrasonic pulses. For example, Polaroid developed a module that emits ultrasonic pulses and measures the delay of the corresponding return signals. A disadvantage of this approach, however, is that the required hardware is relatively bulky and expensive.
A further approach that may be used involves determining a focus distance using light pulses. For example, surveying equipment emits an infrared laser, receives a corresponding reflection via a photodiode detector, and then determines a distance to the target object based on the received reflection. Using a laser enables measuring long distances with a high degree of accuracy. This approach, however, requires receiving a narrow beam from a target object, and is not effective for a broad-beam, multiple-return path situation, as may be needed for photography.

Using light pulses to implement auto-focus in a digital camera

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A press die for producing a clay roof tile, including a first die half and a second die half, which can move between a pressing position, in which they define a receiving space that represents the form of the finished roof tile, and a filling position, in which they are mutually spaced and the receiving space can be filled with a plastically deformable clay material. At least one of the first and the second die half has at least one depression which represents a projecting part of the finished roof tile; a first compression element is provided at the depression, and movable between an initial position, in which it is retracted in relation to the form of the finished roof tile, and a compacting position, in which some sections of the first compression element represent the surface of the finished roof tile.

Roof tiles are usually produced using the wet pressing method. In this method, clay and loam are extracted from a pit, subsequently mixed, processed, and stored in a sump house, fully prepared for production. From the processed clay mixture, first of all an endless clay column is extruded by an extrusion press, said clay column subsequently being cut into what are known as slugs. In a revolving press, into which plaster molds for respectively molding the top side and underside of the roof tile have been introduced, the slug is given a shape corresponding to the roof tile. Following the pressing operation, the roof tile already has what is known as green strength, which makes it possible to remove the green roof tile from the plaster mold, to stack it on a drying frame and feed it for drying in this state. The green roof tile is dried over a period of 24 to 60 hours at a temperature of preferably between 80° C. and 120° C. In the process, the moisture content of the roof tile generally reduces to less than 4%. If the surface of the roof tile is intended to be engobed or glazed, in order to achieve different colors, the roof tiles are first of all separated for the surface coating, then placed on tile cranks and subsequently stacked together with the tile cranks in the tunnel kiln car. The firing operation takes place in the tunnel kiln over a period of 24 to 36 hours at a temperature of between 980° C. and 1100° C. The fired roof tiles are then unloaded from the tunnel kiln car, detached from the tile cranks and fed for packaging.
In order to comminute the constituents of the clay and the loam during raw-material processing, to homogenize same and in order to later obtain a clay mixture that is plastically deformable for the extrusion operation, water is added to the clay mixture several times. The clay stored in the sump house has a moisture content of about 15% to 18%, which is increased to 18% to 20% by further addition of water shortly before the extrusion press.
During the pressing operation, it is necessary to ensure that the water combined with the clay mixture can escape from the clay and from the press mold. If the water does not escape, it remains in the clay mixture and leaves pores in the fired roof tile, which reduce the freeze thaw resistance of the roof tile. Therefore, the press molds are produced from plaster and equipped with drainage lines so that water can be withdrawn from the clay on account of the hygroscopic properties of the plaster. The service lives of plaster molds are short, and so the plaster molds of the revolving press have to be replaced frequently, resulting in production interruptions. Moreover, the separate production of the plaster molds is labor-intensive and expensive.
A further drawback is that, after pressing, the roof tile still has a high moisture content of around 18%. The water still present in the clay has to be withdrawn from the green roof tile again during drying, in order to achieve a moisture content, admissible for the firing operation, of less than 2%. The considerable water withdrawal results in high shrinkage and thus in drying defects and deformations in the roof tiles.
The drying of the roof tiles is also associated with high investment costs, since the acquisition costs of a dryer and the space requirement of such an installation are very high. Furthermore, the charging of the dryer is associated with high handling effort. During operation, the dryer causes considerable energy costs on account of the long drying times and the high drying temperatures.
In order to remedy the drawbacks associated with the wet pressing method, DE 195 26 849 A1 proposes producing roof tiles using the dry pressing method. In this case, the clay from the pit is fed to interim storage via feeders, pan mill, rolling mills and mixers. Granules are then produced from this processed, developed, earth-moist clay, in that first of all thin clay columns are extruded, which, after exiting the extruder, are cut up into small shaped bodies and are covered with dry clay dust, producing moist clay granules with an enormously large surface area, which dry quickly. This results in predried, pourable but still plastically deformable granules, which are pressed in a press to form a green roof tile.
On account of the drying of the granules, the green roof tiles have very low residual moisture content, and so, instead of plaster molds with a short service life, steel press molds can be used. Furthermore, no or only very brief drying of the green roof tiles before the firing operation is necessary. Since the water withdrawal has already taken place before the pressing operation, the main shrinkage takes place in the granules and not, as in wet pressing, during the drying of the green roof tiles. Therefore, drying defects no longer arise, which can become noticeable by warpage during the firing of the roof tiles.
However, the use of steel molds has not proved itself in the production of roof tiles. In order to fulfill their function on the roof, roof tiles usually have protrusions, for example top and side folds, lugs for hanging the roof tile on the roof battens, reinforcement ribs or stacking points. In order to mold the protrusions on the roof tile, the depth of the steel mold in the region of the protrusions has to be much greater than in other regions. Although these recesses in the mold are filled with clay material, for example clay granules, during the filling of the press mold, this clay material is compacted less during the pressing operation. As a result, the roof tiles have lower green strength and greater porosity in the region of the protrusions, such that, during demolding and subsequently on account of freeze thaw effects, crack formation or breaking off of the protrusion can often occur.

Press die and method for producing a roof tile


A shipping label that also functions as a packing list comprises a packet having a self-adhesive feature for attaching it to a shipping package with the same security of nonremovability as a standard shipping label. The packing list forms which are under the covering layer of the packet are multilayer composites that stick to the carton when applied but leave the sticky layer when pulled away. The packing list form has a place for the shipping address. The covering layer for the packet is opaque with a clear window overlaying the shipping address area. A packet may contain a plurality of packing list forms stuck one on top of the other. When each packing list form is pulled up it leaves a nonstick film on the one below it.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improvements in the labeling of packages which are shipped through the mail and, more particularly, pertains to new and improved packing lists and shipping labels.
2. Description of Related Art
In the field of labeling of packages to be shipped through the mails, it has been the practice to employ a separate and distinct shipping label to carry the shipping address and a separate and distinct packing list which is fastened to the exterior of the package by a see-through pouch which carries the packing list and is fastened by a self-adhesive layer to the package.
This type of labeling functions satisfactorily in the field. However, it requires, for the most part, human intervention for attaching the items to the package, as well as filling in the required information on the shipping label and the packing list.
There have been attempts to combine the function of an invoice with the function of an address label by creating a multilayered paper packet with carbonless paper, which would allow printing of the top sheet, which serves as an address label, and also print the invoice sheet underneath. These labeling packets are normally printed on a continuous web impact printer. They would be attached to a package by means of a self-adhesive backing.
These packets are made out of paper and are susceptible to being damaged by the normal rough handling that is typical of the mail transport system. As a result, an additional standard address label is required to be placed on a package containing these invoice packets. The concern is that if the invoice is inadvertently torn, the internal invoice sheet would be lost and the package would no longer contain an address.
The present invention alleviates all these concerns by providing a shipping label that also functions as a packing list which can be preprinted completely by computer-driven machinery and attached to the package by automated labelling equipment.

Packing list and shipping label combination


A photovoltaic device including a substrate, a first electrode layer provided on the substrate, a photoelectric conversion layer provided on the first electrode, and a second electrode layer provided on the photoelectric conversion layer. A discontinuous interfacial layer is provided at at least one of the interfaces between a first conductivity type layer and a photoactive layer provided in the photoelectric conversion layer, between the photoactive layer and a second, opposite conductivity type layer of the photoelectric conversion layer, and between the photoelectric conversion layer and the second electrode layer. The at least one interface provided with the discontinuous interfacial layer may be so textured that portions of the interface not provided with interfacial layers project toward the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photovoltaic device for converting light energy to electrical energy.
2. Description of the Background Art
Among the factors for evaluating characteristics of a photovoltaic device, photoelectric conversion efficiency shows the degree of conversion of light energy to electrical energy.
In order to improve such photoelectric conversion efficiency, studies have generally been made relating to (1) optimizing the thickness of the semiconductor layer contributing most to photoelectric conversion and (2) reducing the electrical resistance of the electrodes.
Further, the shapes of the employed materials have also been studied for improving the photoelectric conversion efficiency. In other words, studies have been made of the texture morphology of interfaces between respective layers forming a photovoltaic device for improving the photoelectric conversion efficiency.
FIG. 13 is a sectional view showing a conventional photovoltaic device. Referring to FIG. 13, a transparent front electrode 2 which is formed by a transparent conductive film of tin oxide or the like is provided on a transparent substrate 1 of glass or the like. A photoelectric conversion layer 3 is provided on the front electrode 2. The interface 2a between the photoelectric conversion layer 3 and the front electrode 2 has a textured contour. The photoelectric conversion layer 3 is mainly formed of a p-type semiconductor layer 3p of an amorphous silicon carbide, a photoactive layer 3i of intrinsic amorphous silicon, and an n-type semiconductor layer 3n of amorphous silicon. In this photovoltaic device, a buffer layer 3b of amorphous silicon carbide is provided between the p-type semiconductor layer 3p and the photoactive layer 3i for improving interface characteristics. A back electrode 4 of aluminum or chromium is provided on the photoelectric conversion layer 3.
This photovoltaic device operates as follows:
Light 5 which is incident upon the photovoltaic device through the transparent substrate 1 passes through the front electrode 2, to enter the photoelectric conversion layer 3. At this time, the light 5 is so scattered by the textured surface 2a of the front electrode 2 that its traveling direction is bent by such scattering even if the light is incident perpendicularly to the surface of the transparent substrate 1.
As a result, the light 5 obliquely passes through the photoelectric conversion layer 3, whereby the optical path length thereof is so increased that a large amount of the light is absorbed by the photoelectric conversion layer 3. With respect to long wavelength light which is hardly absorbed in general and requires a relatively large optical path length for absorption, the amount of absorption is so increased as to improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the photovoltaic device.
IEEE Electron Device Letters, vol. EDL-4, No. 5, May 1983pp. 157 to 159 describes in detail such a photovoltaic device which is provided with a front electrode 2 having a textured surface 2a.
In order to improve the degree of scattering in the aforementioned structure utilizing scattering caused by the textured shape of the interface 2a between the front electrode 2 and the photoelectric conversion layer 3, however, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the front electrode 2. The increase in thickness leads to increase in light loss based on light absorption by the material of the front electrode 2. Therefore, such a structure must be designed taking into account the balance between improvement of characteristics caused by light scattering and loss by light absorption.
In addition to the aforementioned optical path length, photoelectric conversion efficiency is influenced by recombination of carriers in the interface between semiconductor layers. In a photoelectric conversion layer, charge carriers are recombined at interfaces between semiconductor layers and the photoactive layer. Since p-type and n-type semiconductor layers are generally inferior in film quality to an intrinsic semiconductor layer of amorphous silicon, charge carriers such as electrons are easily recombined at interfaces formed by such semiconductor layers. In a photovoltaic device including such interfaces, therefore, carriers disappear to reduce photoelectric conversion efficiency. Such recombination of carriers is also caused at a junction between different types of materials, such as an interface between a metal back electrode and a photoelectric conversion layer, for example.


A dielectric ceramic composition that contains, as its main constituent, (Ba1-x-yCaxSry)(Ti1-z-wZrzHfw)O3 (in the formula, 0≦x+y≦0.2, 0≦z+w≦0.1), and contains CuO and Bi2O3, and the dielectric ceramic composition has a feature that the total content of the CuO and Bi2O3 is 10 parts by weight or more with respect to 100 parts by weight of the main constituent, and the molar ratio CuO/(CuO+Bi2O3) is 0.5 or less.

First, with reference to the FIGURE, a laminated ceramic capacitor 1 will be described as a typical example of a laminated ceramic electronic component according to this invention.
The laminated ceramic capacitor 1 includes a laminated body 2 configured with the use of a plurality of dielectric ceramic layers 3 stacked and a plurality of internal electrodes 4 and 5 formed along the specific interfaces between the dielectric ceramic layers 3.
First and second external electrodes 8 and 9 are formed in different positions from each other on the outer surface of the laminated body 2. The laminated ceramic capacitor 1 shown in the FIGURE has the first and second external electrodes 8 and 9 formed respectively on respective end surfaces 6 and 7 of the laminated body 5 opposed to each other. The internal electrodes 4 and 5 include the plurality of first internal electrodes 4 electrically connected to the first external electrode 8 and the plurality of second internal electrodes 5 electrically connected to the second external electrode 9, and these first and second internal electrodes 4 and 5 are arranged alternately with respect to the stacking direction. If necessary, first plating layers 10, 11 and second plating layers 12, 13 are formed on the surfaces of the external electrodes 8 and 9.
In particular, the reduction in size is required for laminated ceramic capacitors, and an approach in which dielectric ceramic green sheets and internal electrode layers are stacked and then subjected to firing at the same time is thus adopted in the production process. For the internal electrodes of the laminated ceramic capacitors, base metals such as Ni are used for reduction in cost.
In recent years, with the further progress in layer thickness reduction for dielectric ceramic layers, the layer thickness reduction for internal electrodes has been also accelerated. However, the reduction in layer thickness for internal electrodes has a problem that the coverage of the internal electrodes is likely to be decreased by spherically agglomerated metal particles, thus creating a need for firing at lower temperatures.
In addition, the demand of various characteristics for laminated ceramic electronic components has also created a need to use a wide variety of metals such as Ag and Cu as metals for internal electrodes. This reason has also created a need for firing at lower temperatures.
Thus, there has been a need for ceramic materials which are able to be fired at low temperatures, and exhibit excellent dielectric characteristics.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a barium titanate based dielectric ceramic composition which is suitable for multilayer substrates and laminated ceramic capacitors, and states that the composition is able to be fired at 1000° C. or less.
In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses a barium titanate based dielectric ceramic composition which is suitable for laminated ceramic substrates, and states that the composition is able to be fired at 1000° C. or less.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-290940
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-132606

Dielectric ceramic composition and laminated ceramic electronic component


A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate; a first insulating film that is formed over the semiconductor substrate; a capacitor that is formed over the first insulating film and is formed by sequentially stacking a lower electrode, a capacitor dielectric film, and an upper electrode; a second insulating film that is formed over the capacitor and has a hole including the entire region of the upper electrode in plan view; and a conductor plug that is formed in the hole and contains tungsten.

Various types of semiconductor devices such as electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs) and ferroelectric random access memories (FeRAMs) are known as semiconductor devices from which data does not disappear even after a power supply is stopped.
Among such semiconductor devices, EEPROMs store data by storing charge in a floating gate, and are widely used in the form of a flash memory. However, when EEPROMs are irradiated with radiation, the charge in the floating gate easily flows to the outside, and thus EEPROMs have low radiation resistance.
On the other hand, FeRAMs store data not by utilizing stored charge but by making the direction of polarization of a ferroelectric film correspond to "0" or "1". Accordingly, FeRAMs have higher resistance to radiation than the EEPROMs do.
In the medical field, high-energy gamma rays are used for sterilizing medical appliances. Furthermore, devices used in nuclear power plants or outer space are also exposed to radiation having high energy, such as an electron beam or a neutron beam.
By further enhancing the radiation resistance of FeRAMs, products that may be used under such high-energy radiation may be provided, and furthermore, a new market of FeRAMs may be developed.
For example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 05-343617 discloses a semiconductor memory device.

Semiconductor device and method for producing the same


An aspect for implementing a hash function with content-based salt includes identifying a data block (block b) of a given size, dividing the data block into x number of segments, selecting y number of bytes from each of the segments, totaling y_total bytes, and performing a bitwise and/or on a z number of the y_total bytes. The bitwise and/or operation produces S(b). An aspect further includes calculating a hash function on the data block producing a number of bytes hash. The hash function results in a hash value (H′(b)). An aspect also includes calculating the hash function on a concatenation of the hash value and S(b).

Most hashing functions produce outputs of a fixed length regardless of the content to which a selected hash function is applied. It is known that in certain circumstances, hashing two separate entities can produce the same result, which is referred to as a collision. Thus, it is desirable to adopt new and improved security measures to safeguard data.


Systems and methods include interactive concierge shops wherein an initial web page displays at least one active link associated with a rental property wherein a registered property owner having a rental management contract with a local vacation rental company, a host, and a computer user are each third parties with respect to one other; and, using retrieved data from each of the registered property owner, the host, and the computer user, the concierge shops generate and transmit to a web browser of the computer user a subsequent web page that displays information associated with the locally managed rental property including a view of the property corresponding to the information.

Conventional vacation rental websites are passive and lack functionality. Such sites do not assure customers of professional services or satisfaction. Moreover, owners of properties posted on conventional vacation rental websites are often inaccessible when guests have problems with the rental properties. To make matters worse, a guest or renter may have to wait for days to have an issue resolved, but ruined vacation time is irreplaceable.
What is needed in the industry is a website that will provide renters with locally professionally managed rental properties and much needed functionality such as dynamic mapping when a user "mouses" over a potential destination location to highlight the destination and display the location to the user. The needed website should organize potential destination pages to permit the user to navigate to the destination and to upload the destination when selected by the user. The website should offer users a search-and-suggest feature and provide a property owner an ability to upload rental contracts, logos, photographs, website addresses and other information in real time.
The desired website should also offer the owner or agent an ability to allow a user to view other properties listed by the owner or agent. The needed website should be fast, efficient and easy to use by consumers, rental agencies and property owners alike.

Methods of reserving and managing vacation rental properties


An insulation film on a substrate is subjected to a plasma treatment using a gas containing at least either of a CH-based gas and a CO-based gas, whereby variations in the dielectric constant of the insulation film and adsorption of water onto the insulation film can be suppressed.

The present invention relates to a plasma treatment method and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, and particularly to a plasma treatment method for treating a surface of an insulation film and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device by applying the plasma treatment method.
In recent years, attendant on the increase in the degree of integration of semiconductor integrated circuit devices (LSI), the wiring process technology has been becoming more and more important in relation to high-speed operations of the LSI. This is because it has come to be conspicuous that the wiring delay time is greater than the gate delay time due to the miniaturization of semiconductor devices.
For suppressing the wiring delay time, it may be necessary to reduce the capacitance between wirings or to lower the wiring resistance. In addition, since the miniaturization of semiconductor devices is attended by an increase in current density, an enhanced countermeasure against electro migration (EM) may also be needed. Then, it is considered that, for meeting these requirements, it is important to introduce of a multi-layer wiring technology in which a copper (Cu) wiring and a low dielectric constant layer insulation film are used.
The Cu wiring shows an electric resistance of about ⅔ times that of an aluminum alloy wiring according to the system in related art. Therefore, Cu is a material with which a reduction in wiring resistance can be realized. In addition, Cu is a material which promises a higher electro migration durability than that of the Al alloy wiring. Therefore, introduction of the Cu wiring into practical products has already begun.
As a method for forming a Cu wiring, the Damascene process is generally used. A method of forming a Cu wiring by use of the Damascene process will be described below. First, a trench is formed in a layer insulation film such as an SiO2 film by application of a photolithography technique and an etching technique. Thereafter, an opening portion is formed in a stopper layer for connection between a lower-layer wiring and a contact. Then, a barrier metal film for preventing diffusion of Cu into the inside of the layer insulation film inclusive of the inside of the trench is formed, in the manner of filling up the trench with Cu. Thereafter, the surplus Cu film on the layer insulation film is removed by use of a CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) process or the like. As a result, the Cu wiring by use of the Damascene process is completed.
In order to reduce the capacitance between wirings in the Cu wiring as above-mentioned, an SiOCH film, an SiOF film, organic insulation films and the like which are lower in dielectric constant than a silicon oxide (SiO2) film have been being developed and put to practical use as a layer insulation film.
The low dielectric constant film as above can be obtained by lowering the polarizability of the material, but the use of only the lowering of polarizability has a limit. In view of this, it is considered to be necessary to lower the dielectric constant by making the film porous in structure. Recently, attention has been paid to the development of a low dielectric constant film obtained by making porous a film of a low dielectric constant material.

Plasma treatment method and method of manufacturing semiconductor device


The invention relates to a feed pump for supplying lubricant to at least one lubricating point, with at least one driving module and at least one pump module. Each driving module and each pump module is selected from a modular system which comprises a plurality of driving modules and/or a plurality of pump modules which each have at least one connecting region. In this case, the connecting regions are matched to one another in such a manner that the at least one driving module can be exchanged for at least one further driving module and/or the at least one pump module can be exchanged for at least one further pump module.

The invention pertains to a feed pump for supplying lubricant to at least one lubricating point which features at least one driving module and at least one pump module. The invention furthermore pertains to a modular pump system for a feed pump of this type.
Feed pumps for supplying lubricants such as, for example, lubricating grease or oil usually feature a pump element that is formed, for example, by a delivery piston that supplies the lubricant to a lubricating point, as well as a drive element that is assigned to this pump element and serves for actuating the pump element. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,736,292 B2 discloses a grease pump in which a pneumatically actuated driving element in the form of a piston is arranged in a common housing with a pump element realized in the form of a delivery piston. If the pump element and/or the driving element needs to be exchanged due to a defect, it is imperative that a specific pump element or driving element suitable for this purpose be used. Consequently, replacement parts that are specially adapted to different feed pumps must be available. In addition, feed pumps of this type are designed for a certain operating mode, e.g., due to the pneumatically or hydraulically operated driving element, and cannot be readily driven, e.g., mechanically and/or electrically. Known feed pumps are furthermore designed for a certain lubricant.


The present invention is directed to a method for producing polymeric fibers with improved anti-static properties and deep dyeability. The method employs anti-static agents that are solid, waxy substances at room temperature. The anti-static agent is pulverized and combined with a carrier to form a dispersion and injected into the throat of a spinning extruder. Polymeric material is added to the extruder and heated with the anti-static agent to form a melt. The melt is then extruded to form the polymeric fiber. Alternatively, the molten anti-static agent is melted and fed through heated lines into a spinning extruder. Polymeric material is added to the extruder and heated with the anti-static agent to form a melt. The melt is then extruded to form the polymeric fiber.

The propensity of synthetic fibers to develop a static charge is a well known phenomenon. Static electricity is generated when two relatively non-conducting surfaces, such as those of synthetic fibers, come into close contact and are rubbed together. This leads to a continuous flow of electrons in both directions across the two surfaces. 0n separation the electron distribution on the surfaces is disturbed; one surface retaining more electrons than in its normal state acquires a negative charge and the other an equivalent positive charge.
Static can be controlled by eliminating the charge generation or by increasing the rate of charge dissipation. Due to the hydrophobicity of synthetic fibers, the synthetic fibers are not able to dissipate the generated electricity. Most anti-static treatments attempt to increase the hygroscopicity, (i.e. the ability of fibers to adsorb moisture from the air), to increase the rate of charge dissipation.
Anti-static treatments for synthetic fibers and fabrics generally include spray-on treatments applied to fibers after the fiber is extruded or to fabrics, after the fabric is woven or knitted.
For synthetics or polymeric materials, such as polyamide, anti-static treatment may also be achieved by mixing large quantities (20%-50%) of an anti-static agent with caprolactam in a polymerization vessel during the polymerization reaction of polyamide to produce a "master batch" of polyamide containing anti-static agent. The anti-static polyamide fiber is then produced by blending the "master batch" with virgin polyamide chips in a blender or tumbler.
However, this method has serious drawbacks as the concentration of anti-static agent is batch dependent and varies according to the requirements of the specific batch. The anti-static containing polyamide chips of the "master batch" do not blend uniformly with the virgin polyamide and the anti-static properties of the extruded fiber are not uniform. Also, this anti-static treatment to polyamide requires elaborate and expensive spinning equipment to control or regulate the rate of addition of anti-static agent. Examples of such equipment include side arm extruders and colortronics.
The present invention provides a method for addition of an anti-static agent to molten polymeric material contained in a spinning extruder without the use of equipment such as a side arm extruder. According to the method of the present invention, an anti-static agent that is solid at room temperature, is melted and added to the molten polymeric material. The method is an improvement over the prior art, as it provides an accurate and efficient method for addition of an anti-static agent to a spinning extruder, without the use of expensive equipment.
Unexpected results are achieved when fibers or fabrics are treated with the anti-static agent according to the present invention. These unexpected advantages include improved stability of the fabric to ultraviolet light, significantly improved dye lightfastness and improved dye uptake, resulting in deeper dyeing, in comparison to untreated control samples.

Method for producing polymeric fibers with improved anti-static properties and fibers and fabrics produced thereby


A method for sharing data between an occasionally connected device and a remote global database is disclosed. The occasionally connected device receives data from a remote global database. The data is accessed by a user in an online mode. The data is stored in the form of one or more screen instances in a local database of the occasionally connected device. The one or more screen instances capture contents of a screen accessed by the user, and the one or more screen instances are last viewed instances of the screen accessed by the user. Further, the one or more screen instances are updated in the offline mode by querying the local database of the occasionally connected device. The one or more updated screen instances are synchronized with the remote global database to update the data stored in the remote global database corresponding to the one or more screen instances.

Offline clients and Occasionally Connected Devices (OCDs) need a way to persist changes carried out locally while they are offline. Once they are online these changes can be streamed to the remote server for further processing and storage. There are several reasons a client or a device may need to be offline. For example, in modern day scenario, though internet connectivity is available in most public places but may be unavailable in certain client locations for the sake of security. Another reason to accomplish a set of actions offline and then synchronize the changes with the remote server is to lessen the load on the remote server trying to support several users logged in at once. Also since offline activities are accessing local storage there is a performance improvement over fully connected devices which are always connected to the remote server and need to access remote storage.
US20090171679 filed by Salgado et al. teaches that architecture for uninterrupted access to business data by enabling work on rich client machines to be stored in a local business data cache that is always available. A dispatching mechanism executes read/write requests against the local cache transparently to a client application, an automatic synchronization mechanism propagates changes bi-directionally when the client goes online and a live connection with the corresponding backend data source is available. A declarative data access model is employed based on operation stereotyping and grouping that enables client applications to transparently execute create, read, update, delete, query (CRUDQ) and association operations against the local cache as if executed against the actual business data source. The architecture supports the offline creation of entities and sets of related entities when the entity identifiers are generated by the business data source and offline navigation of entity associations when foreign keys are not present in the related entities. It supports the concept of offline behavior and improves the performance of the offline or thin client. However, the database used in this invention is structural replica of the RGDb, so it consumes more footprint memory of the device and more complex to maintain structural replica of the RGDb in the offline or thin client.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,546,286 filed by Dickinson et al teaches that methods, systems and computer products are provided for allowing bi-directional communication between a database application and a remote data source and for allowing updating of data on a remote data source with data edited or created at a client site remote from the remote data source during an offline data editing or entry session via a client database application. It supports the concept of offline behavior and improves the performance of the offline or thin client. However, the database used in this invention is relational at the RGDb, so creating and maintaining all relationships which are present in the RGDb within the local database are prohibitive in enterprise applications.
In case of data sharing between multiple hosts and data servers, for efficient data sharing a light and easily maintainable local database deployment on the OCD is desirable. The said lightweight local database preferably be created and maintained locally. The general data management practices followed in the industry, especially for data sharing and dissemination includes enterprise applications having thousands of tables and terabytes of data on their remote servers. The local databases on the clients need to be populated with very user specific and context specific data. This particular need is address in the prior art and is being commercially practiced, wherein the local database on an OCD is instantiated as a replica of the RGDb in of the form of its structures and contents. This particular practice of replication of an instance of the RGDb on the OCD, upon querying by the user thereof, though useful, is not an efficient means. Precisely, taking into consideration the computational limitations of the OCD, the replicas so created on the OCD. This results in large and complicated database locally which would be very sparsely populated.
Another significant technical aspect in data sharing is of updating the databases at both the ends. The changes made to the RGDb either in terms of structures or contents would have to be usually repeated locally, the said operation is accomplished by means of replication in the prior art. This operation would prove to be prohibitive for applications with large user bases. Microsoft Sync Framework is one of the commercial systems available in the market which typically exemplifies the solutions offered for updation. The product details are available at http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/sync.
The Microsoft Sync Framework is a tool to synchronize databases. It works between client servers or peer to peer setups. The sync framework is capable of synchronizing between relational databases. It is also capable of synchronizing between data sources such as XML files which are non-relational. Synchronizing screen based storage in non relational objects is possible using this technology. Synchronizing databases between client server setup is successfully, though not efficiently, implemented in the prior art. However, synchronization in a peer to peer environment is difficult to implement because of context specific and user specific data that is stored in the local database. Microsoft Sync Framework follows an approach of synchronize databases of peer computers connected to the network. These solutions are preferably suited to fully connected devices which have thick clients. For occasionally connected clients and thin clients, the synchronization offers technical problems of deployment and performance.
In one of the state of arts in this technology, Google Inc's product 'Google Gears' is recommended only for private computers because the database is used weren't encrypted. Google has launched and still in use 'SQLite' for local storage and for Gmail offline client (i.e. OCD). Hence, there is a strong requirement for encrypted databases.
The solution to the problems of deployment and performance improvement for OCD and thin clients are not being satisfactorily addressed in the prior-art. Alternatively, Adobe Air can be bundled with a SQLite database for creation and maintenance of the local database. This is done by inserting SQL statements within the Action Script code of the application. The application database in this case is stored in a single file at a designated location in the memory, thus offering quick access to the data and resolving the performance improvement issues. However, the said practice fails to simulate the structure of the actual full fledge database and still have issues related to deployment and maintenance of relations and DDL objects.
Therefore, while offline the OCDs perhaps are not capable to exploit the relational support and data accessibility features extended to it while it is online. Hence, there is an urgent need of an alternate solution for local deployment and maintenance of the database at the OCD. The solutions taught in the prior art for having an efficient local database deployment and maintenance specially for OCDs as well as offline/mobile/thin clients which are synchronizable with the RGDb have shortcomings from deployment, maintenance, and performance perspective.
More particularly, the shortcomings are that the local database is the structural replicas of the RGDb. If very user and context specific data was brought to the local database then the local database may be sparsely populated, but, the overheads of creating and maintaining all relationships which are present in the RGDb are prohibitive in an Enterprise application scenario where thousands of users would be having offline databases which would need to be centrally synchronized with the RGDb in terms of its structures. Yet another shortcoming with the prior art is concerning the use of replica databases, with the use of replica database at the OCD, the local database doesn't remain a light weight, which further adds to affecting the run time performance of the local database in online as well as in offline mode of operations.
Thus, in the light of the above mentioned prior art, it is evident that for run time performance enhancement, simple deployment, and maintenance, there is a need to create lightweight local databases for as OCD including future smart data access devices, mobile/thin/offline clients. Yet another urgent requirement is achieving optimum synchronization while sharing of data between the OCD and the RGDb.

System and method for sharing data between occasionally connected devices and remote global database


An exemplary computer-implementable method includes receiving a test specification document file for a software product wherein the test specification document file includes mark-up language, calling for storage of the test specification document file in a test database, parsing the mark-up language, creating test information for manual test variations based at least in part on the parsing of the mark-up language, outputting a list of at least some of the manual test variations, receiving manual test result information based on execution of at least one of the manual test variations on the software product and calling for storage of the manual test result information in the test database. Various other exemplary methods, devices, systems, etc., are also disclosed.

Software development is typically an ongoing process that can extend over a period of years. During software development, software engineers may test or revise software code. Revised code or builds may perform differently, include new features or no longer support old features. Test specifications should account for such changes where necessary or desired. Further, test specifications should be linked to test results to provide a complete historical record of the software development process. While tools exist to develop or update test specifications, a need exists for better management of tests, especially manual tests performed by testers or software developers.
Various exemplary methods, devices, systems, etc., described herein pertain to management of tests, including management of test data. Such exemplary technology is particularly suited to managing manual tests and results thereof.


A GPS receiver for tracking a GPS signal. The receiver generates a mixed GPS signal by mixing the GPS signal with an oscillator signal, generates a first correlation signal by correlating the mixed GPS signal with a reference signal, and generates a filtered GPS signal from the GPS signal. The receiver also generates a filtered reference signal from the reference signal, generates a second correlation signal by correlating the filtered GPS signal with the filtered reference signal, and a generates a combined correlation signal by combining the first correlation signal with the second correlation signal. The receiver tracks the GPS signal by adjusting the phase of the oscillator signal based on the combined correlation signal.

In conventional GPS receivers, a spread spectrum correlator correlates the received GPS signal with a reference signal. In multi-path environments, however, a line of sight (LOS) GPS signal is combined with delayed multi-path GPS signals which make it difficult to track the LOS signal. Conventional spread spectrum correlators are able to track the LOS GPS signal when the delays of the multi-path signals are greater than one code chip of the GPS coarse/acquisition (CA) code.
In certain multi-path environments (e.g. urban canyon environments), however, multi-path GPS signals may have delays of less than one code chip. In these multi-path environments, the conventional correlation peaks of the LOS and multi-path GPS signals smear together and are not distinguishable. Thus, the conventional correlator has difficulty resolving and tracking the LOS GPS signal.

Differentially coherent strobe correlator


A low-loss waveguide that can be curved aggressively, that is, curved with a radius of curvature that is substantially zero, in the plane of propagation, without radiating, is formed by a slab of dielectric material having four metal plates, two on each opposite surface of the slab and mutually spaced to define in the dielectric slab between the four metal plates a confinement zone. In use, electromagnetic radiation injected in one end of the zone by suitable input means will propagate throughout the zone to an extraction means. Lower loss and better confinement of the radiation may be obtained by providing plugs of dielectric material adjacent the inwardly-facing edge of each of the metal plates. Embodiments of the invention can be used to implement integrated optical devices and circuits for routing or processing light signals.

This specification refers to several published articles. For convenience, these articles are referenced in full in a numbered list at the end of the description and cited by number in the specification itself. The contents of these articles are incorporated herein by reference and the reader is directed to them for reference.
Fundamental difficulties in creating optical systems or components reside in the simple notions of confining, guiding and redirecting optical energy with relatively low loss, while consuming as little area as possible on a wafer or chip bearing the system or component. The area consumed depends directly on the ability of the chosen optical waveguide to redirect light through bending in the plane of propagation. The smaller the radius of curvature, the smaller the area required to change the direction of propagation. However, in general, as the radius of curvature is decreased beyond a minimum radius set by the waveguide design and operating wavelength, light radiates increasingly out of the waveguide, increasing the loss. Thus, in practice, the minimum radius sets a lower bound on the minimum area needed.
Dielectric waveguides, for example, can provide a nearly lossless means for mode confinement when straight (or bent only slightly) but become significantly radiative when bent aggressively [1-4]. When used in this specification in connection with optical waveguides, "bending aggressively" is intended to embrace bending radii that tend to substantially zero (r0→0). A surface plasmon-polariton (SPP) waveguide can support a mode that is long-range (low propagation loss) but has relatively low confinement, such that it radiates significantly when bent aggressively [5-11]; or that has relatively strong confinement and can be bent aggressively but has a relatively high propagation loss [12-16].
Years ago Yoneyama and Nishida disclosed a non-radiative dielectric (NRD) waveguide [17, 18] for use at microwave frequencies. As shown in FIG. 1, labelled PRIOR ART, their NRD waveguide comprises two metal plates with a core of dielectric material between them and air on either side of the core. When dimensioned properly, the NRD becomes non-radiative in the plane of propagation such that low-loss aggressive bends can be implemented.
The NRD has been worked on extensively over the years to produce many microwave integrated circuit devices [19, 20] and the possibility of using a similar structure at optical wavelengths has been considered. However, recent analysis of the NRD (and similar structures) at optical wavelengths [21,22] revealed that the modes experience relatively large propagation loss due to coupling to SPPs, and that they become highly deformed, and effectively unusable, when the waveguide is bent aggressively. The key benefits of the NRD at microwave frequencies are therefore lost when it is rescaled for optical use [22].


A new and distinct cultivar of Guzmania plant named xe2x80x98Amimosaxe2x80x99 particularly characterized by bright multi-yellow inflorescence with contrasting red tips and red-green scape bracts; 4-6 branch spikes, each containing approximately 10 flowers; approximately 60 flowers or flower buds present; stiff, leathery, glossy, dark green leaves.

Latin name of the genus and species of the plant claimed: Guzmania squarrosa.
Variety denomination: xe2x80x98Amimosaxe2x80x99.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Guzmania. A genus within the family bromeliaceae, hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Amimosaxe2x80x99.
The new cultivar was a naturally occurring whole plant mutation discovered among a tissue culture derived group of xe2x80x98Tutti Fruttixe2x80x99, a patened cultivar (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,717). Guzmania comprise a genus of over 100 species of herbaceous evergreen perennials suitable for cultivation in home or under glass. Guzmania is native to tropical America. Guzmania are predominantly epiphytic with a few terrestrial species and are native to the tropics.
The species vary in diameter from 7 or 8 inches to 3 or 4 feet and have rosettes of glossy, smooth edged leaves. Floral bracts of Guzmania frequently have brillant colors and may last for many months. The range of flower colors for Guzmania is generally from the yellow through orange but may also include flame red and red purple. White or yellow, tubular, three petalled flowers may also appear on a stem or within the leaf rosette but are usally short lived. Guzmania may be advantageously grown as potted plants for greenhouse or home use.
The plants are shaded from direct sunlight during the spring to autumn period, the central vase-like part of the leaf rosette is normally filled with water.
Leaves of the Guzmania are usually formed as basal rosettes which are stiff and entire and in serveral ranks. Guzmania have terminal spikes or panicles which are often bracted with petals united in a tube about as long as the calyx.
Asexual propagation of Guzmania is frequently done through the use of tissue culture practices. Propagation can also be from off-shoots which are detached from the mother plant, and may be grown in a appropriate soil or bark mixture. The new cultivar xe2x80x98Amimosaxe2x80x99 is a mutation discovered by the inventors, Mitch Rabin and Luc Pieters, in March of 1998. The new cultivar was asexually propagated by off-shoots by the inventors in Laarne, Belgium and Homestead Fla., in July of 1998.
The new variety has also been asexually reproduced at Laarne, belgium, by means of tissue culture. Continuous asexual propagation has demostrated that the combination of characteristics as herin disclosed for the new cultivar xe2x80x98Amimosaxe2x80x99 are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction. The new cultivar reproduces true to type.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be basic characteristics of xe2x80x98Amimosaxe2x80x99 which in combination distinguish this Guzmania as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. bright multi-yellow inflorescence with contrasting red tips and red-green scape bracts;
2. 4-6 branch spikes, each containing approximately 10 flowers;
3. approximately 60 flowers or flower buds present;
4. stiff, leathery, glossy, dark green leaves.
Guzmania xe2x80x98Amimosaxe2x80x99 is similar to the patented cultivar xe2x80x98Tutti Fruttixe2x80x99 in all respects, except for the color of the bracts of the inflorescence. Guzmania xe2x80x98Tutti Fruttixe2x80x99 is characterized by it multi-orange color inflorescence. Compared to xe2x80x98Tutti Fruttixe2x80x99, the primary bracts of the new cultivar, Guzmania xe2x80x98Amimosaxe2x80x99 are bright yellow, with contrasting red tips and red-green scape bracts.
Guzmania xe2x80x98Amimosaxe2x80x99 has not been tested under all available environmental conditions and the phenotype may vary with variations in environmental conditions such as temperature, light intensity, day length and humidity without however, any variance in genotype.


A power saving system and method for the home appliances and home network devices is provided. The system provides an energy consumption monitoring and standby power saving system that is connected to home appliances and that may detect the amount of power consumed by corresponding home appliances. The system includes one or more energy saving nodes which approve application or shut-off power to a corresponding home appliances, and an energy saving server that is connected to each of the energy saving nodes and collects status information of the corresponding home appliances including said amount of power consumption from said nodes.

1. Field
The following description relates to a system and method for monitoring energy consumption and reducing standby power, and more particularly, to a system and method that are capable of shutting off passive standby power and active standby power that is unnecessarily consumed by home appliances and home network devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to the advancement of digital technology and network technology, home and information appliances are being developed to have various functions in trend with technological fusion and convergence. These home and information appliances may be spread widely throughout homes and offices. However, due to the fusion and convergence in functions and support for networking functions, these appliances not only consume communication standby power (or active standby power) without user's recognition, but also consume command queuing standby power (or passive standby power) without user's recognition. The power may be consumed through various ways such as waiting for a remote control input which is provided for user's convenience.
For example, in the case of a home, about 10 to 20% of total power consumption is consumed as standby power (passive and active). Due to the advance in home networking the weight of active standby power is increasing and such standby power is expected to increase to up to 20 to 40% of the total power consumption, of which about 70 to 80% is to be consumed by active standby power. Thus it is desirable to consume the active standby power in the future.
However, it is difficult for a user to determine when and how to consume electric power because it is difficult for the user to determine the amount of power consumed in a certain user's device for a specific period of time. Instead, the user only knows the total amount of power consumed, for example, based upon the monthly electric bill. Recently the demand of technology capable of assisting users to practice energy saving has been increasing.
To monitor the energy consumption for each appliance, only the digitalization of the meters, remote metering technology, and related equipments for measuring total amount of power consumed by the home and building units has been developed. However, the technology that is not capable of monitoring the power consumption for each appliance for a specific period of time.
For automatic shut-off of standby power, for example passive standby power, a user may shut the power off at a pre-determined time using, for example, a remote control, an outlet, a timer, and the like. However, an outlet having an automatic shut-off function has not been developed yet. Furthermore, technologies and products which can automatically shut-off active standby power have not been developed yet.
For power service providers, only remote metering technology has been developed. However, technologies to feedback the collected power consumption data through an interworking system with higher level power suppliers and service providers has not been developed yet.

System and methods for monitoring energy consumption and reducing standby power


A system includes a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) including a plurality of evaporator sections. At least one evaporator section includes a natural circulation evaporator configured to generate a saturated steam, a once-through evaporator configured to generate a first superheated steam, a first superheater configured to receive the saturated steam from the natural circulation evaporator, and a second superheater configured to receive the first superheated steam from the once-through evaporator.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to operating heat exchangers, and more particularly, to systems and methods for operating heat recovery steam generators.
Heat exchangers are used to transfer heat from one medium to another in a variety of industries. A heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) is an example of a heat exchanger that may be used in combined cycle power plants and similar plants. An HRSG may use gas turbine engine exhaust to heat a fluid flowing through heat exchangers in the HRSG, for example, to convert water into steam. In some configurations, the fluid may be steam used for high-pressure, intermediate-pressure, and/or low-pressure sections of a steam turbine.

System and method for heat recovery steam generators


A data replication system is disclosed in which replication functionalities between a host computer, an interconnecting computer network, and a plurality of storage devices are separated into host elements and a plurality of storage elements. The host computer is connected to one or more host elements. The host element is responsible for replicating data between the storage devices, which are each connected to an associated storage element, and for maintaining data consistency. Further, the host element instructs a storage element whose associated storage device does not contain up-to-date data to recover from another one of the plurality of storage elements and its associated storage device. The storage elements and their associated storage devices may be located in any combination of diverse or same geographical sites in a manner to ensure sufficient replication in the event of a site or equipment failure. The storage elements are responsible for executing read and write requests received from the host computer and for maintaining data consistency. When a storage element and its associated storage device is determined not to contain up-to-date data, recovery is effected by data transfer from one of the other storage elements and its associated storage device, that is indicated by the host element. Such recovery is done directly between the respective storage elements and associated storage devices, without transiting the data through the host element.

This invention relates to information storage systems.
Information is the most crucial asset of many businesses, and any disruption to the access of this information may cause extensive damage. Some businesses, such as banks, airlines (with e-tickets), auction sites, and on-line merchants, may actually stop functioning without access to their information. No matter how reliable a data center is, there can still be site failuresxe2x80x94floods, earthquakes, fires, etc. that can destroy the data stored on a storage device and any co-located backup media. Geographic replication is the only way to avoid service disruptions.
Geographic replication has challenges: performance needs to be maintained; different sites might run at different speeds, and have different latencies. Having multiple remote copies may increase reliability, but for most purposes the replicas need to be kept in sync, in real time. If a site fails and comes back on-line, its data need to be recovered without an excessive impact on the rest of the system.
There are three prior art approaches for providing highly reliable data storage by replication. A first approach is host replication, in which the host computer runs software that replicates the data between local and remote server. A host computer thus, before writing on its local storage device, sends the data to another remote host. The SUN Microsystems SNDR (see, e.g., Sun StoreEdge Network Data Replicator Software, available on the SUN website) and Veritas Software""s Volume Replicator (see, e.g., Veritas volume replicator: Successful replication and disaster recovery, available on the Veritas website) are examples of this approach. Disadvantageously, specific software must be loaded on each host computer and must be compatible with each host computer""s operating system. Further, specific file systems may need to be used for compatibility.
A second approach is storage device replication, in which the storage device replicates the data between a local and remote system. Rather than having a host send the data to another host for replication purposes, the storage device itself communicates with a remote storage device and insures that the data is properly replicated. In this approach, the host treats the remote storage device like it was a direct storage device. Thus, since the host is required to run no special software, it can run any operating system and can use any file system. Disadvantageously, the storage devices themselves that are used in this approach are complex and expensive since they need to perform functions beyond storing data. Further, all the storage devices need be similar since they must communicate with each other. The EMC Corporation""s Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF) product (see, e.g., Symmetrix Remote Data Facility product data sheet, available on the EMC website) uses this second approach. The SRDF provides only two choices for reliability: xe2x80x9csafexe2x80x9d access but not fast, in which the host only gets a response after the remote site has acknowledged the write, or xe2x80x9cfastxe2x80x9d access but not safe, in which the host can receive a positive acknowledgment for an update that eventually gets lost. Furthermore, while the data are safe, a site failure of the primary data site cannot be seamlessly hidden from the host.
A third approach to data replication is appliance replication, in which a storage appliance is connected to the host computer on one side and the multiple storage devices on the other side by means of a storage area network (SAN). The storage devices can be local and/or remote to the appliance or any combination. The appliance performs the replication and unburdens both the host and the storage devices. The appliance approach has the benefit of host and storage platform independence, which eases deployment of features and mixing different storage devices and hosts. Disadvantageously, a bottleneck can be created at the appliance when it needs to recover one copy of the data by moving it through the appliance between storage devices while simultaneously handling the replication of data from the host to the plural storage devices. The former will need to be performed whenever failure recovery takes place or whenever another copy of the data in one storage device is created in a newly connected storage device. Further, the above-noted SAN preferably connects the storage devices rather than a general-purpose network. An example of this third approach is Hewlett-Packard""s SANlink product (see, e.g., HP SANlink Overview and Features, available on the HP website). There are several variants to the third approach. Falconstor""s IPStor servers, for example, perform appliance replication, but they use an IP network to communicate with the host instead of a SAN. Falconstor requires the host to run a special device driver, which allows the host to communicate with the Falconstor server as if it was a disk via IP network (see, e.g., Falconstor""s IP Store Product Brochures available on the Falconstor website).
The present invention eliminates the problems associated with the prior art approaches. In accordance with the present invention, data replication functionalities between a host computer, an interconnecting network, and a plurality of storage devices are separated into host elements and a plurality of storage elements. One or more host elements are associated with the host computer and a storage element is associated with and connected to each of the plurality of storage devices. The network can be any computer network such as the Internet or an intranet. The host element is connected to the host computer and behaves, from the standpoint of the host computer, like a direct-attached disk. The host element is responsible for replicating data between the storage devices, and for maintaining data consistency. Further, the host element functions to instruct a storage element that does not contain up-to-date data in its associated storage device to recover that data from an indicated other one of the plurality of storage elements and its associated storage device. The storage elements and their associated storage devices may be located in any combination of diverse or same geographic sites in a manner to ensure sufficient replication in the event of a site or equipment failure. The storage elements are responsible for executing requests received from the host element and for maintaining data consistency. When a storage element and its associated storage device is determined not to contain up-to-date data, recovery is effected by data transfer from one of the other storage elements and its associated storage device, the identity of that other storage element being indicated by and received from the host element. Such recovery is done directly between the indicated other storage element and its associated storage device and the non up-to-date storage element and its associated storage device. Advantageously, by separating the work functions between the geographically separated host elements and storage elements, recovery between storage elements can be effected directly between these storage elements and their associated storage devices without moving data through the host element. Thus, data intensive manipulations of the data stored in the storage devices can be performed without host element involvement. Typical operations such as maintaining snapshots can be performed efficiently since multiple data exchanges need only take place between the storage device and the storage element and not over the network as in some prior art approaches. A further advantage of the present invention is that, since the host element is accessed like a local disk, the host computer does not require any hardware or software modifications. Thus, there are no dependencies upon any particular operating system or application running on the host.
In determining that a storage element and its associated storage device does not contain up-to-date data, the host element assigns consecutive sequence numbers to consecutive write requests from the host computer, which sequence number is sent along with the request from the host element to the storage elements. The storage element and its associated storage device is determined not to have up-to-date data when it fails to receive one or more recent write requests, or when a gap is detected in the sequence number of received write requests.

Redundant data storage and data recovery system


A needle guard (1) based upon a canting plate (6) becomes lockingly engaged with the needle (2) shaft both upon retraction of the needle tip within the guard (1), and upon any attempt to cause the needle tip to reemerge from the guard (1). The plate (6) is positioned to rotate into locking engagement with the shaft of the needle (2) both when an attempt is made to further withdraw the needle from the needle guard (1) and when an attempt is made to cause the needle tip to reemerge from the needle guard (1).

U.S. Pat. No. 6,280,419 describes a needle guard device that automatically engages with a needle when the tip of the needle is withdrawn into an enclosing volume or cavity contained within the protective device. The mechanism within the needle guard for engaging with the needle operates on the principle of a canting plate that has a hole through which the shaft of the needle passes. Before deployment of the guard, the plate carrying the hole is oriented perpendicularly to the axis of the needle shaft, and a tight sliding fit exists between the needle shaft and the perimeter of the hole. Once the tip of the needle has been withdrawn into the guard, the plate is caused by a spring to "cant" or rotate from its perpendicular orientation with respect to the needle shaft. By reason of the tight sliding fit between the shaft and the hole in the canting plate, the edge of the perimeter of the hole forcefully engages with the surface of the needle, preventing further retraction of the needle in the direction that would cause the canting plate to cant at an even further angle.
In the design of the needle guard of U.S. Pat. No. 6,280,419, the canting plate acts to arrest the needle shaft against further withdrawal of the needle shaft through the needle guard's cavity. The canting action described above occurs when the needle tip has been withdrawn into the cavity and a sensing arm connected to the canting plate is able to shift its position due to the retraction of the needle tip past an opening in a limb of the sensing arm through which the needle passes prior to the initiation of locking action.
In the specific design of the referenced patent, provision is made for a wire to be present, passing through the core of the needle and the body of the needle guard. As the needle guard and needle are retracted, they slide along this wire. To permit such movement to continue after the needle tip has entered within the cavity of the needle guard, the opening in the limb on the sensing arm is in the form of a slot. The bottom of the slot is large enough to permit passage of the needle shaft before the needle guard is deployed. The slot above the bottom is of a reduced width, sufficient to allow passage of the wire, but narrow enough to prevent the reemergence of the needle tip from the needle guard, once the needle tip has withdrawn from the hole in the limb of the sensing arm. The reemergence of the needle is prevented in this design by the presence of the sides of the limb on the sensing arm that define the borders of the slot. These sides remain in the path that the needle tip would have to follow if it were to attempt to re-emerge from the needle guard.
This system for preventing reemergence of the needle tip from the needle guard depends critically upon the engagement of the sidewall of the needle with the sides of the slot in the locking limb on the sensing plate. As the needle wall is of a relatively small thickness, this method for preventing reemergence of the needle tip does not provide maximum reliability.
The present invention provides a system for preventing reemergence of the needle tip which is an alternative to, and may be more reliable than, the system described above.
The invention in its general form will first be described, and then its implementation in terms of specific embodiments will be detailed with reference to the drawings following hereafter. These embodiments are intended to demonstrate the principle of the invention, and the manner of its implementation. The invention in its broadest and more specific forms will then be further described, and defined, in each of the individual claims which conclude this Specification.


A method for the determination of characteristic layer parameters by means of spectral-optical measurements, that allow for precise measurements of the sample temperature even under the conditions of industrial growth processes and furthermore avoids the detection of thermal radiation and reflected radiation by means of twofold phase sensitive frequency modulation by using so called chopper and lock-in amplifier respectively. The wobbling and/or rotating of the sample to be measured is compensated and/or the pyrometer optical path and the optical path of the spectral-optical system are guided separately of each other and/or a separation of the radiation signal for the temperature measurement and the radiation signal for the spectral-optical measurement is implemented by blanking of the irradiated light.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for the determination of characteristic layer parameters during the coating process by means of spectral-optical measurements.
2. Discussion of the Background
Measurements of layer thickness belong to the most important tools during quality control in the semiconductor production. Recently these measurements are not only carried out for quality assurance after the process steps, but also through real-time measurements during the coating processes. In this respect different spectroscopic-optical real-time processes are known.
Within these processes light is suitably irradiated on to the layer stack to be investigated and then measured either in reflection or in transmission. Typical measurement methods using perpendicular incidence of light are: transmission-spectroscopy and reflectance-anisotropy-spectroscopy (RAS). Typical measurement methods using oblique incidence of light are: ellipsometry and polarisation dependent photometry. The here produced change of the light intensity or the light phase caused by the layer structure is measured. This change of the light intensity or of the light phase can be described by physical laws and thus is an unequivocal function of the layer parameters, i.e. the layer thickness and the material used (Born/Wolf, Principles of Optics). By inversion of the arguments the single layer parameter can be determined using this functional dependence. As there is a non-linear dependence between the change in light intensity/light phase and the layer parameters, the mathematical determination is not performed by analytical calculations but by numerical program-algorithms as for example Marquardt-Levenberg, Simplex after Nelder & Meat (Numerical Recipes in C).
It is furthermore known, that the properties of all known layer materials (refraction index n, absorption index k) change with the wavelength of the light as well as in dependence of temperature. Therefore for high temperature processes, as for example a coating procedure, it is necessary to know exactly the temperature of the substrate to be coated (subsequently called sample) in order to analyse the spectroscopic-optical real-time measurement in a correct way. One possibility is to determine numerically the temperature because of the mathematical dependence from the changes in light intensity/light phase as well as an additional fit parameter. By doing that the sample temperature can be determined only with a precision of ±10 K. Unfavourable is, that also the precision of the characteristic layer parameter (for example the layer thickness) is strongly limited because of the mathematical implications.
For a more exact determination of the sample temperature and thereby of the layer parameters the use of pyrometers is known, because a direct temperature measurement, for example by using calibrated platinum resistance or other contact thermometer, as thermocouples, is not possible during a coating process.
As the thermal radiation that is measured in the pyrometer interferes at the growing layer, the measured radiation intensity depends not only on the temperature but also on the layer thickness. This leads to the fact, that the pyrometer signal oscillates during the coating process because of the changing layer thickness, even if the true temperature stays constant. However, this pyrometer signal can be corrected with respect to the emissivity of the sample, as known from DE 44 19 476 C2. Therefore suitable monochromatic light is irradiated on to a sample and from the reflected part the reflectance is determined. From this the emissivity εP of the sample is calculated according to known physical laws (it is assumed that the substrate to be coated is not transparent for the pyrometer wavelength). From the gained measuring data the absolute sample temperature can be determined with an accuracy of temperature measurement of ±1 K and better.
Only by this exact determination of the absolute temperature of the sample the selected layer parameters can be determined with an high accuracy by analysis of the reflected light.
However, using the method proposed in DE 44 19 476 C2 it is unfavourable that the superposed signals from thermal radiation and reflected radiation have to be separated in a complex manner before they can be measured and analysed. This detection of thermal radiation and reflected radiation that has necessarily to be performed separately is carried out in DE 44 19 476 C2 by a complex arrangement by means of twofold phase sensitive frequency modulation using so called chopper and lock-in amplifier. Because of this twofold modulation typical it is not possible to measure exactly industrial applications, which depend on a high resolution in time (as for example fast rotating samples in multi wafer reactors) because it is impossible to distinguish between sample carrier and sample due to the inevitably reduced resolution in time of the detection system. For this reason in WO 02/26435 A1 an arrangement was proposed, where a distinction between sample temperature and sample carrier temperature becomes possible by using a combination of several pyrometers. However, the simultaneous use of several pyrometers is a very complex and cost intensive solution as well.
Furthermore for all solutions proposed for the measurement of the sample temperature, it is disadvantageous that the emissivity of the sample, which influences the pyrometer signal, cannot be measured exactly under industrial conditions (rotating wobbling samples). This might possibly lead to an inaccurate measurement of the sample temperature along with an inaccurate determination of the characteristic layer parameters.

Method and apparatus for the determination of characteristic layer parameters at high temperatures

Laytec Gesellschaft Für In-Situ und Nano-Sensorik mbH


Ground fault circuit interrupter is provided, including a transformer, a protection switch, a residual current protection control unit, a residual current simulation unit and a self-test unit, wherein the self-test unit is coupled with the line where the protection switch is located; in a self-test state, the self-test unit is configured to control the residual current simulation unit to generate a simulated residual current, detect a level change on the line where the protection switch is located, and control the protection switch to be disconnected from the residual current protection control unit or to make the line where the protection switch is located be conducted after a preset protection time period of receiving the residual current signal higher than a preset operating threshold. Improper actions of the ground fault circuit interrupter caused by a large electromotive force generated when a simulated residual current disappears are avoided.

In a power supply system, a ground fault may occur due to various reasons. A ground fault in a line may cause a risk of electric shock for a person who contacts the line. Therefore, it is usually necessary to provide a ground fault circuit interrupter in the power supply system.
To ensure safety of the power supply system, it is necessary to periodically check whether functions of the ground fault circuit interrupter are normal. Therefore, in existing techniques, the ground fault circuit interrupter generally has a self-test function, so that an alarm is generated when a protection function of the ground fault circuit interrupter is abnormal. In some cases, there is a small residual current in power supply lines due to imbalance of a sensing coil, and as a result, the ground fault circuit interrupter may generate a false alarm when a simulated residual current generated by a self-test circuit has an opposite phase with that of the small residual circuit.
To solve the problem of false alarm of the ground fault circuit interrupter, in the existing techniques, when there is a small residual current in the power supply lines due to the imbalance of the sensing coil, a higher simulated residual current needs to be provided. However, the above solutions may cause a protection switch in a ground fault circuit interrupter to improperly open the power supply lines due to a too large induced electromotive force generated by a large simulated residual current when it disappears.

Ground fault circuit interrupter with self test

Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics Group Company Limited


In one embodiment, a first device sends a request to a second device, the request causing a dialog to be displayed on the first device. The second device selects a rendered dialog template corresponding to the dialog; constructs a web page that includes the rendered dialog template; and sends the web page to the first device. The first device displays the web page including the dialog.

With computer software, dialogs are a type of user-interface (UI) component often used for communicating with users of the software. For example, a dialog may be used to ask a user a question and seek an answer to the question from the user (e.g., "Do you wish to add John Smith as your friend?"—"Yes" or "No"), or notify a user some information (e.g., "You have received a new email message."). Typically, a dialog is presented to the user in a pop-up window. The pop-up window goes away after the user has responded to or interacted with the dialog.