This invention discloses a computer implemented method for authoring and delivering content in a highly adaptive and easily configurable manner. Given a problem domain, an authoring system, called AuthorIT preferred embodiment, is used to: a) construct abstract syntax tree (AST) based SLT rules representing to be acquired knowledge structures (KR) at multiple levels of abstraction, wherein said SLT rules are sufficient for solving problems in said domain, b) assign instruction, questions and feedback to nodes in said KR, c) represent problem schemas in an observable Blackboard medium enabling communication between an automated tutor and learners and d) set Options defining how diagnostic and instructional decisions are to be made based on what individual learners do and do not know relative to the to be learned knowledge structures. A computer implemented delivery system, called TutorIT preferred embodiment: a) receives authoring system output, optionally supplemented with information received from a user, b) generates specific problems and solutions by executing AST-based SLT rules, c) displays problems on a Blackboard interface, and d) interacts with learners receiving learner responses and presenting instruction and feedback, e) uses input from any given learner, structural relationships within ASTs and options to update the learner's model relative to said AST-based SLT rules and to decide on what diagnostic and instructional steps to take next.

Major attention in computer assisted learning is being given to immersive, often game-like environments. Students are placed in various problem solving situations—and allowed to either explore on their own or with various kinds of hints (today typically called "scaffolding"). The big questions here are what kinds of hints/scaffolding will be of (most) help and when should it be given?
Other tools such as Texas Instrument's TI-Nspire tackle the problem from the other end. Rather than hints, calculators serve as tools students can use to facilitate problem solving. serve as prerequisites—as more or less comprehensive foundational skills on which learners may build.
Scaffolding and prerequisites both play a central role in all learning systems. The main problem is that good tutoring systems have been difficult and expensive to build. Moreover, their educational benefits have been difficult and expensive to evaluate. Determining effectiveness and efficiency invariably requires direct (and often expensive) empirical evaluation. The results are rarely if ever as good as what a human tutor can do, and comparisons with classroom instruction are often hard to evaluate.
Instructional design models help. Among other things they help identify what must be mastered for success and what can be assumed on entry. Computer Based Instruction (CBI) systems build on assumed prerequisites and are directed at what must be learned. After years of effort, beginning with Control Data's work (under the leadership of William Norris) in the early 1960s, the best CBI is limited to providing pretests to identify areas of weakness, providing instruction aimed at deficiencies and following up with post tests to determine how much has been learned.
ALEKS is one of the better commercially available CBI systems (a McGraw Hill company). In ALEKS and other advanced CBI systems (e.g., Paquette, 2007, 2009) to-be-acquired knowledge is represented in terms of relational models.
Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) research goes further, attempting to duplicate or model what a good tutor can do—by adjusting diagnosis and remediation dynamically during instruction. ITS focus on modeling and diagnosing what is going on in learner minds (e.g., Anderson, 1993; cf. Koedinger et al, 1997; Scandura et al, 2009). Assumptions are made both about what knowledge might be in learner minds and learning mechanisms controlling the way those productions are used in producing behavior and learning.
Identifying the productions involved in any given domain is a difficult task. Specifying learning mechanisms is even harder. Recognizing these complexities Carnegie Learning credits Anderson's evolving ACT theories (compare Ohlsson, 2007 and Ohlsson &, Koedinger in Scandura et al, 2009), but has focused on integrating ITS with print materials to make them educationally palatable (i.e., more closely aligned with what goes on in classrooms).
The difficulties do not stop there. Ohlsson noted as early as 1987 that specifying remedial actions—what to teach is much harder than modeling and diagnosis. As in CBI, pedagogical decisions in ITS necessarily depend on the subject matter being taught—on semantics of the content. Each content domain requires its own unique set of pedagogical decisions. It is not surprising in this context that Ohlsson and Mitrovic found common cause in developing Constraint Based Modeling (CBM, 2007). CBM is a simplified alternative to ITS based on production systems in which the focus is on constraints that must be met during the course of instruction—not on the cognitive constructs (productions) responsible (for meeting those constraints).
From their inceptions, the Holy Grail in CBI and ITS is to duplicate what good teachers do. As shown by Bloom (1984) the best human tutors can improve mastery in comparison to normal instruction by 2 sigmas. This goal has been broadly influential but never achieved through automation. The limited success of CBI, combined with the complexities and cost inefficiencies of ITS have reduced effort and research support for both CBI and ITS.
This disclosure shows that these trends are premature. Advances in Structural Learning Theory (e.g., Scandura, 2007, Scandura et al, 2009, hereafter SLT) and AuthorIT and TutorIT technologies (Scandura, 2005) based thereon make it possible not only to duplicate human tutors in many areas but to do better. Today, for example, few doubt we can build tutoring systems that teach facts as well or better than humans. "Flash cards", for example, could easily be replaced by computers—with more efficiency and certain results.
This disclosure goes further. It shows:                a) How AuthorIT makes it possible to create and how TutorIT makes it possible to deliver highly adaptive and configurable tutoring systems that can guarantee learning on well-defined math skills (Scandura, 2005, 2007, 2009).        b) Why and in what sense TutorIT tutorials can guarantee mastery of such skills.        c) Why TutorIT tutorials can be developed cost effectively—at half the cost of traditional CBI development.        d) How TutorIT tutorials can be extended to support the development and delivery of higher as well as lower order knowledge.        e) Why TutorIT tutorials can be expected to produce as good or better learning than most human tutors.
More generally, the enormous potential of intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) has been recognized for decades (e.g., Anderson, 1988; Scandura, 1987). Explicit attention to knowledge representation, associated learning theories and decision making logic makes it possible to automate interactions between the learner, tutor and content to be acquired (commonly referred to as the expert module). In principle, ITSs may mimic or even exceed the behavior of the best teachers. This potential, however, has never been fully realized in practice.
The situation today remains much as it has (been). The central importance of the content domain, modeling the student and the interactions between them remain as before. Every automated instructional system consists of: a) one or more learners, human and/or automated, b) content to be acquired by the learners, also known as knowledge representation (KR), c) a communication or "display" system for representing how questions and information are to be presented to and received from learners, and d) a tutor capable of deciding what and when information is to be presented to the learner and how to react to feedback and/or questions from the learner.
A major bottleneck in the process has been representation of the content domain (expert model). As Psotka et al (1988, p. 279) put it, "The fundamental problem is organizing knowledge into a clear hierarchy to take best advantage of the redundancies in any particular domain. Without extensive experience in doing this, we are largely ignorant of the kind of links and predicates to use. We are still far from cataloging the kinds of links needed for these semantic hierarchies. The best predicates that might describe these knowledge structures simply, beyond ISA and PART OF hierarchies, still need to be defined. Too little work has been aimed at developing new representations for information and relationships." He goes on to mention the need to consider OO frameworks and/or structures containing objects, relationships and operations (pp. 279-280).
A variety of approaches to Knowledge Representation (KR) have been used in ITS development. Among the earliest are Anderson's ACT-R theory (e.g., 1988) based on productions systems and Scandura's (2001) Structural Learning Theory (SLT). The SLT provides a comprehensive and increasingly rigorous theoretical framework for explaining, predicting and controlling problem solving behavior, with particular attention to interactions between teachers and learners (e.g., Scandura, 1971, 1973, 1977, 2001a, 2003, contemporaneously updated and further refined in Scandura, 2005, 2007. 2009). Structural (Cognitive Task) Analysis (SA) comprises an essential part of the SLT used to construct higher and lower order SLT rules, each SLT rule being comprised of a hierarchical Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) representing procedural knowledge at multiple levels of abstraction, in which each node consists of an operation or decision operating on a data structure (defined as a structural declarative AST) on which the node operates (e.g., Scandura, 2003). Because an SLT rule consists of both a procedural AST and the structural AST on which it operates, the terms SLT rules and ASTs or AST based knowledge representations are used interchangeably herein with the understanding that each unit of knowledge, each SLT rule, AST-based knowledge or just AST in the SLT involves a procedural AST operating on a corresponding structural AST (e.g., Scandura, 2001, 2003). and the closely associated method of Structural (Cognitive Task) Analysis (SA) (e.g., Scandura, 1971, 1973, 1977, 2001a, 2005, 2007). Both production systems and procedures in SLT are fully operational in the sense that they can be directly interpreted and executed on a computer. Other popular approaches are based on semantic/relational networks of one sort or another (e.g., knowledge spaces, conceptual graphs). Semantic networks represent structural knowledge hierarchically in terms of nodes and links between them. Semantic networks have the benefit of representing knowledge in an intuitive fashion. Unlike production systems and SLT procedures, however, they are not easily interpreted (executed on a computer). In effect, each type of representation has important advantages and limitations: Production systems are operational but do not directly reflect structural characteristics of the knowledge they represent. Networks represent the structure but are not directly operational. It also is worth noting that most approaches to KR make a sharp distinction in the way they treat declarative and procedural knowledge, on the one hand, and domain specific and domain independent knowledge, on the other.
Given the complexity of current approaches, a variety of tools have been proposed to assist in the process. Most of these are tailored toward one kind of content or another. Merrill's ID2 authoring software (1994), for example, offers various kinds of instructional transactions, each tailored to a specific kind of knowledge (e.g., facts, concepts or procedures). Such systems facilitate the development of instructional software but they are limited to prescribed kinds of knowledge. In particular, they are inadequate for delivering instruction where the to-be-acquired knowledge involves more than one type, as normally is the case in the real world.
Such tools can facilitate the process. However, the problem remains that there have been no clear, unambiguous, universally applicable and internally consistent methods for representing content (expert knowledge). In the absence of a generalizable solution to this problem, ITS development depends on subject matter semantics. The way tutor modules interact with student models as well as the human interface through which the learner and tutor communicate have been heavily dependent on the content in question. The widespread use of production systems (e.g., Anderson, 1988) for this purpose is a case in point. Production systems have the theoretical appeal of a simple uniform (condition-action) structure. This uniformity, however, means that all content domains have essentially the same structure—that of a simple list (of productions). In this context it is hard to imagine a general-purpose tutor that might work even reasonably (let alone equally well) with different kinds of content. Without a formalism that more directly represents essential features, it is even harder to see how production systems might be used to automate construction of the human interface.
Representations focused on OO inheritance are limited in its emphasis on objects, with operations subordinate to those objects. Representing rooms, car and clean operations, for example, involves talking about such things as room and car objects cleaning themselves, rather than more naturally about operations cleaning rooms and cars (e.g., Scandura, 2001b).
Consequently, ITSs have either been developed de novo for each content domain, or built using authoring tools of one sort or another designed to reduce the effort required (e.g., by providing alternative prototypes, Warren, 2002). Whereas various industry standards (e.g., SCORM) are being developed to facilitate reuse of learning objects (e.g., diagnostic assessments and instructional units) in different learning environments, such standards are designed by committees to represent broad-based consensus. Cohesiveness (internal consistency) and simplicity are at best secondary goals. Specifically, such standards may or may not allow the possibility of building general-purpose tutors that can intelligently guide testing (diagnosis) and instruction based solely on the structure of a KR without reference to semantics specific to the domain in question. They do not, however, offer a solution to the problem.
A recent article on the Structural Learning Theory (SLT) outlines an approach to this problem (Scandura, 2001a).1 SLT was designed from its inceptions explicitly to address interactions between the learner and some external agent (e.g., observer or tutor), with emphasis on the relativistic nature of knowledge (e.g., Scandura, 1971, 1988). The former articles (i.e., Scandura 2001a,b) summarize the rationale and update essential steps in carrying out a process called Structural (cognitive task) Analysis (SA). In addition to defining the key elements in problem domains, and the behavior and knowledge associated with such domains, special attention is given to the hierarchical nature of Structural Analysis, and its applicability to ill-defined as well as well-defined content.2 Among other things, higher order (domain independent) knowledge is shown to play an essential role in ill-defined domains. SA also makes explicit provision for diagnostic testing and a clear distinction between novice, neophyte and expert knowledge. While broad, however, this overview omits essential features as well as the precision necessary to allow unambiguous automation on a computer. 1 The SLT has evolved over a period of several decades beginning in the 1960's. Scandura (2001a) summarizes the current status and new developments in SLT. Appendix A in Scandura (2001a) provides a useful overview of major developments and related publications over the years. Some key characteristics of SLT are listed here for the reader's convenience: a) the central importance of structural (cognitive task) analysis, b) distinctions between lower and higher order knowledge (used to distinguish between domain specific and domain independent knowledge), c) the representation of knowledge at different levels of abstraction (used to distinguish between levels of expertise, make testing more efficient and/or to guide the learner and/or instruction), d) explicit processes for assessing what a learner does and does not know relative to a given body of content (i.e., the learner model), e) a universal control mechanism (playing a central role in problem solving, being implementable in a manner that is totally independent of higher as well as lower order knowledge), and f) assumed fundamental capacities such as processing capacity and processing speed). More directly related characteristics are detailed for the first time in this series.2 The process of structural analysis has a long history. Most of the earlier work through the early 1980s concentrated on the identification of (domain independent) higher order knowledge as well as lower order (domain specific) knowledge. The use of ASTs to represent knowledge, however, came largely as a result of later work in software engineering.
Although incomplete from the standpoint of ITS, parallel research in software engineering provides the necessary rigor as far as it goes. This research makes very explicit what has until recently been an informal process (of SA). SA has evolved to the point where it is automatable on a computer (U.S. Pat. No. 6,275,976, Scandura, 2001b) and sufficient for representing the knowledge not only associated with domain specific content but also with domain independent knowledge and ill-defined domains.
A recent article by Scandura (2003) extends this analysis to domain specific systems of interacting components and shows how the above disclosure ((U.S. Pat. No. 6,275,976) provides an explicit basis for representing both declarative and procedural knowledge within the same KR. While abstract syntax tree (ASTs) are used for this purpose in the preferred embodiment it is clear to anyone skilled in the art, that any number of formal equivalent embodiments might be used for similar purposes. ASTs, for example, are just one kind of representation of what is commonly referred to as Knowledge Representation (KR).
Programming is inherently a bottom-up process: the process of representing data structures and/or processes (a/k/a to be learned content) in terms of elements in a predetermined set of executable components. These components include functions and operations in procedural programming and objects in OO programming. Software design, on the other hand, is typically a top-down process. Instead of emphasizing the assembly of components to achieve desired ends, the emphasis is on representing what must be learned (or executed in software engineering) at progressive levels of detail.
Like structured analysis3 and OO design in software engineering, SA is a top-down method. However, it is top-down with a big difference: Each level of representation is designed to be behaviorally equivalent to all other levels. The realization of SA in AutoBuilder also supports complementary bottom-up automation. Not only does the process lend itself to automation, but it also guarantees that the identified competence is sufficient to produce the desired (i.e., specified) behavior.4 3 Whereas processes and data are refined independently in structured analysis and in OO design, both are refined in parallel in structural analysis (SA).4 See Scandura (2001a, 2005, 2007; Scandura et al, 2009) for updated information on a General Purpose Intelligent Tutor, which working in conjunction with content represented in this manner, can guarantee specified learning in a minimum time (e.g., with the fewest possible test and/or instructional interactions between tutor and learner).
The present disclosure is based on the commonly made assumption that any instructional system consists of one or more learners, a human and/or automated tutor, and a representation of the content to be taught. The latter represents the knowledge structure or structures to be acquired by the learners and may be represented in any number of ways. Also assumed is an electronic blackboard or other means of presenting information to and receiving responses from learners. Either the learner or an automated tutor must decide what and when information is to be presented to the learner and/or how to react to feedback from the learner.
Whereas processes and data are refined independently in structured analysis and in OO design, both are refined in parallel in structural analysis (SA).
See Scandura (2001a, 2005, 2007; Scandura et al, 2009) for updated information on a General Purpose Intelligent Tutor, which working in conjunction with content represented in this manner, can guarantee specified learning in a minimum time (e.g., with the fewest possible test and/or instructional interactions between tutor and learner).
Further Background.—In the 1960s, there was a disconnect in educational research and research in subject matter (math) education. Educational research focused on behavioral variables: exposition vs. discovery, example vs. didactic, demonstration vs. discussion, text vs. pictures, aptitude-treatment interactions, etc. (cf. Scandura, 1963, 1964a,b). Subject matter variables were either ignored or limited to such things as simple, moderate, difficult. Little attention was given to what makes content simple, moderate or difficult. Conversely, research in subject matter (e.g., math) education, focused primarily on content (reading, writing, arithmetic skills, algebraic equations, proof, etc.).
In same time period, instructional design focused on what was to be learned and prerequisites for same. Task analysis focused initially on behavior—on what learners need to do (Miller, 1959; Gagne, 1966). In my own work, this focus morphed into cognitive task analysis—on what learners must learn for success (e.g., Scandura, 1970, 1971, Durnin & Scandura, 1973). My parallel work in experimental psychology (Greeno & Scandura, 1966; Scandura & Roughead, 1967) in the mid 1960s added the critical dimension of behavior to the equation.
Structural Learning grew out of this disconnect, with the goal of integrating content structure with human cognition and behavior. Structural Learning Theory (SLT) was first introduced as a unified theory in 1970 (published in Scandura 1971a). SLT's focus from day one (and the decade of research on problem solving and rule learning which preceded it) was on what must be learned for success in complex domains, ranging from early studies of problem solving and rule learning (Roughead & Scandura, 1968; Scandura, 1963, 1964a,b, 1973, 1977) to Piagetian conservation (Scandura & Scandura, 1980), constructions with straight edge and compass, mathematical proofs and critical reading (e.g., Scandura, 1977).
This research was focused on the following four basic questions [with their evolution from 1970 through the present, Now]:                Content: What does it mean to know something? And how can one represent knowledge in a way that has behavioral relevance?                    [1970: Directed graphs (flowcharts)→Now: Abstract Syntax Trees (ASTs) & Structural Analysis (SA)]                        Cognition: How do learners use and acquire knowledge? Why is it that some people can solve problems whereas others cannot?                    [1970: Goal switching→Now: Universal Control Mechanism (UCM)]                        Assessing Behavior: How can one determine what an individual does and does not know?                    [1970: Which paths are known→Now: which nodes in AST are known (+), −, ?]                        Instruction: How does knowledge change over time as a result of interacting with an external environment?                    [1970: Single level diagnosis & remediation→Now: Multi-level inferences about what is known and what needs to be learned]
Higher order and lower order knowledge played a central role in this research from its inceptions—with emphasis on the central role of higher order knowledge in problem solving (Scandura, 1971, 1973, 1977). Early SLT research also focused heavily on identifying what individual learners do and do not know relative to what needed to be learned (e.g., Durnin & Scandura, 1974; Scandura, 1971, 1973, 1977).
Deterministic theorizing was a major distinguishing feature of this research (Scandura, 1971). I was focused, even obsessed with understanding, predicting and (in so far as education is concerned) controlling how individuals solve problems. Despite considerable training in statistics and having conducted a good deal of traditional experimental research (e.g., Greeno & Scandura, 1966; Scandura & Roughead, 1967; Scandura, 1967), I found unsatisfying comparisons based on averaging behavior over multiple subjects. I wanted something better—more akin to what had been accomplished in physics centuries earlier (cf. Scandura, 1974a).5 5 The deterministic philosophy I am proposing represents a major departure in thinking about how to evaluate instruction—in particular, it calls into question the usual measures used in controlled experiments. After understanding how TutorIT works, please see my concluding comments on this subject.
SLT was unique when introduced, and raised considerable interest both in the US and internationally (Scandura, 1971a, 1973, 1977). Literally hundreds of CBI programs based on SLT were developed later in the 1970s and early 1980s, and many sold for decades.
Nonetheless, ITS largely ignored this research and focused on later work in cognitive psychology (Anderson et at, 1990, 1993) and especially the Carnegie school of artificial intelligence based on production systems (esp. Newell & Simon, 1972).
By the mid-1970s, cognitive psychology also discovered the importance of content, often equating theory with alternative ways of representing knowledge. Research focused largely on what (productions or relationships) might be in learner minds and comparing fit with observable behavior. Experimental studies followed the traditional statistical paradigm.
Similarly, most CBI development was heavily influenced by Gagne's work in instructional design (1965), along with that of Merrill and his students, 1994). The restricted focus of Reigeluth's (1983, 1987) influential books on Instructional Design largely eliminated or obscured some of SLT's most Important features, most notably its focus on precise diagnosis and higher order learning and problem solving. With essential differences requiring significant study, the long and short of it is that other than our own early tutorials (which made small publisher Queue one of Inc Magazine's 100 fastest growing small businesses), SLT failed to significantly inform on-going research in either CBI or ITS. After the interdisciplinary doctoral program in structural learning I developed at Penn was eliminated in the early-mid 1970s, SLT became a little understood historical curiosity.
With recent publications in TICL, depth of understanding in ITS, CBI and SLT has increased in recent years (Mitrovic & Ohlsson, 2007; Paquette, 2007; Scandura, 2007), including their respective advantages and limitations (Scandura, Koedinger, Mitrovic & Ohlsson, Paquette, 2009). Advances in the way knowledge is represented in SLT has the potential of revolutionizing the way tutoring systems are developed, both now and in the future. SLT rules6 were originally represented as directed graphs (e.g., Scandura, 1971a, 1973). Directed graphs (equivalent to Flowcharts) make it possible to assess individual knowledge. They have the disadvantage, however, of forcing one to make a priori judgments about level of analysis. They also make it difficult to identify subsets of problems associated with various paths in those graphs. 6 I used the term "rule" rather extensively in behavioral research during the 1960s. Adopting the term "production" from the logician Post in the 1930s, Newell & Simon (1972) introduced the term "production rule" in their influential book on problem solving. Anderson later used of the term "rule" in ITS as synonymous with "production rule" (in production systems). Accordingly, it ultimately seemed best to introduce the term "SLT rule" to distinguish the two. Distinctive characteristics of SLT rules became even more important with my introduction of ASTs into SLT. In this context, ASTs represent a long sought solution to my early attempts at formalization in SLT (see Scandura, 1973, Chapter 3). The importance of ASTs in SLT, however, only gradually became clear to me after using the concept for some time in developing our software engineering tools—despite the fact that ASTs had played a central role for years in compiler theory.
Having spent two decades in software engineering (e.g., Scandura, 1991, 1994 1995, 1999, 2001), it became increasingly apparent that a specific form of Abstract Syntax trees (ASTs) offered a long sought solution. ASTs are a precise formalism derived from compiler theory and that are widely used in software engineering. To date, ASTs have had almost no impact on knowledge representation, ITS or CBI. However, we will see that they do indeed have very significant advantages in SLT.
An up to date version of SLT and its relationship to other recent approaches to automated instructional systems has been documented in (Scandura, 2007; Scandura, Koedinger, Mitrovic & Ohlsson and Paquette, 2009).
This disclosure focuses on what is most unique about knowledge representation in SLT along with why and how it offers major advantages in developing adaptive tutoring systems. To avoid misunderstanding, it is helpful to distinguish the current approach is fundamentally different from others based on statistical analyses e.g., Sheehan, U.S. Pat. No. 6,144,838). The present disclosure is based on a priori identification of the underlying proficiency model, what an expert in the area believes should be learned for success. In contrast, the Sheehan disclosure explicitly assumes that the true proficiency model is not known a priori. The Sheehan method uses regression, Bayesian decision theory and other statistical methods to model ways in which required skills interact with different item features to produce differences in item difficulty. In contrast, the present disclosure has a deterministic foundation (i.e., that a true proficiency model IS known a priori). In short, the main thing they have in common is that both disclosures share the word "tree-based".
There have been three fundamental advances in SLT in recent years. First is in the way knowledge is represented. SLT rules were originally represented as directed graphs (Flowcharts). They are now represented in terms of Abstract Syntax Trees (ASTs). Second is formalization of a key step in Structural (domain) Analysis (SA), enabling the systematic identification of higher order SLT rules that must be learned for success in ill-defined domains. Third is the complete separation of SLT's control mechanism from higher order knowledge. These advances distinguish knowledge representation in SLT from all others, and have fundamental implications for building adaptive tutoring systems.

Building and delivering highly adaptive and configurable tutoring systems


The present invention provides a novel antimicrobial drug comprising an oxazolidinone derivative of the formula (I):

Various oxazolidinone derivatives having antimicrobial activity were known in the art. For example, it has been known that (S)-n-[[3-[3-fluoro-4-(4-morpholinyl)phenyl]-2-oxo-5-oxazolidinyl]methyl]acetamide ("linezolid") has potent antimicrobial activity on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) (e.g., see Patent Document 1), and it has been approved and commercially available as anti-VRE infection drug.
Additionally, oxazolidinone type antimicrobial agents having a structure as represented by the following formulae, wherein a 5-6 fused ring is connected to the benzene moiety of linezolid, have been reported (Patent Documents 2 to 7 and Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2).    WO2006/035283 (Patent Document 2):
    WO2005/019214 (Patent Document 3):
wherein X is N or C;    WO99/10342 (Patent Document 4):
    WO93/09103 (Patent Document 5):
    WO2002/064574 (Patent Document 6):
                wherein Y is
    WO2006/109156 (Patent Document 7)
                wherein A is selected from

WO2008/021781 (Patent Document 8, kinase inhibitor), U.S. Application Publication 2006/0035898 (Patent Document 9, kinase inhibitor), WO2003/053975 (Patent Document 10, PDE7 inhibitor), Japanese Patent Publication 08-151578 (Patent Document 11, compound for liquid-crystal) disclose oxazolidinone derivatives having a fused ring. However, they are not an antimicrobial agent.
Non-Patent Documents 3 and 4 disclose other oxazolidinone type antimicrobial agents.
Patent Document Nos. 12 and 13 and Non-Patent Document 5 disclose antimicrobial agents having a fused hetero ring moiety such as imidazopyridine.
Patent Document 14 discloses a compound having a triazolemethyl group at the 5-position of oxazolidinone ring as an antimicrobial agent.    [Patent Document 1] WO95/07271    [Patent Document 2] WO2006/035283    [Patent Document 3] WO2005/019214    [Patent Document 4] WO99/10342    [Patent Document 5] WO93/09103    [Patent Document 6] WO2002/064574    [Patent Document 7] WO2006/109156    [Patent Document 8] WO2008/021781    [Patent Document 9] U.S. Application Publication 2006/0035898    [Patent Document 10] WO2003/053975    [Patent Document 11] Japanese Patent Publication 08-151578    [Patent Document 12] WO2005/089763    [Patent Document 13] WO2006/038116    [Patent Document 14] WO2001/081350    [Non-Patent Document 1] Zhongguo Yaowu Huaxue Zazhi (2004), 14 (5), p. 263-266    [Non-Patent Document 2] Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry (2004), 12 (17), p. 4557-4564    [Non-Patent Document 3] Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters 17 (2007) 5036-5040    [Non-Patent Document 4] Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2007, Vol. 50, No 20, 4868-4881    [Non-Patent Document 5] Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters 19 (2009) 894-899

Oxazolidinone derivative having fused ring

Abstract: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof.


Baseline values for battery testing are automatically determined for individual batteries, battery cells, or networks of batteries. Impedance information is obtained from individual batteries and adjusted for operating conditions at a site of use (e.g., temperature, age, connection topology and user-entered information). Population-referenced baselines are automatically calculated from the group of individual-referenced baselines. All baselines can be continually updated and improved. SOC and SOH characteristics of batteries in the network can be automatically determined by comparison of measured impedance, and other, values to said baselines.

Equipment for measuring phase-sensitive impedance or admittance (collectively, vector parameters), or phase-insensitive resistance or conductance (collectively, scalar parameters) on batteries, particularly, but not limited to, lead-acid batteries, is widely available. Technical expertise is often needed to interpret the raw data outputted by such instruments, and to understand the implications of the data for battery maintenance and replacement.
It is presently not possible to accurately and consistently correlate impedance parameters with a condition of a battery, such as state of charge (SOC), or retained capacity (RC), cold cranking amps (CCA), or with post-mortem assessments of failure modes such as sulfation, dryout, or electrolyte decomposition (all broadly categorized as State of Health (SOH) characteristics), without using some sort of reference value as a baseline with which to compare parameter readings obtained. The accuracy of determinations of a SOC or SOH condition is dependent on the accuracy of the baseline used. However, there is at present no entirely satisfactory method available for obtaining baseline values for measured vector and scalar parameters of batteries.
This same fundamental need for a baseline reference applies whether the user is attempting to determine a condition of an individual battery, of a battery in a network, or of a network of batteries as a whole. It applies when the user is attempting to screen a population of non-networked batteries for purposes such as deciding whether to include the individual batteries in a network. It also applies whether the user is utilizing a snapshot or a continuous approach to testing.
Some battery manufacturers, and some battery test equipment manufacturers, publish reference lists of typical conductance or other scalar parameters for specific battery models in an effort to address this issue. The assumption is made that a reference scalar parameter value obtained from a generic, new battery will provide a valid baseline. But, there are several problems with reference lists derived under pristine conditions from battery samples that are not specific to the actual device during actual use in the field.
First, scalar parameter measurements tend to be instrument-specific, as there is a wide variety of techniques and frequencies used by the different manufacturers, and it is well known in the industry that the results from different instruments, and even different instruments of the same make and model, are far from identical.
Second, although a typical scalar reference parameter value derived in this way represents the mean for a large number of batteries, values for individual batteries can deviate widely from the mean. In fact the range of values found among nominally identical batteries from a single manufacturer often exceeds the range in values expected for a single healthy battery over its lifespan. Furthermore, average parameter values can change substantially with even minor manufacturing changes.
Third, the temperature dependence of reference values is typically not considered. Vector and scalar measurements of electrochemical systems vary markedly with temperature. This variation is typically not taken into account with published reference values.
Fourth, reference values collected under ideal conditions may bear little similarity to the true reference values for individual batteries in their operating environment. At a minimum, these reference values are universally collected on batteries at open circuit potential, while many field measurements are done on batteries being actively charged, which changes the vector and scalar measurement parameters of the battery. Furthermore, it is well known in the industry that most types of battery, and particularly lead acid batteries, undergo the final stages of their formation processes after they enter use. The vector and scalar parameters of the battery will change with these final bedding in stages and any accurate reference value must take account of these changes.
Fifth, published reference scalar parameter values typically refer to a single frequency point, or to a single DC measurement value. Multi-frequency battery testing equipment is now emerging, with a potentially infinite number of frequencies at which both scalar and vector parameters can be measured. These parameters may vary markedly with frequency. Thus a single scalar reference value offers minimal or no utility to these instruments.
Therefore, what is needed are techniques for automatically determining baselines for battery testing of batteries under actual operating conditions and specific to the test instrument model in use, and the vector and scalar parameters, or any other measurement parameters, it is designed to measure.

Automatic determination of baselines for battery testing


Methods and non-volatile storage systems are provided for recovering data during a programming of non-volatile storage. Program data that was originally stored in one set of latches may be preserved with a combination of two sets of latches. These two sets of latches may also be used to store verify status during programming of that program data. The original program data may be recovered by performing a logical operation on the data in the two sets of latches. For example, upper page data could be initially stored in one set of latches. While the upper page data is being programmed, that set of latches and another set of latches are used to store verify status with respect to the upper page data. If a program error occurs while the upper page data is being preserved, it may be recovered by performing a logical operation on the two sets of latches.

The present disclosure relates to technology for non-volatile memory.
Semiconductor memory has become increasingly popular for use in various electronic devices. For example, non-volatile semiconductor memory is used in cellular telephones, digital cameras, personal digital assistants, mobile computing devices, non-mobile computing devices and other devices. Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) and flash memory are among the most popular non-volatile semiconductor memories. With flash memory, also a type of EEPROM, the contents of the whole memory array, or of a portion of the memory, can be erased in one step, in contrast to the traditional, full-featured EEPROM. The array of storage elements may be divided into a large number of blocks of storage elements.
Both the traditional EEPROM and the flash memory utilize a floating gate that is positioned above and insulated from a channel region in a semiconductor substrate. The floating gate is positioned between the source and drain regions. A control gate is provided over and insulated from the floating gate. The threshold voltage (Vth) of the transistor thus formed is controlled by the amount of charge that is retained on the floating gate. That is, the minimum amount of voltage that must be applied to the control gate before the transistor is turned on to permit conduction between its source and drain is controlled by the level of charge on the floating gate. Thus, a storage element may be read by applying a reference voltage to it control gate and sensing the magnitude of the current that flows between its drain and source.
A storage element may be programmed by applying suitable programming voltages to its control gate. Typically, a program voltage Vpgm applied to the control gate during a program operation is applied as a series of pulses that increase in magnitude over time. The threshold voltage (Vth) of the transistor in the storage element is measured after each program pulse to determine whether the storage element is programmed. When a given storage element passes verify, it is locked out from further programming.
Some devices have a memory controller included in the same memory device as one or more memory die. Commands and data are transferred between the controller and the one or more memory die. For some conventional techniques, the data to be programmed into the storage elements on a memory die is first stored into data latches on the memory die.
However, during programming, the data in the data latches is lost with some conventional techniques. As one example, the verify status for a given storage element is recorded in one of the latches that the program data was originally stored into. However, this means that the original program data is lost during the programming process. Thus, if a program error occurs, the original program data cannot be recovered from the data latches for some conventional techniques.
One possible recovery mode is for the controller to save the program data while the programming is underway. Thus, the controller can re-program the data to other storage elements after a program failure. However, this recovery mode occupies controller storage (e.g., data latches). Thus, the controller cannot release this storage before the programming is finished.
Another possible approach for data recovery is for the controller to first buffer the program data in a cache area on the memory die. This cache area may be storage elements that are intended for short term data storage. However, there is a performance penalty to program the data to the cache area prior to every program operation. Also, the data from the cache storage elements needs to be read back and error-bit correction (ECC) is also needed in this approach.

Write data preservation for non-volatile storage


A caster module includes: an omni wheel, provided with an shaft groove; and an effector, received in the shaft groove, a case of the effector being rotatable relative to an inner wall of the shaft groove, and an output end of the effector being connected to the omni wheel and configured to drive the omni wheel to rotate.

An omni wheel is a wheel implementing omni-directional movements. In a movement platform built by using the omni wheels, by controlling rotation of the omni wheels, advance, retract or steering of the movement platform may be implemented. When a caster module of a robot employs omni wheels as rolling wheels, the robot may move towards different directions by rotation of the omni wheels.
During practice of the present application, the inventors have identified that: at present, in the caster module of the robot, an omni wheel and an effector are separately disposed, and the omni wheel is connected to the effector by a rotation shaft.

CLOUDMINDS (BEIJING) TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.


An optical fiber (22) of this invention is suitable for use in tethered vehicle. The optical fiber has a W-shaped refractive index configuration and is characterized by a .DELTA. of at least 0.9% and a cutoff wavelength of less than 1500 nm. Further, the refractive index configuration is such that a core (30) is characterized by a relatively high value of .DELTA..sup.+. The value of .DELTA..sup.+ is at least 0.6% for a single window of operation, whereas for a dual window it is 0.9%. Also, the refractive index configuration of the optical fiber is characterized by a depressed inner cladding portion (32) which has a .DELTA..sup.- of 0.3% and an outer radius about equal to the product of 2.5 and the radius of the core.

After only a somewhat recent introduction, optical fiber has had a meteoric rise as the predominant means of transmission media in voice and data communications. Optical fiber is manufactured by drawing glass fiber from an optical glass preform which is made by any of several well known processes. Afterwards, or as part of a tandem process, the drawn fiber is coated, cured, measured and taken up, desirably in an automatic takeup apparatus, on a spool to provide a package.
Typically, an optical glass fiber has a diameter on the order of 125 microns, for example, and is covered with a coating material which increases the outer diameter of the coated fiber to about 250 microns, for example. For single mode use, the glass fiber includes a core having a diameter of about 6.2 microns and a cladding system having a diameter of about 125 microns. The cladding system comprises inner and outer claddings. At least the outer portion of the cladding system is the precursor tube in which have been deposited materials to provide the core and the inner cladding when the tube is collapsed to form a preform.
An optical fiber package is used in operations such as ribboning, cabling, and rewinding and is used to ship optical fiber to other companies which further process the fiber. The optical fiber typically is used in voice and data communications systems, both commercial and military. For example, the package may be used in weapons systems in which it is used for guidance and for data communications. Such uses include communication lines between aircraft, between an aircraft and a ship, and between a projectile, such as a missile, and a control station at a launch site, for example. Optical fiber provides the advantages of increased data bandwidth, reduced weight and greater range than wire-guided systems of the prior art.
A typical optical fiber application in a weapons systems involves the packaging of a continuous length of optical fiber on a bobbin which is positioned inside a vehicle. Such a vehicle commonly is referred to as a tethered vehicle. In that application, optical fiber is payed out from a bobbin in the tethered vehicle. One end of the fiber is attached to operational devices in the vehicle, whereas the other end of the fiber is connected to a control or communications station at a launch site. During and after launch, two-way communication with the vehicle is conducted.
There are, however, certain disadvantages, not present in other forms of communication, in using optical fiber. Optical fiber is less robust than metallic conductors, rendering it subject to breakage. Aside from breakage, optical fiber communication performance may be degraded by microbends, which are totally determined by mode field radius, and macrobends in the fiber which are generated by bending or by other stresses to which the fiber may be subjected. Such damage to an optical fiber not only reduces the long-term durability of the fiber, but also causes losses in the strength and in the content of the optical signal. Likewise, physical or optical integrity may be affected adversely by any sharp bends which are experienced as the fiber pays out at immensely high speeds from its packaged configuration. In this usage, the fiber undergoes severe bending. In fact the bending radius may be on the order of a few millimeters. What is needed is an optical fiber that is resistant to small bends. Prior art single mode fiber normally has not been sufficiently bend resistant for deployment in tethered vehicles.
In order to overcome this problem, some have tried the use of dispersion shifted optical fiber, and more particularly, a dispersion flattened fiber. However, such design optical fibers are too bend sensitive and allow optical power to come out into the cladding.
The most predictable loss in a tethered vehicle link is the loss caused by the small radius bend during payout. Accordingly, what is sought after is a fiber in which the small radius bending loss is minimized while initial loss is held to a minimum. Also chromatic dispersion should not be a limiting factor for the system which is sought with suitable laser diode transmitters.
Other than optical requirements, high strength and tight dimensional control are important. Also, inasmuch as long lengths are required, it becomes important that the sought after fiber should be easily manufactured from a large preform.
What is sought after and what seemingly is not available in the prior art is an optical fiber which is suitable for use in tethered vehicle applications. It should be one which is easily manufacturable and which provides acceptable optical and mechanical performance notwithstanding its subjection to severe bending during payout.

Optical fiber having enhanced bend resistance


A metal mask having an etching pattern having a very high verticality is formed, and an etching shape having a very high verticality is formed by etching a semiconductor with the metal mask as a mask.

Recently, as semiconductor etching technology is enhanced, it is possible to perform various kinds of processing on various semiconductors or metals. In the etching technology, dry etching by plasma using a reactive gas (plasma etching) and wet etching using a chemical liquid are mostly used, and the etching is separately used depending on the use.
For example, when a silicon carbide (SiC) substrate containing SiC, which is an etching target, is etched, plasma etching is used, in which a metal mask such as aluminum is used as a mask. Here, the metal mask is produced by forming a metal film on the SiC substrate and patterning an etching pattern with an opening on the metal film.
Wet etching may be used for forming the etching pattern of the metal mask (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This is because reducing the thickness of a resist film is much easier than etching a metal film due to the relationship of etching selection ratio between the metal film and the resist, and thus, it is difficult to etch a metal film with a sufficient thickness in plasma etching.
As described above, when an etching pattern of a metal mask is formed by wet etching, a resist with the same pattern as the etching pattern is formed on the metal film, the resist is put in a dissolution-removable chemical liquid (etchant), and the exposed portion is wet etched.

Abstract: A resist film patterned with a reversal pattern obtained by reversing an etching pattern is formed on a semiconductor (resist film forming process, S100), a metal paste is filled in the reversal pattern of the resist film (metal paste filling process, S200), a metal mask having the etching pattern is formed by removing the resist film while baking the metal paste by a heating control (metal mask forming process, S300), and plasma etching is performed on the semiconductor by using the metal mask (etching process, S400).


A soft decision value generation circuit capable of reducing amount of calculation and hardware scale for generating a soft decision value. The soft decision value generation circuit includes: a phase rotation unit rotating phases of received symbols after coherent detection; addition units calculating, by using the phase-rotated received symbols, absolute values of soft decision values for soft decision value candidates restricted in advance; minimum value selection units selecting minimum values out of the absolute values of the soft decision values; sign reflection units reflecting, based on the phases of the received symbols after the phase rotation, sign information to the minimum values; and soft decision value correction units multiplying outputs of the sign reflection units by a coefficient depending on a noise variance value and an amplitude value of a modulation symbol.

In digital communication, usually, the error correction which corrects an error in data generated in a transmission line is often used. The error correction is realized by error correction encoding on a transmission side and error correction decoding on a reception side.
There are several types of error correction encoding, and in recent years, as codes having a high error correction capability, the Turbo code and the LDPC code are known. These codes provide a high error correction effect respectively by the Turbo decoding and the LDPC decoding on the reception side.
Information input to those decoders is generally referred to as "soft decision value". Digital data has bit information, which is "0" or "1", and therefore, there are a method of inputting information determined as a binary value (referred to as "hard decision value"), which is 0 or 1, to a decoder, and a method of inputting, instead of the binary value, a soft decision value represented as a probability, a likelihood, or a log likelihood of being 0 or 1 to the decoder. In particular, the latter method is referred to as soft decision decoding, is high in compatibility with the Turbo decoding and the LDPC decoding, and provides a high error correction effect compared with the former method (referred to as hard decision decoding).
A circuit for generating a soft decision value provided for the decoder is referred to as a soft decision value generation circuit. The soft decision value generation circuit generates a soft decision value from a received signal (the signal is hereinafter referred to as symbol) depending on a used digital modulation scheme. In digital communication assuming coherent detection, generally digital modulation schemes such as the phase shift keying (PSK) and the quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), which are excellent in transmission characteristic, are used. Generation methods for the soft decision value in the PSK and the QAM are disclosed in, for example, Non-Patent Literature 1.
On the other hand, in the binary PSK (BPSK) or the quadrature PSK (QPSK), there are modulation methods such as differentially encoded (DE) BPSK and DEQPSK of differentially encoding modulation symbols. The differentially encoded modulation symbols can be decoded (soft decision value can be generated) by carrying out delay detection in the receiver, and usually eliminate necessity of the coherent detection. It should be noted, however, that by carrying out the coherent detection in the receiver, a higher reception capability than that obtained when the delay detection is carried out can be provided (for example, Non-Patent Literature 2 reports the reception capability).
In Patent Literature 1, in the modulation scheme which employs differential encoding, such as the DBPSK and the DEQPSK, an invention involving respectively obtaining, for a received symbol, the minimum value in error from a pattern (modulation symbol candidate) causing a transmitted bit to be 1 and the minimum value in error from a modulation symbol candidate causing a transmitted bit to be 0, and setting a difference thereof as reliability information, namely as a soft decision value is disclosed.

Soft decision value generation circuit to reduce calculation amounts and hardware scale


The tension on a tape web is controlled with a lock mechanism in an apparatus wherein a first dancer device, a pair of engaging-disengaging rolls, a second dancer device, and a pair of nip rolls are located in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the direction along which the tape web moves. The speed at which the engaging-disengaging rolls rotate is adjusted on the basis of the vertical position of a dancer roll of the first dancer device, and the speed at which the nip rolls rotate is adjusted on the basis of the vertical position of a dancer roll of the second dancer device, whereby the tension on the tape web is adjusted. A method for controlling the tension with a lock mechanism comprises the steps of locking the position of the dancer roll of the first dancer device at a predetermined position when the engaging-disengaging rolls disengage from each other, and releasing the dancer roll of the first dancer device from its locked position when the engaging-disengaging rolls engage with each other.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for controlling the tension on a tape web, such as a magnetic tape web, in an apparatus wherein the long tape web is held by engaging-disengaging rolls and processed in various ways, while constant tension is applied to the long tape web. This invention particularly relates to a method for controlling tension with a lock mechanism, wherein the tension applied to a tape web is kept at a predetermined value even during the disengagement of the engaging-disengaging rolls from each other.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the course of the manufacturing of tapes, such as magnetic tapes, tape webs are moved and various types of processing, such as coating, are carried out on the tape webs. In order to achieve processing uniformly over the overall area of the tape web, the tension applied to the long tape web is adjusted to a predetermined level in each section of an apparatus for manufacturing the tapes. For this purpose, by way of example, a dancer device is used wherein the tension on a tape web is kept at a predetermined value through the vertical movement of a dancer roll. Pairs of engaging-disengaging rolls are located in the tape web movement paths at various sections, such as a calendering section. The engaging-disengaging rolls engage with each other during the ordinary processing of the tape web, and disengage from each other when, for example, a tape web joint passes therebetween. The reason why the engaging-disengaging rolls disengage from each other, i.e. move away from each other, when a tape web joint passes therebetween is that if, for example, the tape web joint is pressed by the engaging-disengaging rolls, an adhesive which is applied at the tape web joint will flow out of the tape web joint or the tape web will be wrinkled However, when the engaging-disengaging rolls disengage from each other in a section of the apparatus in which the tapes are manufactured, the long tape web, which is moving, is released from the holding force of the engaging-disengaging rolls, and therefore the dancer roll of the dancer device moves down or up sharply. Such problems must be eliminated because a dancer device in the next section cannot quickly and accurately control the tension on the tape web.
In order to eliminate the aforesaid problems, subsidiary rolls have heretofore been located in the vicinity of the engaging-disengaging rolls in order to hold a tape web in lieu of the engaging-disengaging rolls while the engaging-disengaging rolls are disengaged from each other. In cases where such subsidiary rolls are provided, the position of the dancer roll does not change sharply even when the engaging-disengaging rolls disengage from each other.
However, in cases where the subsidiary rolls are provided, the apparatus for manufacturing the long tapes becomes large in size and complicated in configuration, and manufacturing the tapes becomes costly.

Method and apparatus for controlling tension with a lock mechanism


One embodiment of the present mechanism provides a system to facilitate testing of garbage collection implementations. The system operates by first receiving a trace of valid memory transactions at a test harness. This trace of valid memory transactions is replayed through the test harness into a memory manager, which includes a garbage collection implementation under test. The results of replaying this trace are then observed to verify that the garbage collection implementation under test does not erroneously change the contents of the memory.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to garbage collection within computer memory. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus to facilitate testing of garbage collection implementations within a computer memory.
2. Related Art
Many modern computing systems and languages rely upon garbage collectors to reclaim unused storage. A garbage collector relieves the programmer from the task of deallocating storage that is no longer needed for the execution of a program, and thereby makes more efficient use of the memory within the computing system.
While garbage collectors are desired within these computing systems, the garbage collector is frequently one of the largest, and most complex, software modules in the computing system. Errors in the garbage collector, however, may be very difficult to detect because these errors can manifest themselves in other program code that may be executed long after the garbage collector performs the erroneous actions that give rise to the errors. This delay between error occurrence and error manifestation makes debugging and testing garbage collectors a very difficult task. Additionally, errors within a platform-independent virtual machine, or in computer code executing on the platform-independent virtual machine, may cause errors that appear to originate within the garbage collector, thereby causing debugging efforts to be incorrectly allocated.
An additional problem with debugging a garbage collector is that a particular error may manifest itself differently, or in different places in the platform-independent virtual machine. The way an error manifests itself can depend upon non-deterministic factors such as which programs are running on the platform-independent virtual machine or differences in program execution speed caused by non-deterministic interactions with external resources.
What is needed is a method and an apparatus that facilitates testing a garbage collection implementation while eliminating the problems described above.
One embodiment of the present invention provides a system to facilitate testing of garbage collection implementations. The system operates by first receiving a trace of valid memory transactions at a test harness. This trace of valid memory transactions is replayed through the test harness into a memory manager, which includes a garbage collection implementation under test. The results of replaying this trace are then observed to verify that the garbage collection implementation under test does not erroneously change the contents of the memory.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the trace of valid memory transactions includes memory transactions associated with multiple platform-independent computer programs concurrently executing on a platform-independent virtual machine.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the test harness includes an interface for each entry point into the memory manager.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a second garbage collection implementation under test is substituted for the garbage collection implementation under test.
In one embodiment of the present invention, verifying that the garbage collection implementation under test does not incorrectly change the content of the memory includes comparing the current state of the memory with the recorded state of memory stored with the trace of valid memory transactions.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the trace of valid memory transactions is gathered using a tracing platform-independent virtual machine.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the tracing platform-independent virtual machine is known to operate correctly.

Method and apparatus to facilitate testing of garbage collection implementations


A paper makers felt comprising a fibrous outer layer formed of inter-engaged fibers of between 3.0 and 67 dtex inter-engaged preferably by needling, and a web layer formed of fibers which are between 200 and 600 dtex and are inter-engaged preferably by point bonding. The outer layer is engaged with the web layer, preferably by needling, forming a composite paper makers felt.

It is known in papermaking felts to be advantageous to provide void volume which remains available through the nip so as to provide open area to receive water pressed out of the paper product sheet. The term paper product means paper or pulp.
While numerous efforts have been made to provide paper makers webs with ever improving void volume, along with felt resiliency, none appear to be totally satisfactory.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide improved consistency throughout area of void volume.
Another object of the invention is to provide a papermaking web with improved pressure uniformity.
Another object of the invention is to provide a papermaking web with improved resiliency.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a paper makers felt with improved rebound capability.
Still another object of the invention is the provision of a paper makers web which is inexpensive to produce.

Papermakers felt having a point-bonded web layer formed of coarse fibers


A transducer array on a common substrate includes a membrane and first and second transducer devices. The membrane is formed on the common substrate, and includes a lower layer and an upper layer. The first transducer device includes a first resonator stack formed on at least the lower layer in a first portion of the membrane, the upper layer having a first thickness in the first portion of the membrane. The second transducer device includes a second resonator stack formed on at least the lower layer in a second portion of the membrane, the upper layer having a second thickness in the second portion of the membrane, where the second thickness is different from the first thickness, such that a first resonant frequency of the first transducer device is different from a second resonant frequency of the second transducer device.

Transducers generally convert electrical signals to mechanical signals or vibrations, and/or mechanical signals or vibrations to electrical signals. Acoustic transducers in particular convert electrical signals to acoustic signals (sound waves) in a transmit mode (e.g., a speaker application), and/or convert received acoustic waves to electrical signals in a receive mode (e.g., a microphone application). The functional relationship between the electrical and acoustic signals of an acoustic transducer depends, in part, on the transducer's operating parameters, such as natural or resonant frequency, acoustic receive sensitivity, acoustic transmit output power and the like.
Transducers, such as ultrasonic transducers, are provided in a wide variety of electronic applications, including filters. As the need to reduce the size of many components continues, the demand for reduced-size transducers continues to increase, as well. This has lead to comparatively small transducers, which may be micromachined according to various technologies, such as micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology.
Various types of MEMS transducers, such as piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers (PMUTs), include a resonator stack, having a layer of piezoelectric material between two conductive plates (electrodes), formed on a thin membrane. To provide stable and predictable operation, the membrane is typically designed to have a net tensile stress. This avoids issues arising from a buckled membrane. However, the resonant frequency of a tensile membrane is very sensitive to in-plane stress. Further, the film stress typically has poor control compared to control achieved for film thickness.

Transducer devices having different frequencies based on layer thicknesses and method of fabricating the same

Avago Technologies Wireless IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


An aqueous electrolysis bath of acidic pH for the electrochemical deposition of palladium and its alloys, the bath containing a palladium compound and optionally at least one compound of a secondary metal to be co-deposited in the form of an alloy with the palladium. The bath also contains ethylenediamine as a palladium complexing agent, and an organic brightening agent, 3-(3-pyridyl)acrylic acid, 3-(3-quinolyl)acrylic acid or a salt thereof. The invention is also directed to a process for the electroplating of palladium or a palladium alloy utilizing an electrolysis bath as defined above by using current densities of between 0.5 and 150 A/dm2.

The present invention relates to an electrolysis bath for the electrochemical deposition of palladium or its alloys and to a process for the electroplating of palladium or one of its alloys.
The electrical contacts and the connectors used in the field of electronics receive, as a finish, thin layers of electroplated precious metals which have to be suitably bright, have good ductility, be non-porous and have corrosion resistance, frictional resistance and low contact resistance. Industry started by using deposits of gold hardened with small amounts of codeposited nickel or cobalt, often referred to as hard gold. Palladium is a precious metal whose deposits have a lower density (12 g/cm3) than those of hard gold (17.3 g/cm3); it also has a greater hardness and a lower porosity. Being less expensive, palladium and its alloys were considered suitable gold substitutes for the majority of applications. As a finish in a wide variety of applications, industry uses thin deposits (also called flash deposits) of gold on palladium or palladium alloys. The main palladium alloys used are palladium-nickel or palladium-silver alloys. Techniques commonly used for the electroplating of palladium and its alloys are the barrel, the vibrating basket, the rack, batch metallization, high-speed continuous metallization (or jet plating) or pad metallization. Industry is constantly in search of more efficient electrolysis baths and processes. Palladium and its alloys are also used for decorative applications as an undercoat or finish.
State of the Art Concerning Ammoniacal Baths
The majority of palladium and palladium alloy baths currently on the market are ammoniacal baths most frequently containing chloride ions. These baths nevertheless have a high nuisance factor, both in terms of the operators"" health and in terms of corrosion of the equipment, and they require a large number of maintenance operations.
Aqueous ammonia tends to evaporate at ambient temperature and many commercial baths, particularly xe2x80x9chigh-speedxe2x80x9d baths, operate at between 40 and 60xc2x0 C. These baths emanate large quantities of gas in the treatment plants; these vapors not only irritate the operators"" respiratory tracts, but also are corrosive towards all surrounding cuprous metals, including the parts of pieces not immersed in the electrolyte.
Furthermore, the intense evaporation of aqueous ammonia causes a rapid drop in the pH and the volume of these electrolytes and obliges the users to make incessant and expensive additions of aqueous ammonia and pH adjustments. This maintenance is essential, including after every period in which the electrolyte is not in use.
Ammoniacal baths are conventionally alkaline baths operating in a pH range of between 8 and 13. In the case of metallization on nickel, for example, when the piece is immersed the alkalinity of the electrolyte favors passivation of the nickel, which can cause a lack of adhesion of the palladium alloy deposits.
When chlorides are present, they are the cause of yet more trouble:
The corrosion of stainless steel equipment is facilitated, resulting in electrolyte contamination.
During electrolysis, an insoluble yellow palladium salt is generated on the surface of platinized titanium anodes, resulting in multiple difficulties for all applications of the jet plating or continuous selective pad metallization type.
State of the Art Concerning Non-Ammoniacal Baths
The first baths of this type to have been described were pure palladium baths in very acidic media free of organic amines. They were difficult to use. In fact, at pH values of between 0 and 3, the substrates are attacked too strongly. Furthermore, many of these formulations contain chlorides.
A second type consists of pure palladium or palladium alloy baths containing organic amines, which operate at 40 to 65xc2x0 C., typically in a pH range of 9 to 12, i.e. under strongly alkaline conditions. At these high pH values and these temperatures, polyamines tend to evaporate appreciably and to rapidly become carbonated and produce crystals. Furthermore, under these conditions, the passivation of nickel-plated substrates is even greater than in ammoniacal baths. To overcome the lack of adhesion, it is necessary to palladium-plate the substrates beforehand in a preliminary step, thereby increasing the cost price of these deposits accordingly.
A third type of pure palladium baths containing organic amines is described in particular in patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,514. These baths, whose pH values are intermediate at between 3 and 7, generally contain phosphates and use a compound of the imide type, such as succinimide, as a brightening agent. In such baths, the allowable current densities are below 4 A/dm2. Furthermore, these baths contain pure palladium and are therefore mainly intended for decorative purposes.
These baths generally use phosphate buffers effective for the intended alkaline pH values. In certain cases, however, the incorporation of traces of phosphorus in the deposits can influence their quality and, in particular, can detract from their brightness.
On the other hand, compounds of the imide type are capable of improving the brightness of these pure palladium baths at low current densities, but the maximum current densities giving bright deposits do not exceed 4 A/dm2. Furthermore, to obtain this brightening action, imides are added in large amounts. Now, imides are strong complexing agents and their concentration therefore has a substantial influence on the complexation of any secondary metal incorporated. This makes it too difficult to control the composition of alloys under conditions of suitable brightness.
There is therefore a need for a novel process which excludes the use of aqueous ammonia, chlorides, phosphates and imides and which makes it possible to deposit stable alloys of bright appearance, optionally at very high speed, to give adherent ductile deposits without palladium plating beforehand. The pH of these baths should remain in the weakly acidic range. These baths should also be able to be associated with a metal reloading process capable of avoiding rapid concentration of the salts so as to obtain a long life.
None of the processes currently on the market is fully satisfactory.
An optimal formulation capable of meeting all these demands is precisely what the present invention proposes.
A problem which arises particularly in the case of electronic applications is that of finding a brightening agent which is effective at very high current density in a non-ammoniacal medium. In fact, as explained above, many brightening agentsxe2x80x94and this applies particularly to those of the imide typexe2x80x94only enable bright deposits to be obtained at moderate or low current densities. In non-ammoniacal baths, the known commercial brightening agents, such as nicotinamide or compounds of the sulfonate type, are incapable of extending the brightness of the deposits to high current densities, particularly those of between 15 and 150 A/dm2 that are desirable in xe2x80x9chigh-speedxe2x80x9d electroplating baths.
The present invention is aimed particularly at solving this problem by proposing the use of well-defined brightening agents capable of being used under the ideal conditions mentioned above.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,507 describes gold electroplating baths which use two specific brightening agents, namely 3-(3-pyridyl)acrylic acid or 3-(3-quinolyl)acrylic acid.
In the gold baths described in said document, these brightening agents exhibit a very good stability, even when used in very small amounts. They make it possible to extend the brightness to high current densities.
It has now been established that these brightening agents can also be used in electrolysis baths for the electrochemical deposition of palladium or its alloys in the presence of ethylenediamine acting as a palladium complexing agent. It has been demonstrated in particular that, in such baths, these brightening agents prove particularly active at high current densities, even in very low concentration.
It has thus been possible, by using these brightening agents, to prepare baths capable of being used in high-speed electroplating processes employing current densities analogous to or even higher than those used in the most efficient ammoniacal baths. For such applications, it has been possible to produce bright deposits of 0.1 to 6 xcexcm at current densities of between 0.5 and 150 A/dm2.
Furthermore, the invention has made it possible to find conditions under which, in the absence of chlorides and aqueous ammonia, the electroplating can be carried out without depositing insoluble salts on the anodes; this makes it possible to envisage applications in jet plating and in continuous selective metallization of the pad metallization type.
More precisely, according to one of its essential characteristics, the invention relates to an aqueous electrolysis bath of acidic pH for the electrochemical deposition of palladium or its alloys, said bath comprising a palladium compound and optionally at least one compound of a secondary metal to be codeposited in the form of an alloy with the palladium, and also comprising ethylenediamine as a palladium complexing agent, and an organic brightening agent, characterized in that said brightening agent is 3-(3-pyridyl)acrylic acid, 3-(3-quinolyl)acrylic acid or one of their salts, preferably one of their alkali metal salts, for example a sodium or potassium salt.
The bath of the invention makes it possible to deposit palladium or palladium alloys, particularly alloys containing from 60 to 100% of palladium and from 40 to 0% of one or more secondary metals such as nickel, cobalt, iron, indium, gold, silver or tin.
As regards both their constitution and their maintenance, the baths according to the present invention are totally free of aqueous ammonia.
The complexing agent used in the baths is ethylenediamine, which has a very low volatility at acidic pH, so there is no emission of vapors that irritate the operators"" respiratory tracts. Being capable of operating at 75xc2x0 C. with no really perceptible odor, these baths therefore allow higher operating temperatures than those used with ammoniacal baths (40 to 60xc2x0 C.), this being of value for high-speed electronic deposits.
With the absence of corrosive vapors, the surrounding cuprous metals are not attacked and there is no contamination of the bath with copper. A number of pickling and cleaning operations are therefore avoided.
For the same reasons, the pH remains unchanged in the absence of electrolysis and the pH adjustments are much smaller during electrolysis. The variations in the volume of the bath correspond only to the evaporation of water at the working temperature and to the losses through entrainment.
The electrolysis baths of the invention have a weakly acidic pH preferably of between 3 and 5. In fact, in this pH range, the baths of the invention prove particularly stable. This pH range is particularly suitable for baths containing nickel or cobalt, whose hydroxides would be likely to precipitate at pH values of between 6 and 7, and makes it possible to avoid obtaining cloudy deposits, as is the case for certain baths with a pH of between 5 and 6.
In the preferred pH range between 3 and 5, the brightness of the deposits obtained is generally enhanced by the presence of a secondary metal acting as an inorganic brightening agent, in a manner analogous to that observed in acidic gold baths.
Thus the electrolysis bath will advantageously contain between 0 and 60 g/l of at least one metal acting as an inorganic brightening agent.
One of the features of the baths according to the present invention is that they operate at weakly acidic pH values preferably of between 3 and 5.
These baths therefore do not have the disadvantages of the first over-acidic baths capable of attacking the substrate; nevertheless, they do not necessitate prior palladium plating. Conversely, at these pH values, a nickel-plated substrate does not become passivated on entering the electrolyte, as is the case with alkaline baths; the deposit is always very adherent.
These pH values and the possibility of depositing at high temperature are the most favorable conditions for obtaining non-porous deposits.
As explained above, the baths of the invention are intended for depositing palladium or its alloys, particularly alloys containing at least one secondary metal, such as nickel, cobalt, iron, indium, gold, silver or tin, in proportions of 0.1 to 40%.
The baths of the invention advantageously contain from 1 to 100 g/l of palladium.
In another variant of the invention, they contain at least one secondary metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, cobalt, iron, indium, gold, silver and tin, at a concentration of between 0.1 and 60 g/l.
As explained above, one of the essential constituents of the bath of the invention is ethylenediamine, which serves to complex and hence solubilize the palladium in the bath. This ethylenediamine is contained in the bath in an amount sufficient to complex the palladium and render it soluble in said bath, preferably at a concentration of between 2 and 200 ml/l.
Finally, the specific brightening agent used according to the invention, namely 3-(3-pyridyl)acrylic acid, 3-(3-quinolyl)acrylic acid or one of their salts, is contained in the bath at concentrations advantageously of between 0.01 and 3 g/l.
Of these two brightening agents, it will be particularly advantageous to use 3-(3-pyridyl)acrylic acid and more particularly advantageous to use the trans isomer of this acid.
As explained above, in contrast to the brightening agents of the prior art, these two brightening agents can be used at relatively low concentrations and at high current densities, particularly at current densities ranging up to 150 A/dm2, which makes it possible to envisage applying the baths of the invention particularly as high-speed baths for producing bright deposits. They can also be used for applications of the jet plating and continuous selective metallization type.
Furthermore, the electrolysis baths of the invention can contain various additives conventionally used in electroplating baths, such as conducting salts, buffers for stabilizing the pH, wetting agents and additives for reducing the internal voltages of the electrolytic deposits.
These various additives will advantageously be chosen so as not to introduce unwanted ions into the electrolysis bath and particularly so as not to introduce either chloride or phosphoric acid into the electrolysis bath.
Thus the baths of the invention advantageously contain at least 20 g/l of at least one conducting salt. This conducting salt will advantageously be selected from the group consisting of sodium sulfate, potassium sulfate and mixtures thereof.
The buffers for stabilizing the pH will preferably be of the acetic, citric, boric, lactic, malic, phthalic, acrylic, tartaric, oxalic or succinic type.
Wetting agents will advantageously be used. The preferred wetting agents according to the invention will be cetyltrimethylammonium bromide or iodide.
To avoid internal tensions, sodium saccharinate will advantageously be incorporated in the electrolysis bath.
In different variants which are particularly advantageous, the invention proposes conditions under which, in particular, the use of chlorides can be totally avoided.
The invention also proposes conditions under which loading of the bath with ions is avoided as far as possible so as to improve its life.
Thus, to avoid using chlorides, the palladium is advantageously introduced in the form of the sulfate.
Thus the baths according to the present invention are advantageously free of chlorides and the base anion of these baths is advantageously sulfate. It is in fact known that sulfate anions are often used in electroplating because they react at the electrodes much less readily than nitrite or sulfite ions, whose concentrations are much more difficult to maintain at a stable level in the electrolyte. These fluctuations in composition can result in cloudy deposits. In contrast to these formulations, the baths of the invention have a very good stability.
Furthermore, it is well known that the life of an electroplating bath can be appreciably prolonged by avoiding the accumulation of chemical species during the operation of said bath, so as to avoid saturating the electrolyte.
Thus, according to the invention, the palladium is advantageously introduced in the form of a compound specifically adapted to this purpose. This compound, which in itself is a novel compound, forms the subject of a patent application filed on the same date as the present patent application. More precisely, this compound, which takes the form of a water-insoluble salt, has the advantage of being convertible in the presence of excess ethylenediamine to a soluble complex as soon as it is introduced into the bath. Furthermore, by virtue of its chemical composition, this compound enables the palladium to be introduced with a much smaller amount of counterions (sulfate) than in the prior art. In fact, in the prior art, the palladium was introduced into the electrolysis baths either in the form of one of its salts, for example its sulfate, or, if need be, directly in the form of the water-soluble palladium sulfate/ethylenediamine complex.
More precisely, the palladium is particularly advantageously introduced into the electrolysis bath of the invention in the form of a solid salt of palladium sulfate and ethylenediamine which comprises from 31 to 41% by weight of palladium and in which the molar ratio [SO4]:[Pd] is between 0.9 and 1.15 and the ratio [ethylenediamine]:[Pd] is between 0.8 and 1.2.
A method has been specially developed for synthesizing palladium sulfate complexed by a single ethylenediamine in the form of a solid salt. This salt, although insoluble in water, is soluble in baths in which an excess of complexing agent is always present. This salt is very advantageous for readjusting the palladium concentration; its manufacture is described in detail below.
Still with the same concern to avoid loading the electrolysis bath with counterions, when one or more alloying metals are codeposited, i.e. consumed, it has been found most appropriate to reload the baths with these metals in the form of the carbonates. In fact, carbonates react in acidic media to form CO2, which rapidly escapes in gaseous form at the time of addition.
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This reaction takes place when the metal carbonate is added to the electrolyte. With this system the secondary metals can be readjusted without leaving any anions in the bath, so this system makes it possible to prolong the life of the baths of the present invention.
Another way of introducing the metals, still with the same concern to avoid loading the bath with counterions, consists in introducing them in the form of their hydroxides.
The secondary metals may also be introduced in the form of the sulfates.
In general, the secondary metals will advantageously be introduced in the form of the sulfates, carbonates, hydroxides or mixtures thereof.
Thus, by preferably avoiding the presence of chlorides, the baths of the invention make it possible to prolong the life of the electroplating equipment by preventing its corrosion.
According to another of its features, the invention further relates to a process for the electroplating of palladium or a palladium alloy, characterized in that it comprises operating an electrolysis bath as defined above by using current densities of between 0.5 and 150 A/dm2.
The process of the invention can be applied particularly advantageously to electronic applications, where it is sought to work at the maximum deposition rate and where the desired deposits must be bright, ductile and non-porous, inter alia. To obtain high productivities, the baths have to operate at the highest possible current density, and a high temperature and high agitation rate are often necessary. Baths based on ethylenediamine allow higher operating temperatures than those used with ammoniacal baths prone to the generation of gaseous emanations.
By virtue of the concomitant presence of ethylenediamine as complexing agent and one of the two specific brightening agents of the invention in a pH range preferably of between 3 and 5, using the baths of the invention makes it possible appreciably to extend the brightness to high and very high current densities. The maximum accessible current density that gives bright deposits is then proportional to the amount of this brightening agent.
The specific brightening agent of the invention can be used in palladium and palladium alloy baths, where it is also very effective as a brightening agent at high current densities and even at very low concentration.
In their high-speed version, the baths of the invention therefore allow current densities analogous to or higher than those of the most efficient ammoniacal baths. Depending on the application, bright deposits of 0.1 to 6 xcexcm can be produced at current densities of between 0.5 and 150 A/dm2.
However, the baths of the invention can also be used at lower speeds and current densities, particularly in decorative applications.
There is no formation of insoluble salt on platinized titanium anodes. This feature allows jet plating applications as well as continuous selective metallizations of the pad metallization type.
In the electroplating process of the invention, the anodes are insoluble anodes preferably made of platinized titanium, platinum coated with iridium oxide, or a precious metal such as platinum. Furthermore, the cathode consists of a metallized substrate.
The preferred formulations of baths according to the present invention can be described (without implying a limitation) by the following general composition, in which the concentrations of metal derivatives (palladium and optionally alloying metals) are based on the metal and in which the palladium is advantageously introduced in the form of a palladium sulfate/ethylenediamine compound with molar ratios [SO4]:[Pd] and [ethylenediamine]:[Pd] of 0.9 to 1.15 and 0.8 to 1.2 respectively:

Electrolytic solution for electrochemical deposit of palladium or its alloys

Metalor Technologies France Sas a French Simplified Joint Stock Company


Implementations provide an interface for initiating actions related to content the user is viewing on a mobile device. A method includes performing recognition on content captured from a display of a mobile device and identifying a plurality of entities in the content. The method may include issuing a query for each of the plurality of entities, ranking the plurality of entities based on the search results, generating an action card for at least some of the highest ranked entities, and providing the action cards for display on the mobile device. Alternatively or additionally, the method may include determining at least one contact in a contacts data store that corresponds to an entity and generating an action card for the entity, the action card having a first action that uses first information from the contacts data store and a second action that uses second information from the contacts data store.

Use of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, has been increasing. But navigating between applications in a mobile environment can be cumbersome, as mobile applications generally perform specific functions and do not conventionally interact. Furthermore, mobile applications can differ significantly in the features they provide and because of limited screen size and limited use of external input devices, navigation can be error prone and relatively time consuming.

Providing automatic actions for mobile onscreen content


The invention is generally directed towards monitoring of a signal (m), such as a clock signal or a data signal, by sampling the signal to obtain a discrete sample representation of the signal and analyzing the sample representation. The idea according to the invention is to slide a sample window (sw) over the sampled signal and determine whether the samples currently within the window include a valid transition sequence. in the general case, the existence of a valid signal is confirmed as long as a valid transition sequence is present in at least one of a predetermined number of consecutive sample windows. in order to reduce the need for oversampling in high-frequency applications, the invention furthermore proposes a multi-phase sampling technique according to which a number of phase-shifted sample clocks (s1 to sn) are generated for the purpose of sampling the signal to be monitored. Higher-frequency oversampling is thus replaced by a higher resolution in the time domain.

Supervision and monitoring of signals, such as clock signals and data signals, is of vital importance and signal monitors of various types can be found in many digital electronic systems such as telecommunication systems and other digital communication systems. For example, interfaces and clock paths for a synchronous digital system must continuously be supervised in order to maintain high reliability.
Basically, a signal monitor is an arrangement for monitoring the behavior and/or status of a signal. As long as the signal behaves as normal, the signal monitor confirms the existence of a valid signal. On the other hand, if the signal behavior deviates from normal, an alarm is normally raised so that appropriate actions can be taken.
The performance evaluation of a signal monitor is normally based on detection time and reliability. In high-performance applications, it is extremely important that the monitor has a fast detection speed so that a signal failure can be detected as soon as possible. High reliability is also essential and it is normally required that the monitor can handle different metastability situations.
Conventional signal monitors are often specialized application-dependent circuit solutions that require an intimate knowledge of the particular systems in which the monitors are applied. This generally means that the signal monitors are customized for signals with certain characteristics, thus making it difficult to adapt the signal monitors to system or application changes that imply supervision of signals with other characteristics.
General detection mechanisms that are capable of handling different types of signals under various conditions are normally very complex and require extensive data processing. Existing general detection mechanisms have worked quite well for monitoring of signals of low and moderate frequency. In high-frequency applications, however, the detection time latency is generally far too high to be acceptable. In many applications, the time from the actual signal failure until the alarm is activated may be several clock cycles. For high-frequency signals, there is simply not enough time for a complex detection mechanism to detect a signal failure in just a few clock cycles. Naturally, it would be beneficial if the reaction time was less than one cycle and close to ideal pulse width detection, even for high-performance and high-frequency applications.
In high-frequency applications, the monitored signal generally has to be sampled by a sample clock of much higher frequency, so-called oversampling. However, when the frequency of the monitored signal reaches higher and higher levels, it may not be possible to generate a high-frequency sample clock for oversampling purposes, at least not to a reasonable cost.
Therefore, most general loss detectors or signal monitors of today operate in a fairly moderate frequency range where oversampling and complex decision state machines are still options.