A method of manufacturing a fibre reinforced metal matrix composite article, the method comprising placing metal coated (18) fibers (14) between a first metal ring (30) and a second metal ring (36). Each of the metal-coated (18) fibres (14) having a glue (22) to hold the metal-coated (18) fibers (14) in position. A solvent is supplied to the glue (22) on the metal-coated (18) fibers (14) to soften the glue (22) and pressure is applied to allow the metal-coated (18) ceramic fibers (14) to become more closely packed. Thereafter the glue (22) is removed and the metal coated (18) fibers (14) and first and second metal rings (30, 36) are consolidated and diffusion bonded together.

In one known method of manufacturing a fibre reinforced metal matrix composite article, as disclosed in European patent No. EP0831154B1, a plurality of metal-coated fibres are placed in an annular groove in a metal ring and a further metal ring is placed on top of the metal-coated fibres. Each of the metal-coated fibres is wound spirally in a plane and the metal-coated fibre spirals are stacked in the annular groove in the metal ring. The metal rings are pressed predominantly axially to consolidate the assembly and to diffusion bond the metal rings and the metal coated fibre spirals together to form an integral structure.
In a further known method of manufacturing a fibre reinforced metal matrix composite article, as disclosed in European patent application No. EP1288324A2, the arrangement described in EP0831154B1 is modified by the inclusion of metal wires in the annular groove in the metal ring with the metal-coated fibres. Each of the metal wires is wound spirally in a plane and the metal wire spirals are stacked in the annular groove in the metal ring with the metal-coated fibre spirals.
In these methods of manufacturing a fibre reinforced metal matrix composite the metal coated fibres, or the metal coated fibres and metal wires, are wound spirally in a plane on a former and the metal coated fibre spirals, or metal coated fibre spirals and metal wire spirals, are temporarily held together with a glue to enable the metal coated fibre spirals, or metal coated fibre spirals and metal wire spirals, to be assembled in the annular groove in the metal ring. The glue is applied locally to the metal-coated fibre spirals, or metal coated fibre spirals and metal wire spirals.
Due to necessary clearances and slight variation in the diameter of the fibres or fibres and wires, the metal coated fibre spirals, or metal coated fibre spirals and metal wire spirals are not perfectly flat, i.e. adjacent metal coated fibres, or metal coated fibres and metal wires, are slightly out of plane. As a result the spirals are not ideally packed during the dry assembly of the spirals in the annular groove in the metal ring and this leaves undesirable excess free space between the metal-coated fibres. The excess free space means that the confronting faces of the metal rings will not abut each other and it is not possible to seal the assembly. It is then necessary to provide a deeper annular groove in the metal ring in order to allow the confronting faces of the metal rings to abut each other. An increase in the depth of the annular groove is undesirable because the further metal ring has to be moved a greater distance to achieve consolidation. Additionally, the excess free space allows the metal coated fibres to move out of position and may even allow some of the metal coated fibres to cross other metal coated fibres and this may results in breaking of the metal coated fibres during processing, essentially creating material defects.

Method of manufacturing a fibre reinforced metal matrix composite article


According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a vessel pressure control device configured for selectively applying pressure to a radial artery, the device comprising: a sensor configured to sense one or more parameters associated with blood flow through a portion of the radial artery; a pressure application element adapted to apply variable amounts of pressure to the portion of the radial artery; and a controller configured to apply logic and generate a signal to control the pressure application element in response to the one or more measured parameters, the signal controlling the pressure application element to modify or maintain the applied pressure so that at least some blood flow is maintained through the radial artery portion in an amount sufficient to reduce or prevent radial artery occlusion, and so that the applied pressure is sufficient to prevent bleeding from the portion.

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to a device for applying pressure to a bleeding vessel, more particularly, but not exclusively, to a device for applying pressure to the radial artery to prevent bleeding while allowing at least some blood flow therethrough.
Pancholy S B et al. "PROPHET Study", Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, Vol. 72, Issue 3, pages 335-340, 1 Sep. 2008, disclose "Patent hemostasis is highly effective in reducing radial artery occlusion after radial access and guided compression should be performed to maintain radial artery patency at the time of hemostasis, to prevent future radial artery occlusion."
Pancholy S B et al. "Impact of two different hemostatic devices on radial artery outcomes after transradial catheterization", J Invasive Cardiol. 2009 Mar; 21(3):101-4. Disclose "A significant reduction in radial artery occlusion was noted with hemostasis using the TR Band compared to the HemoBand, without compromising hemostatic efficacy."
U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,528 discloses "A hemostat for restricting blood flow through a blood vessel for assisting hemostasis. An ultrasonic sensor is mounted with a pressure pad to sense rate of blood flow through the vessel when pressure is applied to obtain minimum bleeding with maximum flow through the vessel, without need for continual observation."
U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,972 discloses "An arterial manometric dressing includes a pressure applying assembly having a pressure pad at a lower end thereof. A Doppler probe for determining blood flow in an artery forms part of the pressure applying assembly . . . . "
US Patent Application No. 2010/0191277 discloses "A system for controlling blood flow through a zone of a patient limb . . . . "
PCT publication NO. WO 98/46144 discloses "A hemostasis device and method is provided for closing wounds by the application of pressure."
Additional background art includes:
DE 102007054494 A1
U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,811
U.S. Pat. No. 6,572,636
U.S. Pat. No. 7,486,131
WO 2009/117447
Barbeau G R et al. Evaluation of the ulnopalmar arterial arches with pulse oximetry and plethysmography: comparison with the Allen's test in 1010 patients. Am Heart J. 2004 Mar; 147(3):489-93.


A vacuum priming system for drawing liquid into the pumping chamber to prime a vertical shaft centrifugal pump for pumping sewage or the like. The vacuum priming system includes a priming pump for developing a partial vacuum in the pumping chamber and causing liquid to be drawn into the pumping chamber to evacuate air therefrom. A sensor is provided for detecting the interface between the liquid and air in an area in or above the pumping chamber for activating and deactivating the priming pump. The sensor comprises a low sensitivity capacitive proximity sensor having a generally vertical sensing face for sensing the relative movement of the interface between the liquid and air.

This invention relates generally to sewage pumps, and more specifically to an improved priming system for a vertical shaft centrifugal pump of the type used in sewage pump stations.
Sewage pump stations typically include one or more vertical shaft centrifugal pumps that are usually mounted above the sewage level in the sewage receiving wet well. Since such pumps are not able to induce a vacuum by expulsing air from the pumping chamber, to draw liquid thereinto to fill the chamber, and thereby permit the pump to perform its liquid pumping function, it is necessary that the pumping chamber be primed or filled with a liquid by separate means. Such means typically includes a vacuum priming system for withdrawing air from a vacuum chamber in fluid communication with the pumping chamber. Examples of sewage pumps having such a priming system are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,519,369 and 3,558,012, which patents are commonly assigned to the same assignee as this invention.
The vacuum priming system must have a sensing means to determine when sufficient air is withdrawn from the priming chamber to control the operation of the vacuum priming pump. It has been the heretofore practice to utilize either an electrically conductive type sensor or a mechanical displacement type sensor. The conductive type sensor includes a metal rod or electrode to complete an electrical circuit through a relay when the liquid rises around the electrode. The circuit is from a power source through the metal frame, liquid, electrode, relay and back to the power source. Obviously, if anywhere in this circuit it becomes open or non-conductive, the circuit will not function. It has been found that as the electrode becomes coated with grease and solids from the sewage, it becomes non-conductive. Therefore, it has been necessary to clean the electrode every few weeks to avoid malfunction of the priming system. Malfunction can also be caused by bridging of solids or liquids to the frame. The electrode also inherently requires a non-conductive holder, made of a material such as plastic, which reduces the pressure rating of the pump.
The mechanical displacement type sensor typically utilizes either a float to move a set of electrical contacts between a closed or open position or a float containing a magnet that moves up and down a stationary rod containing reed switches that open or close in response to the position of the float. Both of these systems require a moving part in the sewage area that over a period of time tends to seize up. Accordingly, the mechanical displacement type sensors also require frequent cleaning and maintenance.
There is a need for a sensor means for use in the priming system of a sewage pump requiring no cleaning or other maintenance and yet is reliable in operation. There is further a need for such a sensor means that permits a high pump pressure rating. There is still a further need for such a sensor means that does not present a voltage in the sewage area or on top of the pump as is found in certain conductive type sensors.


A system and methodology to facilitate communication between non-compatible communication devices by utilization of a dynamic media proxy is provided. Information associated with an endpoint, such as, media capabilities, identity and system resource information is collected. Media proxy'ing is performed as part of capability negotiation. A dynamic media proxy is employed based on an analysis of the collected information. An analysis component can identify an endpoint that does not adhere to specific rules of transmission and can dynamically connect such an endpoint to a VTG (virtual talk group) via a proxy to prevent the endpoint from transmitting media into an active VTG that already has multiple talkers streaming media. Additionally, the location where media processing can occur can be dynamically determined based on the available system resources.

Businesses around the world including public and private groups, such as security and safety personnel (e.g., police, fire fighters and ambulance drivers) use communication networks that employ differing technologies and/or standards for communication. Many networks utilize land mobile radios communicating through push-to-talk technologies. However, communications among different endpoints of different networks such as endpoints that employ differing technologies and/or standards may be difficult. Collaboration between the different agencies and networks tends to be ad hoc and inefficient and involves laborious manual intervention.
Interoperability systems can employ an Internet protocol (IP) network collaboration platform that brings two-way radios into the realm of IP networking, offering all the benefits of this widely embraced, standards-based technology and extending the reach of two-way radios to other voice, video and data networks. Interoperability systems employ standards-based IP technologies to join various non-compatible communications systems into one, cohesive infrastructure. The interoperability system expects certain behavioral conformance from the end points in the system to maintain a consistent end user experience, such as, but not limited to, audio quality, number of active talkers in a group, or talk group features (e.g. floor control, priority, pre-emption, etc.). Endpoints developed and controlled by the interoperability system software can adhere to the expected behavioral characteristics. However, endpoints based on platforms external to the interoperability system cannot automatically conform to the expected characteristics. Further, endpoints that are not complying with the interoperability system behavior cannot respect floor control of the system. Such endpoints can lose out on talk group features, such as, talker-id. Furthermore, endpoints based on non-interoperability platforms can potentially abuse the system through intentional and/or unintentional rogue behavior.

Interoperability and communications system dynamic media proxy based on capability negotiation


A simple and convenient sensor and measuring apparatus utilizing the optical interference effect of an optical thin film capable of measuring the binding between biochemical substances at a high throughput and having alkali resistance. An optical thin film of silicon nitride is disposed on the first surface and the rear surface of a silicon substrate, and the thickness of the silicon nitride film is modified in a direction parallel to the film. A portion of the thin film with increased thickness is used as a sensor upon which a probe is disposed, and over which a sample-containing solution is caused to flow. The binding between the probe and biochemical sample is detected based upon the change of the intensity of reflected light.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a biochemical sensor utilizing an optical thin film, components for the sensor, and a measuring apparatus utilizing the same.
2. Description of the Background
The bindings between biochemical substances, such as in an antigen-antibody reaction, have generally been measured using a "label" such as a radioactive substance or fluorescence materials. Labeling is laborious and, particularly, the labeling of proteins is sometimes complicated in view of the method and the fact that the proteins may be altered by this labeling process. In view of the above, a biochemical sensor utilizing the change of interference color of an optical thin film has been known as a method of directly measuring the binding between biochemical substances in a simple and convenient manner, without using a label.
A biochemical sensor is described in the article of T. Sandstrom, et. al., APPL. OPT., 24, 472, 1985 (hereafter "Non-Patent Document 1"). An example is to be described with reference to the model shown in FIG. 1. An optical thin film 2 is disposed on a substrate 1. The refractive index of air is 1.00, the refractive index of the material for the optical thin film 2 is 1.50, and the refractive index of the substrate 1 is 2.25 in this exemplary sensor. When the thickness of the optical thin film is adjusted or controlled to an optical length corresponding to ¼ (or an odd number multiple thereof) of a wavelength λ0 of visible light (for example, ¾ λ0, 5/4λ0, etc.), the optical thin film acts as an anti-reflection film in which the intensity of reflected light perpendicular to the optical thin film is 0 at a wavelength λ0 as shown by a reflection spectrum A in FIG. 2. Thus, the sensor produces an interference color.
A single molecular layer of a first biochemical substance 3 is disposed on the optical thin film 2. Assuming the biochemical substance as a protein, the refractive index is about 1.5 and the thickness of the layer is about 10 nm. This means that the thickness of the optical thin film increases in terms of optics. Therefore, the reflection spectrum changes from a solid line A to a short dashed line A′ in FIG. 2, and the interference color changes. When a second biochemical substance 4 is biochemically binded to the first biochemical substance 3, the film thickness further increases which causes a change from the short dashed line A′ to the broken line A″ in FIG. 2 and another change in the interference color. Thus, binding of the second biochemical substance 4 may be detected.
As a general detection procedure, the optical thin film 2 on the substrate 1 covered with a single molecular layer 3 of a first biochemical substance is prepared first. This preparation is put into a solution of a second biochemical substance (4). Then, the preparation is taken out of the solution, dried and then the change of the interference color from the short dashed line A′ to broken line A″ in FIG. 2 is examined.
Further, light reflection caused at the back of the substrate 1 may be suppressed by using a light absorbing material, for example silicon, as the material for the substrate 1. Silicon monoxide is vapor deposited as an optical thin film to the silicon substrate and the uppermost surface layer is formed into silicon dioxide of 2 to 3 nm thickness obtained by spontaneous oxidation of silicon monoxide, thereby preparing a chemically stable film.
As described above, in the existing biochemical sensors utilizing an optical thin film disposed on the light absorbing substrate, the interference color is measured after taking the sensor out of solution and drying the sensor in air. Further, Japanese Patent Application JP-A No. 195242/1983 (hereafter "Patent Document 1") describes detection of a chemical substance using dielectric layers. Patent Document 1 describes that a SiO2 layer is disposed on the surface of a carrier comprised of silicon to form a reflection-reducing coating.
However, since the sensor described in Non-Patent Document 1 above is taken out in the air and the interference color is measured after drying for detection, it takes an undesirable amount of time during the drying step, and improvement for the throughput is desired. Further, since measurement is conducted after a lapse of a predetermined time after the beginning of the reaction, the sensor is sometimes taken out into the air before saturation of the reaction, depending upon the way in which the predetermined time is set, so that measurement cannot always be conducted with high (maximum) accuracy. On the other hand, if a long predetermined time is set in order for measurement to be taken after sufficient saturation of the reaction, because the sensor is dipped into the solution after waiting for the saturation of the reaction, the efficiency is poor in view of time.
At the same time, with respect to the chemical resistance of the sensor, an alkali cleaning is an effective method for removing organic matters that may be deposited on the sensor. Further, when surface modification is applied for immobilization of the first biochemical substance on the sensor surface and for preventing non-specific adsorption of molecules to the sensor surface, a sensor chip is sometimes dipped in an alkali solution, so that alkali resistance is important. However, a silicon substrate has poor resistance to an aqueous alkali solution, and it dissolves in an aqueous 1 M sodium hydroxide while evolving bubbles. Further, using silicon dioxide as the uppermost layer of the optical thin film described in Non-Patent Document 1 has no sufficient resistance to alkali.

Biochemical measuring chip and measuring apparatus


A remote control mechanism for controlling electricity from a non-interruptible electric supply, and for optionally and simultaneously controlling electricity from a second, but interruptible electric supply like that provided by a clock-actuated switch in series with a continuous electric supply. The mechanism is useful as an actuating means for electrical apparatus plugged-in to its outlet.

Remote control switches are well known in the art. One such device is Tandy Corporation's Radio Shack Wireless Remote Switch (Catalog No. 61-2667). It connects to a single electric supply, and comprises a receiver-controlled switch and a hand-held transmitter for switching electricity ON and OFF. A lamp or appliance plugged-in to its outlet may be switched ON and OFF from a remote location.
A new device, revealed as an actuating means for the drapery actuator described in the aforesaid Patent, is a remote control apparatus that can control electricity from a single electric supply, and optionally and simultaneously control electricity from a second electric supply. This invention safely controls electricity from both electric supplies by means of a single switch and a single outlet. An electrical device plugged-in to its outlet may be caused to switch ON and OFF.

Remote control switch for controlling two electric supplies


Low pass equivalent processing is a method for use with a network analyzer, that gethers a sequence of NDATA samples, each sample including real and imaginary components of a signal, over a frequency range from F1 to f2 in frequency steps of (f2-f1)/(NDATA-1), where f1 is greater than zero. The sequence of samples is processed to estimate a characteristic of the signal with respect to a selected discontinuity in the signal. The sequence of samples is converted to time domain, to generate time domain data over a range from zero to t. The selected discontinuity is identified as lying within a range of t1 to t2. Next, the phase of the time domain data is unwound to correct a portion of the phase error resulting from the one sided spectrum that is not dependent on the distance to the discontinuity through the network. Next, the magnitude peak JMAX of the data samples between time range t1 to t2, is determined. The phase angles of the data at two points removed from the magnitude JMAX by a number of data points dependent on the type of biasing window used in measurement of the data are used to determine a slope through JMAX. From this information, an estimate is made of the location of the discontinuity in the network. The phase of the time domain data is unwrapped in response to that estimate of location according to an empirically derived equation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic network analysis, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for processing data samples indicating the transmission or reflection characteristics of an electronic network.
2. Description of Related Art
Network analyzers, such as the WILTRON 360, available through WILTRON, 490 Jarvis Drive, Morgan Hill, Calif. 95037, measure the real and imaginary components of the reflection and transmission coefficients of a network over a range of equally-spaced frequencies between operator-delivered frequencies f1 and f2. The analyzer will display the results of the measurements in a real and imaginary format, or they can be converted to magnitude and phase and displayed in a variety of graph types for the user's convenience. One technique, which has proven useful in practice, for analyzing the measurements, involves taking the data measured in a frequency domain and converting it to the time domain by means of an inverse Fourier transform. The Fourier transform will give the response of the network in the time domain. With time domain data, the results of the measurements can be used to determine distances in the network to discontinuities reflected in the data, because time is directly related to distance through the network by the velocity of propagation of the signals through the network. Therefore, this technique is useful for analyzing complex electronic networks in order to isolate discontinuities.
If only the magnitudes and locations of various discontinuities are to be determined, it is then a simple matter to transform the frequency domain data exactly as it is measured. However, it is possible to increase the utility of the time domain data by performing additional processing steps to identify correct phase measurements for the data.
In the prior art, a true low-pass algorithm has been utilized to construct the additional time domain data reflecting accurate phase information. However, for the true low-pass algorithm, f1 must be zero. The algorithm works by constructing a complete double-sided spectrum from -f2 to f2 by taking the complex conjugate of the data at each positive frequency and placing it at the corresponding negative frequency as shown below.
______________________________________ DATA FROM MEASUREMENT 0 f2 FREQUENCY DOMAIN x1 x2 x3 . . . xn (real part of data) 0 y2 y3 . . . yn (imaginary part) CONSTRUCTED COMPLEX CONJUGATE SPECTRUM -f2 0 f2 FREQUENCY DOMAIN xn . . . x3 x2 x1 x2 x3 . . . xn (real part) -yn . . . -y3 -y2 0 y2 y3 . . . yn (imaginary part) ______________________________________
The inverse Fourier transform of the constructed complex conjugate spectrum is real, that is, the imaginary part is zero for all data samples as shown below.
______________________________________ 0 t TIME DOMAIN x1 x2 x3 . . . (real part) 0 0 0 . . . (imaginary part) ______________________________________
From the real part of the transform, it is possible to deduce not only the magnitude of the network discontinuities, but their nature. If the discontinuity consists of a change in impedance, that fact can be recognized and an increase of impedance can be distinguished from a decrease. If a discontinuity is reactive, it can be identified as inductive or capacitive. The location of each discontinuity can be determined within the resolution limits of the measurement.
This true low pass method has been used for a number of years. However, it is subject to the constraint that the measured data must be available with the entire spectrum down to zero frequency (f1 must be zero). If the reflection of interest is from a narrow band circuit, such as a filter or wave guide, the true low pass method cannot be used. Further, for equipment that is incapable of providing equal frequency steps all the way down to zero frequency, the true low pass method is unavailable.
Thus, in the more general case, f1 is not zero. The missing information from the unmeasured part of the spectrum between zero frequency and fl, causes a distortion in the time domain response.
Another source of distortion is the phase rotation in the time domain which is an unavoidable consequence of transforming a single sided spectrum. The arbitrary phase rotation which appears in this case makes it impossible, using prior art techniques, to determine the nature of the discontinuity at a given distance.
Accordingly, there is a need for apparatus and methods for processing data measured over a range of frequencies from f1 to f2 where f1 is greater than zero. In particular, it is desirable to identify accurate phase information for data samples of interest in the time domain where the complete complex conjugate spectrum is unavailable.

Apparatus and method for low-pass equivalent processing


A gate driver includes a plurality of gate driver units. Each of the gate driver units includes a GOA driving circuit and at least one buffer GOA driving circuits at multiple levels. The GOA driving circuit outputs output signals during a display stage, wherein the output signals are transmitted to gate lines and the buffer GOA driving circuits at multiple levels. The output signals are transmitted between the levels when the buffer GOA driving circuits at the multiple levels are during a touch stage, and the output signals are transmitted to the GOA driving circuit of the driving unit at the next level. In addition, a touch panel includes the above gate driver.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to display technology, and more particularly to a gate driver and the touch panel having the gate driver.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Currently, capacitive touch panels usually adopt three solutions including on glass solution (OGS) On-Cell (mounted) and In-Cell (embedded). The manufacturing process of In-Cell solution is characterized by attributes such as thinner, better transparency, and more stable structure, when compared with the OGS and the On-Cell.
With respect to the in-cell technology, generally, liquid crystal panels or OLED display panels are adopted as display panels. Taking the liquid crystal panel as one example, the gate driver on array (GOA) solution is adopted to manufacture the gate driver on the array substrate so as to conduct the column scanning driving toward the gate lines.
Regarding the capacitive touch panels adopting the In-Cell technology having high refresh rate, i.e., 120 Hz, the pixel cells on the liquid crystal panel are divided into a plurality of pixel blocks along a top-down direction. During a display scanning phase, the touch panel drives the corresponding pixel blocks by the GOA circuit, and then enters a touch scanning phase. This may enhance the touch sensibility, but may also contribute to the GOA circuit failure. During the touch scanning phase, the GOA circuit pauses the scanning driven toward the gate lines, which increases the electrical leakage risk of the gate of the thin film transistor connected with the gate line.

Gate drivers and the touch panels having the gate drivers

Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd

Wuhan China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd


The present specification discloses porous materials, methods of forming such porous material, biocompatible implantable devices comprising such porous materials, and methods of making such biocompatible implantable devices. The porous material may be used to fix to the interior mucosal lining of a patient's gastrointestinal tract.

Porous materials are widely used in biomedical, industrial, and household applications. In the biomedical field, porous materials have been used as scaffolds (templates) for tissue engineering/regeneration, wound dressings, drug release matrices, membranes for separations and filtration, sterile filters, artificial kidneys, absorbents, hemostatic devices, and the like. In various industrial and household applications, porous materials have been used as insulating materials, packaging materials, impact absorbers, liquid or gas aborbents, membranes, filters and so forth.
Implantable medical devices frequently induce a foreign body response that results in the formation of an avascular, fibrous capsule around the implant, which limits the performance of the device. For example, formation of these fibrous capsules can result in capsular contracture, the tightening and hardening of the capsule that surrounds the implanted device. Capsular contractions not only distort the aesthetic appearance of the surrounding are where the implant is placed, but also cause pain to the individual. Problems with capsular formation and contracture occur in many types of implantable medical devices, such as, e.g., pacemakers, orthopedic joint prosthetics, dura matter substitutes, implantable cardiac defibrillators, tissue expanders, and tissue implants used for prosthetic, reconstructive, or aesthetic purposes, like breast implants, muscle implants, or implants that reduce or prevent scarring. Correction of capsular contracture may require surgical removal or release of the capsule, or removal and possible replacement of the device itself.
Scar tissue formation in the healing of a wound or surgical incision is also a process involving the formation of fibrous tissue. A visible scar results from this healing process because the fibrous tissue is aligned in one direction. However, it is often aesthetically desirable to prevent scar formation, especially in certain types of plastic surgery.
The biological response to implantable medical devices and wound healing appears dependent on the microarchitecture of the surface of the implants. Implants with smooth surfaces in particular are most susceptible to capsular formation and contracture. One means of reducing capsular formation and contracture has been to texture the surface of an implantable medical device. In these methods, a textured surface is imprinted onto the surface of a device forming "hills" and "valleys" architecture. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,425, Textured Surface Prosthesis Implants; U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,942, Method of Making Textured Surface Prosthesis Implants. However, capsular contracture can still occur in implantable medical devices textured in that manner.
In addition, medical devices for implantation within a patient's gastrointestinal tract are typically anchored in place with sutures or other barbs. Capsular contracture is typically a remote issue for such kinds of implantation. However, such implantation methods may cause an adverse effect in the patient's body, such as a prolonged puncture or penetration of the gastrointestinal tract. It is thus desirable to produce a less invasive manner of fixing implantable devices within the gastrointestinal tract.

Mucosal tissue adhesion via textured surface


A lighting system includes a light source included in an array of light sources to emit illuminating light, a sensor Included in the array to sense environmental light from an environment, and a controller operatively connected to the sensor and the light source to analyze the environmental light sensed by the sensor to at least one of detect and generate data relating to a condition of the environment. The data is transmittable in a data light defined by a data wavelength defined relative to the illuminating light. The controller receives the data included in the data light using the sensor and analyzes the data included in the data light and to control the transmission of the data light from the light source. The plurality of light sources emit the illuminating light in a plurality of directions. The sensor receives the environmental light from a plurality of directions.

Lighting systems have been used to illuminate spaces since the discovery of fire. Over the years, technology has brought us the Incandescent light, which produces light by heating a metal filament, causing it to radiate heat. Although the incandescent light is capable of illuminating an area, it does so with little efficiency.
The fluorescent lamp was introduced to provide comparable light while using less energy. The fluorescent lamp excites a gas, such as mercury vapor, within a confined volume. The atoms of the excited gas typically produce ultraviolet light as it moves between energy levels. The ultraviolet light is then absorbed by a conversion material, such as a phosphor. The phosphor may shift the wavelength range of the absorbed light, emitting a light with longer wavelengths. This shift may be known to skilled artisans as a Stokes shift. This phosphor-emitted or converted light may be within the visible spectrum, which may be used to illuminate a space.
Seeking additional efficiency, continuing advancements in technology have brought the light emitting semiconductor device, and more specifically, the light emitting diode. Light emitting diodes may emit light when driven by an electrical current. Like fluorescent lights, conversion materials may be applied to a light emitting semiconductor device to alter the wavelength range of the light used to illuminate a space.
Lighting systems that include a conversion material may conveniently allow the conversion of a source light emitted from a light source into light of a different wavelength range. Often, such a conversion may be performed by using a luminescent, fluorescent, or phosphorescent material. The wavelength conversion materials may sometimes be included in the bulk of another material, applied to a lens or optic, or otherwise located in line with the light emitted from light source. In some instances the conversion material may be applied to the light source itself. A number of disclosed inventions exist that describe lighting devices that utilize a conversion material applied to an LED to convert light with a source wavelength range into light with a converted wavelength range.
Additional strategies to reduce power consumption involve controlling a lighting system to illuminate a space only when the illumination is required. Traditionally, toggle switches have been included in lighting circuits to allow a user to directly control the operational state of the light. Additionally, timers maybe be included in the light circuit to turn a light on and off according to a predetermined or dynamic timing schedule. However, switches and timers offer little flexibility unless directly engaged by a user.
Sensors may additionally be included in lighting systems to control operation upon the sensed compliance with a desired event. As an example, sensors may determine the level of light in a space, which may, in turn, cause a lighting system to be turned on upon sensing that a value falls below a threshold value. As an additional example, sensors may detect the presence of movement in a space to control illumination. However, Including dedicated sensors may increase the number of parts and complexity required to build the lighting system, thereby increasing its manufacturing cost.
Additionally, each lighting device may operate independent of other lighting devices, requiring sensors included in each lighting device, further increasing production costs. Some proposed solutions have included wireless radio transmitters in the lighting systems, to allow communication between the devices included therein. However, the inclusion of wireless radios further increases the complexity and number of components included in the lighting system.
One proposed solution is described in by international patent application publications WO 2011/016860, WO 2011/008251, WO 2010/098811, and WO 2010/027459, each by Knapp, and that each involve using the light emitting semiconductor device to perform the operations of a photodiode during portions of the duty cycle when the light emitting semiconductor device is not emitting light. The aforementioned Knapp applications additionally recite using the light emitting semiconductor devices to transmit and receive bi-directional communication between devices included in the lighting system. However, the Knapp applications employ data transmission methods that may result in redundant data transmission, decreasing the effective throughput of the system. Additionally, the Knapp applications lack advanced wavelength sensing functionality, limiting the effectiveness of the system disclosed therein.
There exists a need for a wavelength lighting system that can emit an Illuminating light and sense an environmental light by altering its operational state between various portions of the duty cycle. There further exists a need for a lighting system that can analyze the sensed environmental light to alter the characteristics of the nodes included in the lighting system. There exists a need for a lighting system that includes a wavelength conversion material to expand the wavelength range of light that may be emitted or detected by a light emitting semiconductor device. Additionally, there exists a need for a lighting system wherein the nodes intercommunicate to increase the effectiveness of the system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Wavelength sensing lighting system and associated methods


This document provides methods and materials related to differentiating iPS cells into glucose-responsive, insulin-secreting progeny. For example, methods and material for using indolactam V (ILV) and glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) to produce glucose-responsive, insulin-secreting progeny from iPS cells are provided.

1. Technical Field
This document relates to methods and materials involved in differentiating induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells into glucose-responsive, insulin-secreting progeny. For example, this document relates to the use of indolactam V (ILV) and glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) to produce glucose-responsive, insulin-secreting progeny from iPS cells.
2. Background Information
Stem cells are characterized by the ability of self-renewal and differentiation into a diverse range of cell types. The two broad types of mammalian stem cells are embryonic stem (ES) cells and adult stem cells. Adult stem cells or progenitor cells replenish specialized cells to repair or maintain regenerative organs. Most adult stem cells are lineage-restricted and generally referred to by their tissue origin, such as adipose-derived stem cells. ES cell lines are derived from the epiblast tissue of the inner cell mass of a blastocyst or early morula stage embryos. ES cells are pluripotent and give rise to derivatives of the three germinal layers, i.e., the ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm.

Differentiating induced pluripotent stem cells into glucose-responsive, insulin-secreting progeny

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research


Disclosed herein is a method of etching a trench in silicon overlying a dielectric material which reduces or substantially eliminates notching at the base of the trench, while reducing scalloping on the sidewalls of the trench. The method comprises etching a first portion of a trench by exposing a silicon substrate, through a patterned masking layer, to a plasma generated from a fluorine-containing gas. This etching is followed by a polymer deposition step comprising exposing the substrate to a plasma generated from a gas which is capable of forming a polymer on etched silicon surfaces. The etching and polymer deposition steps are repeated for a number of cycles, depending on the desired depth of the first portion of the trench. The final portion of the trench is etched by exposing the silicon to a plasma generated from a combination of a fluorine-containing gas and a polymer-forming gas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a method of etching a trench in a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure. In particular, the present invention is a method of etching a trench in silicon overlying a dielectric material, where etching is performed using a plasma generated from a combination of a fluorine-containing etchant gas and a passivation gas.
2. Brief Description of the Background Art
Deep trench silicon etching is one of the principal technologies currently being used to fabricate microstructure devices, and is an enabling technology for many microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) applications. Currently, the most commonly used single-crystal silicon deep trench etch process is based upon a cyclic plasma etch/polymer deposition method. The process enables the removal of at least one micron (1 xcexcm) of silicon per etch cycle. During the etch portion of the etch/deposition process, the principal etchant is often SF6, which may be used in combination with a diluent so that the SF6 concentration in the etchant plasma source gas is about 75% or greater by volume. During the polymer deposition portion of the process, a plasma generated from polymer-forming gases such as CHF3 is introduced to the chamber to produce polymer coatings on the trench sidewall. The polymer coating helps prevent lateral etching of the trench sidewall during a vertical etch portion of a subsequent cycle.
The cycling of gases in the etch/deposition process introduces a unique type of sidewall roughness known as scalloping. FIG. 1 shows an open area 104 etched in a silicon substrate 102 to form a silicon trench sidewall 206 exhibiting 0.8 micron deep (d) scallops 108. Scalloping occurs because the SF6 etch is relatively isotropic. Because of the discontinuous etch and deposition steps in a silicon etch/polymer deposition process, the etch profile of a single etch step is not flat, but rather it is concave with respect to etched open area 104. Every etch/deposition cycle leaves a concave scallop 108 on the trench sidewall. This shape is then repeated for each successive etch step, resulting in a sidewall with a wavy, scalloped profile. Scalloping is particularly a problem when the etched trench is to be used as a mold in a subsequent process and when the silicon trench surface is to be used in an optical component.
Another problem which occurs when etching a trench in silicon in an SOI (silicon-on-insulator) structure is known as notching. Notching occurs as the etch front approaches the silicon/dielectric interface. When an etchant gas (such as SF6) which has a high selectivity for etching silicon relative to an underlying oxide layer is used during the etch process, etchant species accumulate at the base of the trench. As etching progresses, and there is little or no silicon left at the base of the trench to be etched in a vertical direction, lateral etching into the silicon sidewall at the bottom of the trench continues, resulting in a severely undercut, notched profile at the base of the trench. Notching is particularly a problem when etching closely spaced trenches. If notching is severe, the bases of adjacent trenches could be joined. Such joining at the bottom of the trenches leads to subsequent device failure. FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional schematic of closely spaced, adjacent trenches 210, 220, which have been formed in a silicon substrate 202 overlying a dielectric material 200. Trenches 210 and 220 have been joined at their respective bases 212, 222, due to severe notching as a result of a silicon trench etch process. The sidewalls 214, 224 of trenches 210 and 220 also exhibit scalloping.
We have developed a method of etching a trench in silicon overlying a dielectric material which reduces or substantially eliminates notching at the base of the trench, while reducing scalloping on the sidewalls of the trench.
In one embodiment of the method, a first portion of a trench is etched by exposing a silicon substrate, through a patterned masking layer, to a plasma generated from a fluorine-containing gas. The fluorine-containing gas typically comprises at least 70 volume % of the plasma source gas used during etching. This etching is followed by a polymer deposition step comprising exposing the substrate to a plasma generated from a gas which is capable of forming a polymer on etched silicon surfaces. The etching and polymer deposition steps are repeated for a number of cycles, depending on the desired depth of the first portion of the trench. The desired depth of the first portion of the trench is typically dependent on the final desired trench depth. For relatively shallow trenches, the depth of the first portion of the trench is typically at least 50%, and more typically, at least 70%, of the final desired trench depth. For deeper trenches, the depth of the first portion of the trench is typically about 90% of the final desired trench depth.
The final portion of the trench is etched by exposing the silicon to a plasma generated from a combination of a fluorine-containing gas and a polymer-forming gas. The volumetric ratio of the fluorine-containing gas to the polymer-forming gas is typically within the range of about 1:1 to about 20:1, and more typically, within the range of about 8:1 to about 10:1.
The fluorine-containing gas used during etching is typically SF6, CF4, NF3, or a combination thereof, and is most typically SF6. The polymer-forming gas is typically, but not limited to, a carbon-containing gas, such as C4F8, CH2F2, CHF3, or CF4. During the polymer deposition step, the polymer-forming gas may also be HBr or other compounds capable of reacting with silicon to form a polymer. However, during the combined etching/passivation step, we recommend the use of a carbon-containing compound as the polymer-forming gas.
The combined etching/passivation step successfully eliminates notching at the interface of the silicon substrate and the underlying dielectric.
In an alternative embodiment of the method, the entire trench depth is etched by exposing the silicon, through a patterned masking layer, to a plasma generated from a combination of a fluorine-containing gas and a polymer-forming gas. The silicon etch rate is slower with the single-step embodiment than with the embodiment described above. Also, the selectivity for etching silicon relative to an overlying photoresist masking layer is lower with the single-step embodiment. Therefore, the depth of trenches which may be etched using the single-step embodiment is typically limited by the thickness of the photoresist layer which can be applied.

Method of etching a trench in a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure


A method for manufacturing a MOS transistor formed in a silicon block on insulator with convex rounded up edges, initially consisting in etching the block in a thin layer of silicon on insulator (SOI). In this method etching of the block comprises the following steps: forming at the position where it is desired to obtain the block a mask layer portion (3) having a thickness slightly higher than that of the SOI; depositing a second silicon layer (11) having a predetermined thickness; and anisotropically etching silicon until said insulator is apparent outside the mask layer portion.

The present invention relates to MOS transistors manufactured from a thin silicon on insulator (SOI) layer and more particularly to mesa-type transistors, that is, transistors formed from individual blocks etched in the thin silicon layer.
FIG. 1A shows such a silicon block. block 1 is formed on an isolating substrate 2 and above the silicon block 1 is shown the mask portion 3 which has served to delineate it. Conventionally, insulator 2 is constituted by a silicon oxide layer formed on a silicon wafer and mask layer 3 is constituted by a silicon oxide and silicon nitride or an oxide-nitride-oxide (ONO) sandwich. In FIG. 1A, it is assumed that the silicon block 1 was delineated by anisotropic etching (for example in presence of a fluorine plasma) whereby each block exhibits rectilinear edges and has a parallelepiped shape.
FIG. 1B shows an analogous structure to that of FIG. 1A but wherein etching was made by wet etching with an acid such as potassium hydroxide (KOH).
The approach of FIG. 1A is generally preferred because in that case the size of the silicon block 1 corresponds with a great accuracy to the size of mask 3 whereas, in case of isotropic etching, the block size is not precisely determined. In addition, the use of KOH presents drawbacks associated with the possible presence of potassium residues. However, in case of anisotropic etching, the angle between the upper surface of a block is substantially perpendicular to the edges.
FIG. 2A is a lop view of a MOS transistor obtained from a vertical-edges block at an intermediate manufacturing step, and FIGS. 2B and 2C are section views according to planes BB and CC, respectively, of FIG. 2A. Those figures show a manufacturing step wherein the mask layer 3 has been eliminated, a thin gale oxide layer 5 has been deposited and a polysilicon gate layer 6 has been deposited and then etched according to the desired gate shape. After this step, conventionally, drain and source are implanted, spacers are formed on both sides of the gate, drain and source are implanted again and contacts are formed.
Such a circuit presents several drawbacks.
First, as can be seen in FIG. 2B, considering the gate oxide layer 5, the latter will unavoidably exhibit failures near right angle corners 7, whereby points with a low breakdown voltage occur at the upper mesa angles.
A second drawback is associated to the fact that, when the polysilicon gate 6 is etched, this step is anisotropically carried out for maintaining the size of the mask which has served to determine the gate. As a result, there remains conductive residues 8 visible in FIGS. 2A and 2C at the block periphery. Those residues are liable to cause shortings; to eliminate them, the gate has to be overetched and the mask size is no longer maintained, which constitutes a redhibitory drawback in case sizes smaller than one micrometer are to be achieved.
Thirdly, when a MOS transistor is formed, it is generally desired to overdop (according to a conductivity type inverse to that of the drain-source doping) the block periphery to cancel any parasitic transistor effect along transistor edges Such an overdoping implantation cannot be formed from an abrupt edge block as shown in FIG. 1A. It is then necessary to implement more sophisticated techniques, consisting, after forming mask pads 3 and before etching blocks 1, in implanting the silicon layer and annealing same to obtain a lateral penetration into block edges. After etching, blocks with overdoped edges are obtained. This method presents the drawback of requiring several additional manufacturing steps and to be relatively inaccurate.
All the above mentioned drawbacks of the transistors according to the prior art are due to the use of blocks with right angle edges.

Manufacturing process of mesa SOI MOS transistor

French State represented by the Minister of Post, Telecommunications and Space


A database provides base station almanac information pertaining to more than one network mode of communication. A wireless device accesses this database through a centralized server or network, or via the base station, base station controller or the like, with which it is currently communicating.

Location determination systems allow wireless devices to find their geographic location or be located by remote entities by using satellites (e.g., GLONASS, GPS, Galileo, EGNOS, Globalstar, IRIDIUM) and/or base stations (e.g., cellular telephone base station, a wireless local area network, a wireless wide area network, satellite phone, satellite Internet, or any other device that can be uniquely recognized and communicate with the wireless device). These stations may be coupled to a base station almanac processor by way of a wide area network (WAN), but may also or alternatively use a local area network (LAN). The base station almanac processor accesses a base station database to tailor or customize an almanac according to the estimated location of the wireless device.
The wireless device can communicate with any number of devices to provide location information. The wireless device may be, for example, a cellular telephone that may have any number or combination of communication modes (e.g., GSM, CDMA, TDMA, WCDMA, OFDM, GPRS, EV-DO, WiFi, Bluetooth, WiMAX, 802.xx, UWB, satellite, etc.) to transfer voice and/or data with cellular, satellite, wireless data, and/or mesh networks by way of their base stations. The wireless device could also be a tracking device, a child or parolee monitor, navigational device, wireless pager, wireless computer, PDA, asset tag, etc.

Base station almanac assisted positioning


A medical sleep disorder arrangement integrates into current diagnosis and treatment procedures to enable a health care professional to diagnose and treat a plurality of subjects suffering from insomnia. The arrangement may include both environmental sensors and body-worn sensors that measure the environmental conditions and the condition of the individual patient. The data may be collected and processed to measure clinically relevant attributes of sleep quality automatically. These automatically determined measures, along with the original sensor data, may be aggregated and shared remotely with the health care professional. A communication apparatus enables the healthcare professional to remotely communicate with and further assess the patient and subsequently administer the treatment. Thus, a more accurate diagnosis and more effective treatment is provided while reducing the required clinician time per patient for treatment delivery.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for improving sleep quality, and, more particularly, to systems and methods for electronically receiving and evaluating inputs related to people suffering from sleep disorders.
2. Description of the Related Art
More than forty million people living in the U.S. suffer from chronic, long-term sleep disorders. Because quality of sleep plays a major role in cognitive, physical and emotional well-being, these disorders have a significant negative effect on the quality of life of these individuals.
Sleep disorders are known to burden the U.S. health care system with approximately sixteen billion dollars in direct annual medical costs. The most prevalent sleep disorders are sleep apnea and insomnia. According to the National Institute of Health, about one in nine Americans suffer from sleep apnea, and about one in eight Americans suffer from chronic insomnia. If left untreated, subjects with chronic insomnia may experience the symptoms of their sleep disorder for decades, typically starting in young adulthood.
Chronic insomnia imposes a high burden on the health care system due to its high prevalence in the general population. There is little reliable data about the indirect costs that are caused by the increased number of accidents and reduced productivity due to chronic sleep disorders, but studies have shown that subjects suffering from undiagnosed insomnia spend approximately $1,000 more per person per year in direct medical expenses than do healthy subjects.
Subjects suffering from insomnia experience difficulty in initiating sleep, difficulty in maintaining sleep, or they wake up too early and find it difficult to go back to sleep. For a clinical diagnosis of insomnia, at least one of the above symptoms needs to be present. In addition, the symptoms or a combination of them must result in non-restorative or poor quality of sleep. Insomnia is classified as chronic if it persists for at least thirty days.
Chronic insomnia can be caused by substance abuse, mental disorders such as depression, breathing disorders, or by other sleep disorders such as periodic limb movement. Chronic insomnia can also be caused by the subject's life style and environmental factors resulting in poor sleep hygiene. Subjects are deemed to have poor sleep hygiene if they consume beverages with alcohol or caffeine, eat large meals, or engage in physically or mentally stimulating activity shortly before bed time. A highly variable bed time, or inadequate temperature, poor ventilation, noise or light within the sleep environment are also known to impact sleep hygiene negatively. Insomnia can also be a disease in itself, in which case it is not caused by another physical or mental condition.
For the diagnosis of a number of sleep disorders, polysomnography has become the gold standard. Polysomnography is a diagnostic procedure in a specially equipped laboratory or in a patient's home. During this procedure, numerous sensors are attached to the patient's body, and data is recorded for several hours or even for a whole night. The recorded data is interpreted by a sleep specialist. This provides the basis for the diagnosis of sleep disorders such as sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder which is characterized by irregular breathing patterns while subjects are asleep. Among the typical sensor data acquired during polysomnography are: electroencephalogram, electro-oculogram, electromyogram at chin and tibalis, oxygen saturation, nasal and oral air flow, snoring via tracheal microphone, body position via gravity sensor, and abdominal and thoracic respiratory effort via induction plethysmography.
Unlike in the diagnosis of sleep apnea, polysomnography is not a standard instrument in the diagnosis of insomnia, and it is not indicated as a standard measure for therapy outcomes either. Only if sleep related breathing or periodic limb movement is suspected as the cause for insomnia, or if the previous treatment has failed, is polysomnographic evaluation in a sleep laboratory recommended. This is due to the high variability of sleep duration, sleep onset, and awakening in patients suffering from insomnia. Another factor is first night effects that cause some insomnia patients to sleep worse in a novel sleep environment, but patients suffering from psychophysiological insomnia typically sleep better on their first night in the laboratory than they do at home. Common tools for the diagnosis of insomnia are self-reports, questionnaires, and sleep logs. Detailed questionnaires for the diagnosis of sleep disorders, such as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, have been developed, but clinical practitioners typically rely on less information and often require patients to record only the time they went to bed, the time they fell asleep, and the number of times they woke up during the night until the time they got up, at least one week prior to the first consultation.
Nowadays, clinicians depend on the patient's description of their symptoms. In the diagnosis of insomnia, patient self-reports concerning sleep quality play an important role. As sleep onset occurs unconsciously, there exists an intrinsic problem with the inaccuracy of self-reports concerning sleep quality. Patients tend to overestimate the lengths of time they are awake, and they generally underestimate the lengths of time they are asleep. Even though these reports are known to be inaccurate, they remain the basis for the diagnosis of insomnia to this day.
Clinicians also use reports of bed partners to determine whether or not certain sleep disorder symptoms are present that the patient may not be aware of Examples for these disorders are periodic limb movements or co-morbid sleep breathing disorders. For certain groups of the population, however, these reports cannot be obtained. Clinicians cannot get self-reports from infants or subjects with cognitive or mental disorders, such as dementia patients. For children, teenagers, young adults, singles, or seniors, a bed partner may not exist from whom to get information. In the evaluation of sleep hygiene, it is also important to determine to what extent environmental factors or personal habits negatively impact a patient's sleep quality. Examples of environmental factors causing poor sleep hygiene are improper ventilation, improper temperature, bright lighting, and high noise levels. Eliciting this information from patients during interviews poses additional challenges for clinicians.
The current options available for treatment of insomnia are pharmacological treatment, and cognitive behavior therapy. Pharmacologic treatment is the option most commonly chosen, even though it is known to have questionable long-term efficacy and it is associated with numerous side effects. Side effects of pharmacologic sleeping aids include memory impairments, altered sleep structure, risk of physical and psychological dependence, increased risk of falling and hip fracture for geriatric patients, and elevated risk of road accidents for elderly drivers. In addition, subjects suffering from a sleep breathing disorder and co-morbid insomnia must not take pharmacologic sleeping aids as they can prevent them from awakening enough to breathe. Thus, even though the symptoms of their sleep breathing disorder can be treated, these subjects will continue to suffer from their insomnia symptoms.
Non-pharmacological treatment, e.g., cognitive behavior treatment for insomnia (CBT) or psychotherapy, has been shown to improve quality of sleep in insomnia patients, and it achieves better long-term sleep improvements than pharmacological treatment. A typical CBT program combines education regarding sleep hygiene, stimulus control therapy, sleep restriction therapy, relaxation training, and cognitive therapy. Education regarding sleep hygiene teaches the patient how to avoid the factors mentioned above that can impact sleep quality negatively. Sleep restriction therapy is based on allotting a fixed time slot for lying in bed. The patient is prescribed to try to sleep only during this time period. Thus, the patient develops the habit of making more efficient use of the time in bed for sleep. Relaxation therapy is governed by light physical exercises that reduce tension in certain muscle groups, and training that reduces cognitive arousals. Finally, cognitive therapy corrects patients' misperceptions and fears regarding their need for sleep. Often insomniacs obsess about not being able to fall asleep, which raises tension and exacerbates insomnia. Administration of CBT typically takes eight weeks and up to ten therapist sessions of ninety minutes. Treatment cost due to required clinician time and availability of specialists experienced in CBT treatment inhibits widespread use of this non-pharmacological treatment option. CBT can reduce the severity of insomnia symptoms significantly, but demanding life events and bereavement may cause symptom relapse. For this reason, booster sessions of CBT are needed to help patients cope with relapse of symptoms especially in times of physical or psychological distress. Current therapy regimen, however, provide no means for intervention when patients are at risk for relapse or when their compliance declines.
Most subjects suffering from insomnia discuss the symptoms of their sleep disorder with their primary car physician (PCP) first. The PCP can prescribe pharmacological sleeping aids if other health problems can be excluded. Otherwise, the PCP may refer the patient to a sleep specialist who will require the patient to fill out a sleep diary and questionnaires before the first consultation. The questionnaires are used to screen for physical and mental health problems. In the sleep diary, the patient is supposed to log times of going to bed, times of awakening during the night and in the morning, and times of rising. Most specialists also require patients to log their intake of medication and other substances such as alcoholic or caffeinated beverages. Most commonly, sleep aids are prescribed if the sleep specialist can exclude other sleep disorders, e.g., sleep breathing disorders and mental disorders. The patient's self-reports consisting of the filled out questionnaires and sleep diaries are the basis of the specialist's evaluation, but a sleep study may be required to gain certainty as to the absence of other sleep disorders.
What is neither disclosed nor suggested in the art is a system and method for monitoring, assessing and improving a patient's sleep quality that overcomes the problems and limitations described above.

Device and method to monitor, assess and improve quality of sleep


A method of inputting an image of an original by inputting images of a plurality of divisions into which the original is divided, by the use of an image input device. By dividing the original and inputting the divisions separately, an image input device having relatively few pixels may be used. An image of a division of the original input by the image input device is displayed in an image scrolling area of a screen of a monitor and an image of part of another division adjacent to the division is displayed in an image fixing area of the screen adjacent to one side of the image scrolling area. The image displayed in the image scrolling area is scrolled so as to avoid discontinuity between the images displayed in both image areas by shifting one of the original and the image input device relative to the other. The data of the image displayed in the image scrolling area is stored in an image memory. The entire image of the original thus may be stored, and may be printed subsequently on photograhic paper.

The present invention relates to an image input method that favorably is used in a video printer, and more particularly to a divisional image input method in which an image is input through an image input unit having a small number of pixels.
To input an image into, for example, a video printer, it has been known to use a TV camera or a scanner. Imaging sensors of such image input devices have a limited number of pixels available, and accordingly it is difficult to pick up a large image all at once. In order to pick up all of the image, it has been necessary to sacrifice resolution.


A biaxially oriented polypropylene film has projections on both surfaces of the film, wherein the height of the most common projection (PhZ) among the projections on each surface is not less than 100 nm and less than 400 nm on both surfaces, and the number of projections per 0.1 mm2 (Pc) on each surface is not less than 150 and less than 500 on both surfaces. The biaxially oriented polypropylene film is easily processed into an element and that, when processed into a capacitor, provides a capacitor having high withstand voltage characteristics and excellent noise characteristics.

Polypropylene films have been widely used in electrical applications because of, for example, their excellent electrical characteristics. In particular, their use as a dielectric material in capacitor applications is significantly increasing. In recent years, there has been a strong demand for miniaturization and lower prices, and the thickness of a film that acts as a dielectric has become increasingly thinner. In addition, required withstand voltage characteristics and processability into elements have also become severe.
Further, for flat capacitors typified by a safety standard capacitor, there has been an increasing demand for reducing the noise due to film oscillation (acoustic pressure oscillation). This noise occurs upon oscillation of a dielectric such as a film wound around a capacitor element due to an alternating electric field applied. This noise notably occurs particularly upon high-frequency input and pulse input.
To improve the withstand voltage characteristics and processability into elements, the film surface needs to be moderately roughened. This is important particularly to improve slip characteristics of the film. Further, this is particularly important for providing preservability in a metallized capacitor. The preservability is such a function that, in a metallized capacitor in which a metallized film that serves as an electrode is formed on a dielectric film, the deposited metal is dispersed by discharge energy at the time of abnormal discharge to restore the insulation characteristics and prevent a short circuit, thereby maintaining the function of the capacitor or preventing breakdown. The preservability is an extremely useful function also from the standpoint of safety.
In capacitors used under application of an AC voltage, when the surface roughness a film is large, corona discharge occurs between the film layers and corona breakdown between the layers is likely to occur. Thus, it is necessary to narrow a gap between the film layers. If the gap between the film layers is narrowed, film oscillation due to application of an alternating electric field can be suppressed to reduce noise. Thus, it is important to narrow an interval between the film layers also for reducing noise.
Thus, to achieve high withstand voltage characteristics and suitable processability into elements and noise characteristics, it is necessary to narrow an interval between film layers to suppress corona generation and noise while roughening the surface of the film to obtain preservability and slip characteristics.
Examples of the method for roughening a film surface proposed include mechanical methods such as embossing and sandblasting, chemical methods such as chemical etching using an solvent, the method of stretching a sheet in which a dissimilar polymer such as polyethylene is mixed, the method of stretching a sheet in which β-crystals are formed, and the like (JP 51-63500 A and JP 2001-324607 A).
However, the mechanical and chemical methods result in low roughness density, and the method of stretching a sheet in which β-crystals are formed is likely to form bulky projections. In addition, films the surface of which has been roughened by these methods have problems in that, for example, a gap between film layers are ununiform, and at sites where the gap have been widened by the bulky projections, corona discharge is likely to occur when an AC voltage is applied, resulting in a reduced capacitor lifetime and degraded noise characteristics as well. The method of stretching a sheet in which a dissimilar polymer such as polyethylene is blended has a problem of poor recyclability, that is, although few bubbles are left when a capacitor is formed, the dissimilar polymer can have an adverse effect when the film is recycled.
As a film having a uniform roughness density on the film surface and a uniform projection size, a high melt strength polypropylene film has also been proposed (JP 2001-72778 A). A film formed by laminating the high melt strength polypropylene film and a normal polypropylene film has also been proposed (JP 2001-129944 A).
However, there is a problem in that when a high melt strength polypropylene resin itself is used in capacitor applications, sufficient heat resistance or pressure resistance cannot be obtained because of the structure of the resin, and the dielectric breakdown voltage particularly at a high temperature significantly decreases. In addition, when using a technique of laminating high melt strength polypropylene resins, it is very difficult to obtain a structure with uniform laminate thickness particularly in the case of a thin film with a film thickness of 5 μm or less, and a practically satisfactory dielectric film cannot be provided because of impaired uniformity.
A biaxially stretched polypropylene film the roughness of the film surface of which is controlled and a method for producing the same have also been disclosed (Japanese Patent No. 3508515).
However, this technique is insufficient for obtaining uniform projection density while narrowing the interval between layers on both film surfaces.
A technique for forming a film surface with a fine roughness and balancing element winding characteristics and pressure resistance by controlling the β-crystal fraction of a cast original sheet within a certain range to thereby has also been disclosed (Japanese Patent No. 3508515 and JP 54-53253 A). In Japanese Patent No. 3508515 and JP 54-53253 A, roughness on one surface of a film is defined.
However, roughness on both surfaces of a film cannot be sufficiently controlled by that production method, and fine surface roughness of the resulting film cannot provide high withstand voltage characteristics and noise characteristics at the same time.
On the other hand, with regard to noise, a proposal for minimizing the volume between each layer of a wound film to enhance adhesion between the films has been made. For example, the method of taking up a capacitor element under reduced pressure has been proposed (JP 54-53253 A). Applying a corona discharge treatment to both surfaces of a polypropylene film has also been proposed (JP 61-145812 A).
However, in the method of winding an element under reduced pressure, the process for winding a capacitor element is complicated, resulting in decreased productivity. Further, when the element is placed back in air after winding the capacitor element, reintrusion of air between the film layers cannot be prevented. In the method of applying a corona discharge treatment to both surfaces of a film, blocking can occur before the process of winding up into a capacitor element, for example, in the vacuum deposition process or the like.
Further, it has been proposed that the thermal shrinkage stress value at 120° C. and heat seal strength in the longitudinal direction is optimized to obtain a film for a capacitor that shows a small decrease in electrical capacitance when a voltage has been applied in a high temperature environment for a long period of time and decreases the noise of the capacitor (JP 2009-088492 A).
However, although the noise characteristics and the occurrence of corona discharge can be inhibited, only the optimization of the thermal shrinkage stress value at 120° C. and heat seal strength in the longitudinal direction cannot ensure sufficient preservability of the capacitor because of too strong adhesion between the films or provide high withstand voltage characteristics.
It could therefore be helpful to provide a biaxially oriented polypropylene film that has high withstand voltage characteristics, suitable processability into elements, and excellent noise characteristics particularly in AC voltage capacitor application, and to provide a metallized film and a film capacitor using the biaxially oriented polypropylene film.
We thus provide:
(1) A biaxially oriented polypropylene film having projections on both surfaces of the film, wherein the height of the most common projection (PhZ) among the projections present on each surface is not less than 100 nm and less than 400 nm on both surfaces, and the number of projections per 0.1 mm2 (Pc) on each surface is not less than 150 and less than 500 on both surfaces.
(2) A metallized film formed by providing at least one surface of the biaxially oriented polypropylene film with a metal film.
(3) A film capacitor using the metallized film.
By having a film surface with a number of low-height projections on both sides, a biaxially oriented polypropylene film having high withstand voltage characteristics, suitable processability into elements, and excellent noise characteristics particularly in AC voltage capacitor application can be provided. Further, a metallized film and a film capacitor using the biaxially oriented polypropylene film can be provided.

Biaxially oriented polypropylene film, metallized film, and film capacitor


A fluid dynamic model having at least 5,000,000 cells of the portion of a gas phase reactor from the exit of the condenser to a half a reactor diameter above the bed plate is useful in determining the design of the bottom surface or support structure for a bed plate to minimize liquid pooling below and above the bed plate when operating in condensing mode.

The fluidized bed gas phase polymerization technology was developed by Union Carbide in the mid 1970's. In the condensed mode process a gas comprising monomers, a ballast gas, and a condensable liquid is circulated through a bed of reactive catalyst in the reactor, through a disengagement zone at the top of the reactor (i.e. the expanded upper section of the reactor) where entrained polymer particles drop back into the bed, through a recycle line including a compressor, and a condenser where some of the components in the gas phase may be liquefied, and back to the bottom of the reactor. The recycle stream enters the bottom of the reactor through a deflector plate. In theory the stream is evenly distributed by passing through a bed plate and into the reactor. However, the flow pattern below the bed plate is quite complex due to the presence of a jet created by the recycle gas pipe flow. In practice the distribution may be uneven resulting in one section or the bed having more condensed phase than another. In some older reactors the product discharge port may be quite close to the bed plate. If there is an uneven distribution of liquids within the bed the discharge port may be flooded with liquid. Also an uneven distribution of liquids within the bed may result in "mud" and potentially sheeting.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,543,399 and 4,588,790 issued to Jenkins, III et al. Sep. 24, 1985 and May 13, 1986, respectively, assigned to Union Carbide Corporation teach incorporating into the feed stream up to about 20 weight % of the recycle stream of a condensable gas i.e., a gas which condenses or at least partially condenses to liquid when passed through a heat exchanger prior to being recycled back to the reactor sometimes also referred to as an Induced Condensing Agent). Typically these gases are C4-6 alkanes, preferably isomers of pentane and hexane.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,462,999 and 5,436,304 to Griffin et al. issued Oct. 31, 1995 and Jul. 25, 1995, respectively, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,405,922 and 5,352,749 to DeChellis et al. issued Apr. 11, 1995 and Oct. 4, 1994, respectively, all assigned to Exxon Chemical Patents, Inc. all teach operating a gas phase polymerization where in the feed stream may contain from about 17.5 up to 50 weight % of a condensable gas.
There are a number of United States patents in the name of Rhee et al. assigned to Union Carbide Corporation. These patents disclose deflector plates which may be annular (see FIG. 2 A of U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,149) for use in fluidized bed gas phase reactors operated in condensing mode. The deflector plate is in the bottom of the reactor above and proximate to the reactor inlet. From the example the distributor plate or bed plate is 2.54−0.10=2.44 meters (about 7.9 feet) above the upper surface of the deflector plate. The volume of the reactor below the bed plate is referred to as the mixing chamber (Col. 3 lines 40-45). The annular deflector plate divides the incoming gas stream into a central upward flow and a flow directed to the side walls to "sweep" the wall of the mixing chamber (Col. 4 lines 1-5) reduce filming on the reactor wall in the mixing zone and also to re-entrain any liquids which have separated from the gas stream (Col. 9 line 65-Col. 10 line 10). Below the bed plate is a screen 27 to reduce the likelihood of the bed plate becoming plugged by resin chips impinging on the plate as the recycle stream carries chips upwards (Col. 9 line 52; Col. 10 lines 60-66; and Col. 11 lines 39-43).
Interestingly in FIG. 2 there appear to be some un-described elements beneath the bed plate. This structure is not described anywhere in the patent application.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,723,291 issued Apr. 20, 2004 to Wu, assigned to China Petrochemical Corporation and Tianjin United Chemicals Corporation, disclosed a deflector plate wherein the annular opening of the deflector plate of U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,149 has an inverted truncated open cone placed over it. This divides the incoming gas into three segments. This improves the flow of gases in the mixing chamber overcoming some disadvantages of the distributor plate of Rhee. The distributor plate can be used in condensed more of operation containing up to 25 wt. % of liquids.
Interestingly the screen and the unidentified structures dependent from the bed plate have been eliminated.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,446,156 issued Nov. 4, 2008 to Dooley assigned to Westlake describes without drawings by reference to a provisional application "swirling" the bed of particles in the reactor to reduce sheeting.
While the figures in the prior art show a uniform circulating flow pattern through the mixing zone the flow may in fact be non uniform in three dimensions. This is particularly the case if the central upward gas flow of the mixing chamber impinging on the bottom of the bed plate sees a "raceway" or an unimpeded direction of flow. The result is that the raceway preferentially directs the flow in some areas beneath the bed plate and not to other areas causing secondary or tertiary flow patterns. The flow along a raceway across the bottom of the bed plate extends to the outer edge of the bed plate, where it redirects and collides with a portion of upward flow from the distributor plate resulting in an increased flow of gas and liquids in that peripheral area of the bed plate. This results in liquid flooding of the bed of polymer particles above the area of higher concentration of liquid droplets. The situation is exacerbated in some reactor designs where the outlet for the polymer is less than roughly half a diameter of the bed plate above the bed plate. This may result in the product discharge system becoming flooded with condensed liquids.
The present invention seeks to improve product quality (e.g. polydispersity, CDBI, etc.), and reduce reactor bed flooding, product discharge flooding and sheet formation by eliminating raceways on the bottom surface of the bed plate.


Provided are a photosensor, a photosensor apparatus including the photosensor, and a display apparatus including the photosensor apparatus. The photosensor includes a substrate; a first light receiving layer which is formed on the substrate and comprises an oxide; a second light receiving layer which is connected to the first light receiving layer and comprises an organic material; and first and second electrodes which are respectively connected to the first and second light receiving layers.

1. Field
The present embodiments relate to a photosensor, a photosensor apparatus including the photosensor, and a display apparatus including the photosensor apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Photosensors convert optical signals into electrical signals. Due to current developments in the optical and semiconductor industries, photosensors are being developed to provide various functions. Photosensors included in display apparatuses such as mobile devices including display units, e.g., mobile phones, digital cameras, and personal digital assistants (PDAs), and image display apparatuses, e.g., liquid crystal display (LCD) devices and organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) are used as the powerful means for providing a touch panel function to the display apparatuses.
Such internal photosensors are more advantageous than external touch panels in terms of thickness, process complexity, aperture rate, etc. of display apparatuses. However, a p-intrinsic-n (PIN) junction diode comprising amorphous or crystalline silicon (Si), which is a general structure of an internal photosensor, cannot increase sensitivity of specific types of light and is limited to only a certain absorption wavelength range of amorphous or crystalline Si. The present embodiments overcome the above problems in the art as well as provide additional advantages.

Photosensor, photosensor apparatus including the photosensor, and display apparatus including the photosensor apparatus


A display unit is arranged in cooperation with a twenty-four hour clock to effect registration and storage of timed events and permitting recall of the timed events, with the unit arranged for ease of mounting within an emergency vehicle and the like.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to information storage apparatus, and more particularly pertains to a new electronic event display apparatus wherein the same is arranged to store and subsequently display events within a microprocessor memory storage arrangement.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the use of emergency vehicles, reports require the information as to the time relative to various events in an emergency vehicle response call, such as: when that emergency vehicle leaves a station to when the vehicle arrives at the scene of an emergency; when the emergency vehicle departs the emergency scene for a return trip to when the emergency vehicle actually arrives at the destination or station facility; and when the vehicle is cleared for availability to provide service again. Prior art structure has heretofore not provided the application of contemporary microprocessor units to the specialized events as noted above.
An example of prior art electronic timing measurement and record display means is indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,156 incorporated herein by reference relative to the storage and retrieval of information.
A further example of prior art electronic timing measurement and record display means is indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,864 and is also incorporated herein by reference relative to the storage and retrieval of information.


The disclosure relates to a docking device and an assembly comprising the docking device and a tablet computer. The docking device comprises a pair of frame members defining receiving space for receiving the tablet computer, each frame member includes a connection portion and a supporting portion; and a virtual input device pivotably mounted within an opening between the connection portions.

With increasing development of science and technology, a tablet computer has been introduced into the market. The tablet computer is a mobile computer and often integrated into a flat, tablet screen, and may be primarily operated by touching the tablet screen. In a tablet computer, the processor may be part of the tablet screen. The tablet computer usually provides a user interface with the processor through the tablet screen. Via the tablet screen, the use may input an instruction into the tablet computer to control operations of the tablet computer. Generally, when the user wants to input a character or a symbol into the tablet computer, an on-screen keyboard is enabled and shown on the tablet screen of the tablet computer. The on-screen keyboard is a virtual keyboard simulating the real keyboard device. By touching an icon of the on-screen keyboard, a corresponding character or symbol is inputted into the tablet computer.

HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P.


A droplet-generating device is provided. The droplet-generating device comprises a first microchannel and a second microchannel. The first microchannel includes a first fluid inlet and a second fluid inlet. The second microchannel crossing over and communicating with the first microchannel at an intersectional region includes a third fluid inlet, a fourth fluid inlet, a fluid outlet, a three-way junction and a side wall. The intersectional region is configured between the third fluid inlet and the three-way junction, and the side wall is disposed between the fourth fluid inlet and the fluid outlet and extended downward. A method of producing a droplet is also provided.

In recent years, the researches as to introduce a fluid into microchannels for conducting the chemical reaction or generating microparticles are interested. Further, the development of the semiconductor manufacturing technologies, which are the gradually mature technologies, also facilitates the fabrication of the miniaturized fluid field channels and indirectly promotes the development of this filed. In the microfluidic chip, the application and control of the fluid play an important role in achieving the detecting purpose. The multiphase flows in the microfluidic chip, based on the differences in the geometrical shape or the subjected force, could make the continuous microdroplet emulsion formation have the applicable property that there is no interference among the phase interfaces. Therefore, the microfluidic chip is usually used in the fields of various chemical syntheses, biomedical detection, drug delivery, and so on.
Currently, most microchannels used in the microfluidic chip for generating microdroplets are two-dimensional (2D) channels. The structure of the microfluidic chip is more and more complex in response to the diversity of the problems to be solved. However, the repeatability and reliability of the data derived from the microfluidic chip decrease with the increased complexity of the channel structure design. For integrating more functions into the limited area on the chip, there is the need of simple channel structures with the simplicity in the fabrication and the practicality in the application for solving the problems that previously has to be solved by the complex structures.
In addition, in the known 2D cross channels made of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), the process of generating the water droplet by using the oil as the continuous phase is easier owing to the hydrophobic property of the PDMS. In contrast, if the oil is used as the dispersed phase, the process of generating the oil droplet is hard due to the viscosity of the oil and the contacting angle with the channel wall.
For overcoming the mentioned problems, the novel droplet-generating method and device are provided in the present disclosure after a lot of researches, analyses and experiments by the inventors.


A programmable fluidic device for generating droplets with resolutions of micrometer in size and milliseconds in generation timing is provided. The programmable fluidic device has a valve forming a droplet cutter, which contains a fluid deflectable membrane capable of controlling the flow of a dispensing fluid from a fluidic dispensing channel. The programmable fluidic device is able to perform temporal control over the droplet generation independent from the size control.

Droplet-based microfluidic systems have come into the spotlight due to their great potential to provide new breakthroughs to scientists in the field of drug delivery, diagnostic testing, and parallel reaction control.
For the droplet based microfluidic systems, micro droplet generation is a crucial starting point and, to satisfy diverse demand, flexibility as well as precise control is required. To achieve fine control over the size, shape, and monodispersity of droplets, various microfluidic droplet generation methods have been proposed. However, temporal control over the droplet generation has not been performed independently of the size control.


A mobile ticketing method and system for providing mobile ticketing services to users is provided. A user selects a mobile ticket and initiates payment by using a user device. In response to successful processing of the payment, the user device receives encrypted QR data from a server. The user device decrypts and format the encrypted QR data to display a QR code. The QR code is scanned at a gate terminal associated with an entry or exit gate. The gate terminal validates the QR code and broadcasts data pertaining to the QR code via a BLE network. The user device verifies the gate terminal on receiving the broadcasted data via the BLE network, and transmits a connection request to the gate terminal. The gate terminal further validates the connection request and decides whether to allow or disallow the user to pass through the entry or exit gate.

Traditional ticketing methods like paper ticketing and smart cards utilize a lot of operational cost, financial leakage, waste of consumer's time, and restricted ease of use. As the world is moving towards the digital age, the mass population is connected using smart phones. With the popularity of the smart phones and application of mobile internet technology, mobile payment has penetrated every aspect of consumer's lives. Further, the increasing availability of broadband cellular networks and Internet hotspots and the growing proliferation of sophisticated mobile devices with increased computer power and improved features and capabilities have enabled the mobile devices to both receive and redeem mobile tickets. Mobile tickets are intended to be less susceptible to fraud or illegal resale. However, though these advances in telecommunications have lowered the start-up costs of establishing mobile ticketing systems, they have also presented significant security challenge for the mobile vendors. If unauthorized mobile devices are able to redeem mobile tickets, the value of the mobile ticketing industry will severely diminished due to lack of confidence in the security of the mobile tickets purchased by consumers.
For efficient mobile ticketing, various solutions have been introduced in the prior art to cope up with the problems stated above. Known solutions for mobile ticketing utilize a quick response (QR) scanner, proximity sensors, and near-field communication (NFC). Some issues that have arisen in the adoption of mobile ticketing are lack of infrastructure and availability of NFC-enabled mobile devices. Since many devices do not configure this feature, the lack of application of basic terminal and technical standards are not uniform. Also, the NFC still has not yet reached the large-scale promotion and popularization among the consumers. QR scanners are being widely used for mobile ticketing applications. The current mobile ticketing systems with QR scanning communicate with online servers to validate a QR code. However, this may result in delay in the validation of the QR code due to server calls and processing, leading to bad consumer experience.
To overcome the above problems, the QR scanners with proximity sensors have been introduced. The QR scanners with proximity sensors as peripheral accessories require added infrastructural cost to the existing solutions. Further, the processing time will be increased as there would be multiple calculations involving the proximity sensors and the server processing, which will increase the time needed to validate the QR code.
In light of the foregoing, there exists a need for a technical and reliable solution that takes into consideration the above-mentioned problems, challenges, and short-comings, and facilitates effective and efficient mobile ticketing solutions to consumers.

Method and system for providing mobile ticketing to users