A method of forming a semiconductor device having a vertical metal line interconnect (via) fully aligned to a first direction of a first interconnect layer and a second direction of a second interconnect layer in a selective recess region by forming a plurality of metal lines in a first dielectric layer; and recessing in a recess region first portions of the plurality of metal lines such that top surfaces of the first portions of the plurality of metal lines are below a top surface of the first dielectric layer; wherein a non-recess region includes second portions of the plurality of metal lines that are outside the recess region.

The present invention relates in general to semiconductor device fabrication methods and resulting structures. More specifically, the present invention relates to fabrication methods and resulting structures for a semiconductor device having a vertical metal line interconnect (via) fully aligned to a first direction of a first interconnect layer and a second direction of a second interconnect layer (i.e., M layers) in a selective recess region.
In contemporary semiconductor device fabrication processes, a large number of semiconductor devices and conductive interconnect layers are fabricated in and on a single wafer. The conductive interconnect layers serve as a network of pathways that transport signals throughout an integrated circuit (IC), thereby connecting circuit components of the IC into a functioning whole and to the outside world. Interconnect layers are themselves interconnected by a network of holes (or vias) formed through the wafer. As IC feature sizes continue to decrease, the aspect ratio (i.e., the ratio of height/depth to width) of features such as vias generally increases. Fabricating intricate structures of conductive interconnect layers and vias within an increasingly smaller wafer footprint is one of the most process-intensive and cost-sensitive portions of semiconductor IC fabrication.

Selective recessing to form a fully aligned via


The present invention relates to a press felt for a machine for the production and/or processing of a fibrous web including a carrier structure which fundamentally influences the dimensional stability of the felt. The carrier structure includes a flat manufactured textile fabric formed from longitudinal threads, transverse threads crossing the longitudinal threads, and sewing threads which connect the longitudinal and transverse threads with each other at the crossing points. The textile fabric is longer than the carrier structure and is laid onto itself in sections such that the carrier structure is formed by several layers of the textile fabric, extending respectively along the entire length of the carrier structure. The layers are connected with each other, at least in sections. Due to the placement of the sections of the textile fabric on top of each other, turned over edges which extend transversely to the longitudinal direction of the carrier structure are formed defining transverse ends of the carrier structure. In an area of the turned over edges, the longitudinal threads have a curved progression to form seam loops on the respective transverse ends, whereby the carrier structure is seamable in a paper machine in that the two transverse ends of the carrier structure are brought together to make the carrier structure continuous and the seam loops are meshed with each other, thus forming a connecting channel extending in the cross direction of the carrier structure. To make the carrier structure continuous, a pintle wire is inserted through the connecting channel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seamable press felt for a machine for the production and/or processing of a fibrous material web, for example a paper, cardboard or tissue web, as well as to a method for its manufacture.
2. Description of the Related Art
Press felts normally consist of a tensile load accommodating carrier structure which also essentially provides the dimensional stability of the press felt. The carrier structures of current seamable press felts are often woven on a circular loom, whereby the machine direction threads are reverse woven, thereby forming seam loops. The disadvantage of structures which are woven on circular looms is that the circular weaving process is time intensive and expensive. Furthermore, the length of such carrier structures is limited to the width of the weaving loom utilized in the weaving process, since the warp threads represent the cross machine direction threads and the weft threads represent the machine direction threads.
In order to replace expensive circular weaving, the state of the art known from WO89/12717 suggests seamable press felts with flat woven carrier structures. With these press felts, the flat woven fabric is laid onto itself thus forming turned over edges, whereby cross direction threads are removed from the woven fabric in the area of the turned over edges. In this case, the machine direction threads of the woven fabric provide the seam loops of the seamable press felt in the area of the turned over edges. The process described in WO89/12717 permits simple manufacture of woven fabrics which are then fabricated to the appropriate dimensions for the press felt which is to be produced.
Especially in press felt applications there has been a long felt need to replace the woven fabrics, which are expensive to produce, with laid structures and/or knitted structures, since laid or knitted structures can be produced faster (often at 10 times the speed) compared to woven structures.
It is known from EP0261488 to construct the carrier structure of a press felt from a flat manufactured warp knit structure and to lay the structure onto itself thereby forming turned over edges, analog to the method cited in WO89/12717. However, in EP0261488 the seam loops are provided by means of additional wire spirals which are attached to the warp knit fabric structure in the area of the turned over edges. Due to this arrangement, the structure of the press felt in the seam area presents a considerable unevenness compared to the rest of the press felt, which can lead to vibrations during the operation of such press felts and marking of the paper produced on these press felts.
What is needed in the art is a press felt whereby a seam can be produced in the machine and which has a non-marking carrier structure that is inexpensive to produce.

Seamable press felt with flat manufactured carrier structure which is not woven


An ink ribbon cassette is used in a printing apparatus. The cassette is able to prevent dual movement of an ink ribbon from moving across a lengthways embankment even if the ink ribbon is extended. In the ink ribbon cassette, a lengthways embankment is furnished near an ejecting opening of ink ribbon cassette in an ink ribbon lodging section. The lengthways embankment makes a portion of a space that the ink ribbon passes through narrower. Dual embankments may also be furnished on the ink ribbon movement path at the downstream side of ink ribbon lodging section. The dual embankments respectively protrude from an upper cover and a lower cover. Protruding portions may also be respectively furnished near an entering opening and an ejecting opening of ink ribbon lodging section.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an ink ribbon cassette that lodges ink ribbon and a printing apparatus that includes such an ink ribbon cassette.
2. Related Background Art
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a structure of a conventional ink ribbon cassette.
As shown by FIG. 16, in an ink ribbon cassette 1, an ink ribbon 3 is sandwiched and is taken into an ink ribbon lodging section 6 by rotation of a drive gear 10 and a transfer gear 7. The ink ribbon 3, while guided by an embankment 4a formed on lower cover 12 and an embankment 4b that will be mentioned below, is drawn out from the ink ribbon lodging section 6 as a strip of ink ribbon.
FIG. 17 is a longitudinal section diagram showing a conventional embankment part.
As shown in FIG. 17, the embankment 4a is formed on the lower cover 12 and the embankment 4b is formed on an upper cover 11. Then, because the ink ribbon 3 is drawn out while being controlled from two sides (i.e. along a vertical direction in FIG. 17) through the embankment 4a and the embankment 4b, the ink ribbon 3 dose not overlap and does not "dash out." (e.g. refer to patent document 1).    Patent document 1: Japan utility model publication H05-035327.
However, in order to prolong the life of the ink ribbon cassette 1, it is necessary to extend the length of the ink ribbon 3.
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an operation of a conventional ink ribbon cassette. As shown in FIG. 18, to extend the length of the ink ribbon 3, the ink ribbon 3 is difficult to arrange to be properly lodged. As illustrated, the ink ribbon 3 falls into a state of disorder as shown at area H. Further, the back part of the ink ribbon 3 outstrips the front part of the ink ribbon 3 as shown at area F2.
In such a state, there is the following problem. That is, in the conventional ink ribbon cassette 1, though the ink ribbon 3 does not dash out by the embankment 4a and the embankment 4b, front and the back parts of the ink ribbon 3 are synchronously drawn out because of a friction caused when the ink ribbon 3 is drawn out. Then the ink ribbon 3 moves across the embankment 4a and the embankment 4b as shown at area G2, and therefore the ink ribbon 3 has a dual movement causing a ribbon jam.

Ink ribbon cassette and printing apparatus


A travel pillow has an integral head portion that can be positioned behind the head of the traveler during use. The travel pillow incorporates a charging station in one of the forwardly extending arms and a stress reliever in the opposing arm. A Bluetooth™ audio system is included to pair with selected electronic devices to enhance the entertainment of the traveler. The pillow also includes a central opening, corresponding for positioning the traveler's neck, which receives a removable snack bowl and lid, held in place within the central opening by a releasable closure device on the opposing arms of the travel pillow. The lid can be formed to receive an electronic device, such as a cell phone or a digital device generating sound received by the audio system. The head portion can be formed as an animal head with the stress reliever being the tail of the animal.

Many people travel long distances via airplanes for both work and leisure, spending extended periods of time in a mostly uncomfortable seat. Many of these travelers have mobile devices that are frequently operated to provide entertainment or a work function, such as with a laptop or electronic tablet. Currently, most airplanes to not provide charging stations for access by the traveler to keep their electronic devices charged and operable. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a capability of charging the electronic devices by using the travel pillow while providing a comfortable resting position for the duration of the ride.
Entertaining the resting traveler is also a desirable function for which airlines provide movies with earphones to permit the passengers to be occupied with an entertaining function. Yet, a limited selection of movies is made available to the travelers, some or all of which the travelers may not want to watch. Some experienced travelers bring with them digital recordings and electronic players that provide a more desirable selection of entertainment. Such electronic devices may need charging to maintain operation, but also such electronic devices can be cumbersome to hold for convenient operation and may have difficult to operate audio devices, or at least difficult to operate in conjunction with a travel pillow.
In U.S. Pat. No. 7,513,001, granted on Apr. 7, 2009, to Jamie S. Leach, a multi-purpose pillow is disclosed that has a pocket formed therein to hold various articles, including ear buds to provide convenient access to the ear buds for deployment when the multi-purpose pillow is being utilized. A pillow is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,468,628, granted to Tom Kwok-Yung Cheng on Jun. 25, 2013, to have a central cavity for the placement of the user's face. The pillow includes an insert at one end thereof for the placement of a battery operated fan mechanism that is operable to blow a selected scent into the cavity for inhalation by the user when the user's face is placed into the central opening. Openings are formed laterally on opposing sides of the central opening to provide a source of air into the cavity.
U. S. Patent Publication No. 2016/0066717, by Paul W. Schneider and published on Mar. 10, 2016, discloses a cushion device for the mounting of an electronic device, such as a laptop or a keyboard, etc., in the center of the cushion so that the operator can position the electronic device at a desired angle and location for operation of the electronic device.
The travel pillow shown in U. S Patent Publication No. 2017/0237272, by Alvaro Corona and published on Aug. 17, 2017, is formed as a simple curved device that encircles the neck of the user forming a pair of forwardly projecting arms that typically rest on the chest of the user. In one of the forwardly projecting arms, the pillow includes a charging station incorporated therein to provide a face available to the user in order to insert charging cords to charge electronic devices. This charging station is formed with a cylindrical housing that can be located at the end of one of the forwardly projecting arms to receive a detachable power bank that includes a fastener means that engages the housing to secure the power bank in the housing, leaving the face of the power bank to be accessible to the user for connecting charging cords. The power bank is, therefore, removable and replaceable with respect to the travel pillow.
It would be desirable to provide an improved travel pillow configuration in which is compatible with different devices to enhance the comfort in the operation of the travel pillow, as well as support various functions that enhance the entertainment and the utilization of the travel pillow.

Travel pillow with tray, charger and audio features


A system is employed to maintain persistent operation information for implementation on persistent data. Bitmaps are created to track outstanding persistent operations. Should a volume of information became inaccessible, the bitmaps are evaluated to determine if outstanding persistent operations exist and, if so, these outstanding operations are performed before the volume is integrated into the logical memory space. Additionally, operation-in-progress bitmaps are utilized to indicate that persistent data within a volume is being modified.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related in general to the field of information handling systems. In particular, the invention consists of a method of preserving operations on persistent data during power interruptions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a computing system, digital information is often stored within storage server systems that include hard disk drives, magnetic tapes, optical disks, or other memory storage device. These memory storage devices are usually segregated into ranks or redundant arrays of independent disks ("RAIDS"). This allows for striping information over numerous memory storage devices to provide redundancy in case of a device failure. Each memory storage device may be divided into a plurality of segments. Additionally, each memory storage device may include a reserved area separate from the segments. Both the reserved area and the segments include continuous areas for writing information to and reading information from referred to as tracks.
A memory storage device may include several types of tracks, with each type of track being used for a specific purpose. In a complex storage server system, these types of tracks may include status information tracks such as global Copy Services Meta Data ("CSMD") tracks residing within the reserved areas and volume-level Meta Data ("VLMD") tracks residing within the segments.
A storage server system can be logically ordered so that the memory storage devices are used to form a logically continuous memory space. For example, one or more segments may be used to create a volume, e.g., a logical memory space. Volumes are ordered into one or more logical subsystems ("LSS") and one or more logical subsystems form the logical memory space of the storage server system. This logical memory space is used to hold customer or client information.
Operations on reserved area tracks and segment tracks may take many forms, including writing information to them, reading information from them, and clearing them. In a clearing process, information residing on a track is destroyed or erased. An example of an instruction to erase a track is a Clear Status Tracks ("CST") command. When executed, a CST command erases information on the CSMD and VLMD tracks. However, a problem occurs is a memory storage device is inaccessible at the time the CST command is issued.
One method of ensuring that a CST command has been performed on CSMD is to utilize redundant copies of CSMD within the storage server system. If a memory storage device holding CSMD is offline, it may simply be updated from other copies of the CSMD. However, the vast majority of information residing within the storage server system is client or customer information. Because it would not be efficient to store multiple copies of this information over numerous memory storage devices, if a memory storage device is offline when a CST command is issued, there may be no mechanism for ensuring that VLMD is cleared when the device becomes accessible again. If the CST is not performed on these VLMD tracks, stale and potentially damaged data would remain on the tracks.
To solve this problem, information pertaining to whether CST must be performed on VLMD tracks must be logged and maintained in a persistent manner. In a storage server system including logical subsystems, this data must track each volume for each LSS.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,675, Hiromichi Itho et al. disclose saving work states for multiple users on a shared system. A work state is saved as persistent data at power off and restored at power on. However, there is no discussion of how to handle operations, such as a deletion, that could be performed on persistent work states. It would be advantageous to have a system to maintain persistence of operations which are performed on persistent data.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,751, Bernard Traversat et al. describe a persistent data manager client/server interface but does not teach how persistence of operations performed on non-volatile data is performed. Rather, the invention teaches who handles the operations to be done on persistent data. A client sends a request to read, modify, or delete non-volatile data and the server performs the action. There is no mention of whether or not the request to modify or delete the non-volatile data is kept persistent in any way. It would be advantageous to have a system that maintains persistent operations to be performed on non-volatile memory.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,434,641, Michael Haupt et al. teach how to defer read and write accesses for addresses in memory until a time when such data is allowed access. Deferment is implemented by creating a linked list of access requests in a temporary storage structure. Because the nature of this storage structure is temporary, there is no way of remembering these deferred requests across power cycles. It would be advantageous to maintain a deferred operation on inaccessible persistent data even in the event of a power loss.
While some of the above patents and publications may provide a method of managing persistent data, none address the problem of maintaining persistence of operations that must be performed on persistent data. None of these documents indicate how to handle persistent data when the data is inaccessible. Furthermore, these inventions do not offer a method for maintaining operations on persistent data across power cycles. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a method for managing operations on persistent data, even over power cycles and during periods when the persistent data is unavailable.

Maintenance of persistent data using bitmaps

International Business Machines Corporation


A testing device of semiconductor devices includes a temperature detector detecting temperatures of semiconductor devices, and a temperature control unit controlling the temperatures of the semiconductor devices based on a detected temperature, in which the temperature control unit includes thermal heads cooling or heating the semiconductor devices, solution pipes through which solutions set to different temperatures flow, and a channel switching part switching whether or not to make the solution flow through the thermal head, and when a test is conducted, the solution flown through the thermal head is switched according to heating amount of the semiconductor device.

In order to remove an initial failure, screening is performed on a semiconductor device such as a semiconductor integrated circuit. As currently used screening methods, a method utilizing voltage acceleration and a method utilizing temperature acceleration are cited as typical ones. Generally, if a semiconductor device is used at a room temperature (25° C. to 30° C.), an initial failure is generated during a period of time from the start of its use to almost 1000 hours, and an actual lifetime of the semiconductor device expires after about three hundred thousand hours.
Accordingly, if the screening of the semiconductor device is performed at a room temperature, a long period of time such as almost 1000 hours has to be spent for the screening. Therefore, generally, the screening is normally performed at 125° C. for about 1 to about 96 hours, not for 1000 hours.
A personal computer or a server using semiconductor devices having large heating amounts has a large-sized fin provided on a substrate for restraining a rise in temperatures of the semiconductor devices and for cooling the semiconductor devices, and performs fan cooling, liquid cooling, gas cooling, Peltier cooling and the like. When the screening of the semiconductor devices having large heating amounts is performed, a difference in the heating amounts among each of semiconductor devices is generated due to a manufacturing variation and the like, even under the same voltage and temperature. Depending on the difference in the heating amounts, the temperatures of the semiconductor devices are sometimes out of the regulated temperature control range.
In a conventional testing device that performs the screening, a thermal head having a heater is provided for each of semiconductor devices. When the screening of the semiconductor devices is performed, a solution (water, Fluorinert, or the like) whose temperature may be varied is made to circulate through the thermal heads, and the corresponding thermal heads are placed in contact with all the semiconductor devices, to thereby conduct temperature control of the semiconductor devices through the heat of the solution and the heaters.
Concretely, among semiconductor devices mounted on the testing device, one having the largest heating amount is specified, and a temperature of the solution circulated through the thermal head is set so that a heater power with which the temperature of the semiconductor device reaches a regulated temperature becomes minimum. Specifically, the temperature of the solution is set based on the semiconductor device having the largest heating amount. The other semiconductor devices are controlled so that temperatures thereof reach the regulated temperature, by individually adjusting the heater power.
However, when the variation in the heating amounts among semiconductor devices mounted on the testing device is significantly large, the temperatures of the semiconductor devices are sometimes deviated from a range of the regulated temperature when performing the screening. For instance, if there exists a semiconductor device having a large heating amount whose temperature cannot be controlled to fall within the regulated temperature unless the heater power is set to almost 0% and the temperature of the circulated solution is set to approximately room temperature, the temperature of the semiconductor device having a small heating amount sometimes does not reach the regulated temperature as depicted in FIG. 17, since the generated heat of the semiconductor device is drawn due to the low temperature of the solution, regardless of the heater power which is set to almost 100%.
FIG. 17 is a view for explaining an example of the temperature control of the semiconductor devices when performing the screening. In FIG. 17, a vertical axis represents temperature and a horizontal axis represents time. Further, TR corresponds to a regulated temperature (typical value) when performing the screening, and TRU and TRL correspond to an upper limit value and a lower limit value of the regulated temperature, respectively. As an example, the temperature of the semiconductor device having a large heating amount and the temperature of the semiconductor device having a small heating amount among the semiconductor devices mounted on the testing device are respectively represented by DV11 and DV12.
As depicted in FIG. 17, if the temperature of the circulated solution is lowered so that the temperature of the semiconductor device having a large heating amount (DV11) falls within a range of the regulated temperature, the temperature of the semiconductor device having a small heating amount (DV12) sometimes cannot reach the lower limit value TRL of the regulated temperature because of the insufficient heating amount even when the heater power is set to maximum.
Such a semiconductor device whose temperature is out of the regulated temperature (whose temperature does not reach the regulated temperature within a given set time) is the one to which a regulated stress with which the initial failure is exhibited is not applied, so that the screening has been performed again by cutting off a power supply supplied to the semiconductor device, or the semiconductor device has been handled as a defective product.
Further, various temperature control techniques for performing tests of semiconductor devices have been proposed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-265665, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2001-51012, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-310631, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2000-304804 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-156172.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-265665 proposes a burn-in device that makes a heating block for heating an electronic component under test and a cooling block for cooling the electronic component under test in a thermally floating state, and enables to individually control temperatures of electronic components, to thereby simultaneously perform a burn-in test on the large number of electronic components having different self-heating amounts.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2001-51012 proposes a semiconductor testing system that enables to maintain a temperature of an IC device at a certain temperature by controlling a temperature of a contact block in which the IC device is housed. Concretely, there is proposed a temperature control technique in which a hollow portion is provided in the contact block in which the IC device is housed, and a high-temperature control liquid or a low-temperature control liquid is selectively jetted, in accordance with a base temperature of the IC device, to the contact block from a high-temperature control nozzle or a low-temperature control nozzle provided in the hollow portion.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-310631 proposes a temperature control technique with which a temperature of a target such as an electronic component can be controlled in an accurate and quick manner by enabling to quickly perform heating processing or cooling processing on the target.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2000-304804 proposes a burn-in device with which temperatures of devices to be measured may be individually controlled and an improvement in temperature accuracy and operability in a burn-in test may be realized.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-156172 proposes a test burn-in device that measures and adjusts a temperature of a semiconductor element such as a middle-power and a high-power IC in an element unit, and performs, at the same time, burn-in to exclude a defective product having an initial failure.

Testing device and testing method of semiconductor devices


A network portal system includes a web-top manager and a universal content broker system. The web-top manager is configured to receive a content request from a user device, where the content request includes a content provider identifier. The universal content broker system is coupled to the web-top manager. The universal content broker system includes a plurality of content providers. Each content provider in the plurality of content providers is associated with a different content provider identifier. Also, each content provider accesses content having a different raw data format. A universal content broker is coupled to the web-top manager and to the plurality of content providers. Upon the receipt of the content request from the web-top manager, the universal content broker passes the request to a content provider in the plurality of content providers that is associated with the content provider identifier.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to network systems and in particular to network portal systems
2. Description of Related Art
Laptop and notebook computers abound, virtually every enterprise in every business sector uses e-mail for internal and external communications, mobile phones are commonplace, and many people carry personal digital assistants (PDAs) with wireless communication capability. Internet cafes can be found in almost every city, airports routinely have Internet kiosks, and most hotel rooms come equipped with data communication facilities.
With these developments come limitations and frustrations. Laptops and notebooks frequently require that special applications be installed. If work needs to be done when that particular machine is not available, the work must be postponed. In addition, there are employees without laptops who nonetheless need to access information and applications when they are away from the office.
Data on laptops must be synchronized with data on the enterprise's central computers. Before employees can work on their laptops, they must be certain that they have the latest information, and that after they have finished, the centrally housed information must be updated.
Functionality available from mobile phones and PDAs is typically limited to general information services, such as stock quotes and airline schedules.
Many enterprises have realized significant benefits from client/server technology, but this typically entails the installation of specialized software on the client systems, thereby limiting access to only those devices with the specialized software as well as placing a maintenance burden on the organization, which must propagate changes and updates to all individual workstations, laptop computers, etc.
As organizations implemented individual applications, frequently in different languages, functionality and data often became fragmented. A growing amount of valuable information is available from web-based service providers. However, locating the information can be time-consuming, and the information comes in as isolated pieces of data.
As a result, people are frequently not able to do the work they need to do when they want to do it. The information would be more valuable if the information were made available to corporate applications and merged with enterprise data.
Competitive business pressures make this issue even more urgent. Not long ago, it was perfectly acceptable, for example, for a salesperson to return to a customer's office the following day with requested information. Today, however, immediacy and convenience are the keywords; with the Internet, people have become accustomed to accessing data on demand and to taking action whenever they wish. Any work that has to be postponed because the salesperson could not access applications or data can mean lost opportunity.
Enterprise portals are being developed to close the gap between what users would like to do and what technological constraints permit them to do. While the rapid rate of recent technological innovation has been exciting, there are many attendant restrictions.
Enterprise portals allow users to access a wide variety of applications, services, and data through a single entry point (the portal). Portal computing is a network solution that aims to make recent technological advances serve the way people actually work-r would like to work. Recognizing the advantages of portal computing, several service providers have already embraced the concept, albeit in a limited sense, offering their customers a growing number of application services. Notable examples include Yahoo!, Excite, and Lycos. Although these all started as search engines, they now offer such capabilities as e-mail, stock quotes, calendar facilities, etc.
Quick to join the bandwagon, many suppliers have announced portal products. Some are not solutions, but rather tools that would allow companies to develop their own, severely limited portals. Some products provide the ability to access and consolidate different types of data from various sources for reporting purposes, but do nothing to support the inclusion of existing applications. Others may support a diversity of data as well as the ability to interface with existing applications (to varying degrees), but they place restrictions on the types of devices people can use to access the system.
A further limitation of these portal products is the great number of different content and services available over a network like the Internet which in turn, has lead to an enormous variety of different communication standards, data formats and file formats, which are sometimes proprietary for the particular content and services.
As a consequence, services or content provided by some provider systems may be incompatible with services or content provided by other provider systems and thus have a "stove-pipe" nature as to their presence and operation on networks. In addition, there exist many different communication schemes for content or service, which communication schemes again may be incompatible and not universally accessible or supported by all client systems. Accordingly, the existing portal products are limited to a subset of client systems and permit this subset of client systems to access at most a limited amount of content that is available.


This invention relates to a novel method of screening for inhibitors of beta-amyloid production, and thereby identifying such inhibitors as therapeutics for neurological and other disorders involving APP processing and beta-amyloid production. This invention also relates to identifying macromolecules involved in APP processing and beta-amyloid production. Furthermore, inhibitors identified by the screening method of the present invention are useful in the treatment of neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer""s disease, which involve elevated levels of Axcex2 peptides.

This invention relates to a novel method of screening for inhibitors of beta-amyloid production, and thereby identifying such inhibitors as therapeutics for neurological and other disorders involving APP processing and beta-amyloid production. This invention also relates to identifying macromolecules involved in APP processing and beta-amyloid production. Furthermore, inhibitors identified by the screening method of the present invention are useful in the treatment of neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer""s disease, which involve elevated levels of Axcex2 peptides.
Alzheimer""s disease (AD) is a degenerative brain disorder characterized clinically by progressive loss of memory, temporal and local orientation, cognition, reasoning, judgment and emotional stability. AD is a common cause of progressive dementia in humans and is one of the major causes of death in the United States. AD has been observed in all races and ethnic groups worldwide, and is a major present and future health problem. No treatment that effectively prevents AD or reverses the clinical symptoms and underlying pathophysiology is currently available (for review, Dennis J. Selkoe; Cell Biology of the amyloid (beta)-protein precursor and the mechanism of Alzheimer""s disease, Annu Rev Cell Biol, 1994, 10: 373-403).
Histopathological examination of brain tissue derived upon autopsy or from neurosurgical specimens in effected individuals revealed the occurrence of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillar tangles in the cerebral cortex of such patients. Similar alterations were observed in patients with Trisomy 21 (Down""s syndrome), and hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis of the Dutch-type.
Neurofibrillar tangles are nonmembrane-bound bundles of abnormal proteinaceous filaments and biochemical and immunochemical studies led to the conclusion that their principle protein subunit is an altered phosphorylated form of the tau protein (reviewed in Selkoe, 1994).
Biochemical and immunological studies revealed that the dominant proteinaceous component of the amyloid plaque is an approximately 4.2 kilodalton (kD) protein of about 39 to 43 amino acids. This protein was designated Axcex2, xcex2-amyloid peptide, and sometimes xcex2/A4; referred to herein as Axcex2. In addition to deposition of Axcex2 in amyloid plaques, Axcex2 is also found in the walls of meningeal and parenchymal arterioles, small arteries, capillaries, and sometimes, venules. Axcex2 was first purified, and a partial amino acid reported, in 1984 (Glenner and Wong, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 120: 885-890). The isolation and sequence data for the first 28 amino acids are described in U.S. Pat. No 4,666,829.
Compelling evidence accumulated during the last decade revealed that Axcex2 is an internal polypeptide derived from a type 1 integral membrane protein, termed xcex2 amyloid precursor protein (APP). xcex2 APP is normally produced by many cells both in vivo and in cultured cells, derived from various animals and humans. Axcex2 is derived from cleavage of xcex2 APP by as yet unknown enzyme (protease) system(s), collectively termed secretases.
The existence of at least four proteolytic activities has been postulated. They include xcex2 secretase(s), generating the N-terminus of Axcex2, xcex1 secretase(s) cleaving around the 16/17 peptide bond in Axcex2, and xcex3 secretases, generating C-terminal Axcex2 fragments ending at position 38, 39, 40, 42, and 43 or generating C-terminal extended precursors which are subsequently truncated to the above polypeptides.
The gene encoding a human aspartic protease that cleaves the xcex2-secretase site of xcex2-amyloid precursor protein has recently been isolated; this gene and encoded protein is designated as BACE (Vassar et al., Science (1999) 286: 735-741) or as memapsin-2 (Lin et al., PNAS (2000) 97: 1456-1460) and is designated herein as xe2x80x9cBACE/memapsin-2xe2x80x9d.
Several lines of evidence suggest that abnormal accumulation of Axcex2 plays a key role in the pathogenesis of AD. Firstly, Axcex2 is the major protein found in amyloid plaques. Secondly, Axcex2 is neurotoxic and may be causally related to neuronal death observed in AD patients. Thirdly, missense DNA mutations at position 717 in the 770 isoform of xcex2 APP can be found in effected members but not unaffected members of several families with a genetically determined (familiar) form of AD. In addition, several other xcex2 APP mutations have been described in familial forms of AD. Fourthly, similar neuropathological changes have been observed in transgenic animals overexpressing mutant forms of human xcex2 APP. Fifthly, individuals with Down""s syndrome have an increased gene dosage of xcex2 APP and develop early-onset AD. Taken together, these observations strongly suggest that Axcex2 depositions may be causally related to the AD.
It is hypothesized that inhibiting the production of Axcex2 will prevent and reduce neurological degeneration, by controlling the formation of amyloid plaques, reducing neurotoxicity and, generally, mediating the pathology associated with Axcex2 production. One method of treatment methods would therefore be based on drugs that inhibit the formation of Axcex2 in vivo.
Methods of treatment could target the formation of Axcex2 through the enzymes involved in the proteolytic processing of xcex2 amyloid precursor protein. Compounds that inhibit xcex2 or xcex3 secretase activity, either directly or indirectly, could control the production of Axcex2. Advantageously, compounds that specifically target xcex3 secretases, could control the production of Axcex2. Such inhibition of xcex2 or xcex3 secretases could thereby reduce production of Axcex2, which, thereby, could reduce or prevent the neurological disorders associated with Axcex2 protein.
It is believed that several macromolecules, some of which have proteolytic activity, are involved in the processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP). This processing leads to several products including the xcex2-amyloid peptides (Axcex2) believed etiologically important in Alzheimers Disease. We have discovered novel tagged compounds, functional in themselves as Axcex2 inhibitors, for use in identifying a site or sites on one or more macromolecules critical to the processing of xcex2 APP and the production of Axcex2. We have discovered novel tagged compounds which inhibit the proteolytic activity leading to production of Axcex2 by interacting with one or more macromolecules critical to the processing of APP and the production of Axcex2. We have also discovered a site of action of these tagged compounds using radioisotope tagged derivatives of a compound of Formula (I).
Three examples of tagged compounds include (I-7T), (I-11T), and (I-43T):
(I-7) R**=1H; Y=xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94;
(I-7T): R**=3H; Y=xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94; and
(I-11): R**=1H; y=xe2x80x94C(xe2x95x90O)xe2x80x94;
(I-11T): R**=3H; Y=xe2x80x94C(xe2x95x90O)xe2x80x94; and
(I-43): R**=1H;
(I-43T): R**=3H.
The concentration of Compound (I-7) leading to half-maximal inhibition (IC50) of proteolytic activity leading to Axcex2 production in HEK293 cells expressing APP 695 wt is similar to the concentration leading to half-maximal inhibition (IC50) of Compound (I-7T) binding to membranes derived from the same cell line. The correlation holds for compounds (I-11T) and (I-43T). Also using a compound of Formula (I), we have discovered a macromolecule containing a binding site of action for compounds of Formula (I) critical to the processing of APP and the production of Axcex2.
Furthermore, we have discovered through competitive binding studies that there is a good correlation between the ability of a series of compounds to inhibit the proteolytic activity leading to production of Axcex2 and to inhibit the binding of Compound (I-7T), (I-11T), or (I-43T) to said membranes. Thus, the binding of Compound (I-7T), (I-11T), or (I-43T) to relevant tissues and cell lines, membranes derived from relevant tissues and cell lines, as well as isolated macromolecules and complexes of isolated macromolecules, is useful in the identification of inhibitors of Axcex2 production through competitive binding assays. Furthermore, such competitive binding assays are useful in identification of inhibitors of proteolytic activity leading to Axcex2 production for the treatment of Alzheimer""s disease. Furthermore, such competitive binding assays are useful in identification of inhibitors of proteolytic activity leading to Axcex2 production for the treatment of neurological disorders and other disorders involving Axcex2, APP, and/or Axcex2/APP associated macromolecules, and other macromolecules associated with the site of Compound (I-7T), (I-11T), or (I-43T) binding.
One object of the present invention is to provide a novel method of screening for inhibitors of beta-amyloid production, and thereby identifying such inhibitors as therapeutics for neurological and other disorders involved in APP processing and beta-amyloid production. The method comprises 1) contacting a potential inhibitor of beta-amyloid production and a tagged inhibitor of beta-amyloid production with at least one macromolecule involved in the processing of APP and the production of beta-amyloid peptide, said macromolecule containing a binding site specific for said tagged inhibitor of beta-amyloid production; 2) separating the tagged inhibitor of beta-amyloid production bound to said macromolecule from the tagged inhibitor of beta-amyloid production free from said macromolecule; and 3) determining an inhibitory concentration of the potential inhibitor of beta-amyloid production from the concentration of tagged inhibitor of beta-amyloid production bound to said macromolecule.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the use of a tagged inhibitor of beta-amyloid production to identify macromolecules involved in APP processing.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the macromolecules involved in APP processing which a tagged inhibitor of beta-amyloid production binds to specifically.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the use of macromolecules involved in APP processing, which a tagged inhibitor of beta-amyloid production binds to specifically, for the identification of inhibitors as therapeutics for neurological and other disorders involved in APP processing and beta-amyloid production.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the use of macromolecules involved in APP processing, which a tagged inhibitor of beta-amyloid production binds to specifically, for the assaying of inhibitors of beta-amyloid production.
It is another object of the present invention to provide pharmaceutical compositions comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and a therapeutically effective amount of an inhibitor of beta-amyloid production, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or prodrug form thereof, identified by the screening assay of the present invention.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for treating degenerative neurological disorders involving beta-amyloid production, including Alzheimer""s disease, comprising administering to a host in need of such treatment a therapeutically effective amount of an inhibitor of beta-amyloid production, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or prodrug form thereof, identified by the screening assay of the present invention.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an inhibitor of beta-amyloid production which interacts with the binding site for a compound of Formula (I-7T) on a macromolecule involved in the production of beta-amyloid peptide.
These and other objects, which will become apparent during the following detailed description, have been achieved by the inventors"" discovery that compounds of Formula (I):
(I-7): R**=1H; Y=xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94;
(I-7T): R**=3H; Y=xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94; and
(I-11): R**=1H; Y=xe2x80x94C(xe2x95x90O)xe2x80x94;
(I-11T): R**=3H; Y=xe2x80x94C(xe2x95x90O)xe2x80x94; and
(I-43): R**=1H;
(I-43T): R**=3H;
bind specifically to a binding site on a macromolecule or a complex of macromolecules involved in APP processing to produce reduction of Axcex2 peptide production. For example, the concentration of Compound (I-7) leading to half-maximal inhibition (IC50) of Axcex2 production in HEK293 cells expressing APP 695 wt is similar to the concentration leading to half-maximal inhibition (IC50) of Compound (I-7T) binding to membranes derived from the same cell line.
It is another object of the present invention to provide radiolabeled inhibitors of APP processing and/or the production of beta-amyloid production for use in methods of in vivo diagnostic imaging in the diagnosis of diseases involving APP processing and/or the production of beta-amyloid production. Also provided in the present invention are methods of in vivo diagnostic imaging comprising administering to a subject a diagnostically effective amount of a radiolabeled inhibitor of APP processing and/or the production of beta-amyloid production

Use of small molecule radioligands to discover inhibitors of amyloid-beta peptide production and for diagnostic imaging


A method of applying a multi-layer plasma resistant coating on an article comprises performing plating or ALD to form a conformal first plasma resistant layer on an article, wherein the conformal first plasma resistant layer is formed on a surface of the article and on walls of high aspect ratio features in the article. The conformal first plasma resistant coating has a porosity of approximately 0% and a thickness of approximately 200 nm to approximately 1 micron. One of electron beam ion assisted deposition (EB-IAD), plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), aerosol deposition or plasma spraying is then performed to form a second plasma resistant layer that covers the conformal first plasma resistant layer at a region of the surface but not at the walls of the high aspect ratio features.

In the semiconductor industry, devices are fabricated by a number of manufacturing processes producing structures of an ever-decreasing size. Some manufacturing processes such as plasma etch and plasma clean processes expose a substrate to a high energy plasma to etch or clean the substrate. The plasma may be highly corrosive, and may corrode processing chambers and other surfaces that are exposed to the plasma. This corrosion may generate particles, which frequently contaminate the substrate that is being processed, contributing to device defects.
As device geometries shrink, susceptibility to defects increases and particle and contaminant requirements become more stringent. Accordingly, as device geometries shrink, allowable levels of particle contamination may be reduced.
Many chamber components such as showerheads, plasma sources, pedestals and liners used in semiconductor etch and selective removal chambers are made of bare aluminum or anodized aluminum. However, when exposed to fluorine-based plasma these chamber components become fluorinated and cause particle contamination. Additionally, showerheads contain numerous holes through which gases are flowed. The diameter of these holes changes over time due to accumulation of fluoride particle buildup. The change in hole diameter causes process drift and etch-rate drift over time, which reduces the lifespan of the showerhead.

Multi-layer plasma erosion protection for chamber components


A method, apparatus and system for managing a device are provided by the present invention, which relate to the field of communication. The method includes: according to a preset power management rule, determining a power supply policy of each single board in the current device (302); and according to the power supply policy, performing power management on each single board (303). The technical scheme provided by the present invention is applied to the power management of a device with multiple single boards, and the problem of serious energy consumption in redundancy backup is solved.

With the rapid development of the Internet, network-based applications increase gradually, which raises higher requirements on the reliability of networks. A Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) can meet the reliability requirements of network devices well, in the protocol, redundancy backup is performed on a Default Gateway of a terminal IP device on a shared multi-access medium (such as the Ethernet), thus, when one router or switching equipment therein is down, a backup router or a backup switching equipment can take over a forwarding work in time and provide transparent switching for users, which improves the network service quality.
When a product of Ethernet switch is in a VRRP redundancy backup mode, a standby device needs to keep in a running status for a long time, which inevitably leads to serious energy consumption and inefficiency.

Method, apparatus and system for device management


An electromagnetic interference filter has an input socket, an insulated base, an insulated upper cover, a metal case, an L-shaped, elongated ground terminal, two short output terminals, a grounded bridge hook, two spring plates and the internal circuit elements. The two spring plates are fitted into openings on the upper and lower surfaces of the metal case which covers the insulated base. An oblique protruding block on either side of the input socket penetrates through a square hole on either side of the metal case to couple the case to the input socket. Upwardly oblique extending spring plates are provided on both of the upper and lower surfaces of the metal case which spring plates are pressed against casing walls to hold the assembly firmly and stably immobilized onto the casing walls.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement in the construction of an electromagnetic interference filter, especially to one that has two spring plates fixed onto the upper and lower end of the metal case thereby the assembly is pressed against the casing wall to achieve the effect of easily assembling of the entire filter and stably immobilize onto the casing wall.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional electromagnetic interference filter has an immobilization lug consisting of a plate with through hole on either side thereof and is locked fixed onto the casing by a screw penetrating through the fixing lug. Said electromagnetic interference filter has the following drawbacks while in use:
1. Limited by the accuracy of the size and the location of the screw hole, the results are a high manufacturing cost of casing panels and an increased rejection rate. PA1 2. Manual assembly is reqired for fixing with a screw and results in no way of automatic and mass production as well as time consuming and labor cost increasing. PA1 3. For a traditional screw fixing method, the area of the panel should be enlarged to accomodate the screw hole and the panel can not have a versatile design.
In view of the above mentioned drawbacks of the conventional electromagnetic interference filter, the inventor devoted to improving said shortcomings and finally completed the invention.

Construction of an electromagnetic interference filter


A method includes at least a preliminary step of storing a set of tracking algorithms as a function of types of targets and of environments, each tracking algorithm being a function of a type of target in a given environment; a step of detecting signals backscattered by the targets resulting in primary detections being obtained; the detection step being followed, for each detected target: by a step: of characterizing the detected target into types of target on the basis of the primary detections; and of analysing the environment of the targets in order to determine in which given environment each detected target is located; a step of adapting the tracking to each detected target, the adapting being completed by selecting the tracking algorithm as a function of the type of target to which the target belongs and of the given environment in which it is located.

Within the context of maritime surveillance, the mission of an airborne radar is to detect and track the marine targets that are present. In order to complete this mission, the radar picks up the signal backscattered by the targets. This signal is subsequently analysed in order to extract radar measurements characterizing the potential positions of objects of interest to which tracking is generally applied.
Currently, in maritime surveillance radar, the tracking processing functions are not optimized according to the environmental data measured by or accessible to the radar. Thus, all the targets detected in a given surveillance area are tracked in the same way.
A major disadvantage of this solution is that the overall performance of the tracking is not the maximum performance that can be achieved. Furthermore, in the event that the tracking processing functions can be manually adapted by an operator, the disadvantages are particularly as follows:                a required time spent by the operator that is too long to identify tracking areas specific to the adjustment of the on-board algorithm;        the operator must, in order to make a correct selection, have been trained, on the one hand, and must have significant experience, on the other hand.

Method for tracking targets, in particular maritime targets, and radar implementing such a method


Improved sub-assemblies and methods of control for use in a diagnostic assay system adapted to receive an assay cartridge are provided herein. Such sub-assemblies include: a brushless DC motor, a door opening/closing mechanism and cartridge loading mechanism, a syringe and valve drive mechanism assembly, a sonication horn, a thermal control device and optical detection/excitation device. Such systems can further include a communications unit configured to wirelessly communicate with a mobile device of a user so as to receive a user input relating to functionality of the system with respect to an assay cartridge received therein and relaying a diagnostic result relating to the assay cartridge to the mobile device.

Technological advancements have made today's world an increasingly connected environment. While air travel allows an ordinary person to travel around the globe from one continent to another within one day, it may also permit rapid spread of contagious pathogens and expose the global population to deadly diseases with potentially devastating consequences. In the recent past the outbreaks of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and Ebola hemorrhagic fever serve as examples of how a public health event that originated in one area on one continent can quickly evolve into a significant global concern. The highly mobile nature of today's world demands reliable diagnostic tools to provide real-time results and to facilitate early detection and immediate response to any potential epidemics.
On the other hand, there remain many remote and under-developed areas in this world where health care is not readily available to local residents. Inadequate accessibility to health care facilities such as hospitals and clinics, or even health product/service retailers (e.g., drug stores), seriously hinders any effort to achieve timely diagnosis and treatment of patients, especially those suffering from an infectious disease, making it difficult to properly assess the risk of an epidemic or to effectively contain an epidemic from rapid spreading. Thus, there exists a pressing need for new and improved diagnostic tools that are highly mobile, capable of performing complex molecular testing to generate rapid, reliable, and accurate diagnostic results, regardless of location, whether in a health care facility, neighborhood clinic, retail service provider, or in a resource-limited setting where electrical power, communication (e.g., internet), traditional health care services and/or health care professionals may not be routinely available.
The present inventors have developed a highly sophisticated yet completely portable and surprisingly easy to use molecular diagnostic assay system that fulfills the aforementioned needs. Improved upon existing molecular diagnostic assay systems (e.g., Cepheid's GeneXpert® system), the new molecular diagnostic assay system described herein includes a medical diagnostic device, which is optionally powered by battery, typically small in size and light in weight, thus permitting complete portable use at any location where patients may be, away from hospitals, laboratories, or even drug stores. The diagnostic device is capable of performing fully automated molecular diagnostic assays (optionally for detecting multiple pathogens at the same time), rapidly obtain accurate results (typically within 1 or 2 hours and as fast as 15-20 minutes). It is easy to operate, using one or more pre-manufactured assay cartridges one can quickly obtain test results indicating whether a patient is carrying particular pathogen(s), or afflicted with a particular disease state.
This newly designed molecular diagnostic assay system also includes components that provide secure cloud-based connectivity for conveying the diagnostic results from the portable testing device to a remote reporting system, which may be a centralized data collection or processing center, or mobile devices such as hand-held devices used by a physician or a patient to receive a diagnostic report. With such cloud-supported connectivity, data sharing can take place virtually instantaneously, not only allowing physicians to start treating patients without any delay but also enabling monitoring and reporting of any potential epidemic at a large scale.
These important features circumvent the current limitations that tend to prevent or hinder early diagnosis and effective treatment of patients in poor, remote areas where health care facilities are few and diagnostic testing capability is scarce. This newly designed molecular diagnostic assay system is the first true point-of-care diagnostic tool possessing the strength of rapid deployment and full operation in virtually any environment. It truly brings diagnostic testing to people, regardless of where they are. The combination of its deployability, its rapid and accurate diagnostic functionality, its technical sophistication yet ease of operation, and its cloud-based connectivity makes this new molecular diagnostic assay system the ultimate solution for the emerging markets and the revolutionary trend-setter that defines the future of medical diagnostic testing.


A gas detection element for detection of a measurement target gas is provided. The gas detection element includes a gas detection layer including a chemochromic pigment; and a spacer. The spacer is permeable to the measurement target gas, is disposed on a first surface of the gas detection layer, and has an area smaller than an area of the gas detection layer.

Hydrogen gas is used in various applications, including energy generation means such as batteries, energy storage means, and energy transfer means.
Hydrogen gas is a colorless, odorless, and flammable gas having a wide flammability limit in the air. Therefore, it is required to properly detect hydrogen gas leakage for safety purposes in any environment and/or apparatus in which hydrogen gas is handled.
In the past, methods using soapy water and a hydrogen sensor have been employed to detect hydrogen gas leakage.
Of these methods, the method using soap water requires complicated measurement preparation, and also has difficulty in determining the presence of gas bubbles if the amount of hydrogen gas leakage is small. Therefore, the detection accuracy is poor in the method using soap water. Further, the method using the hydrogen sensor is susceptible to the flow of air in a measurement environment, thus resulting in a decrease in reliability. In addition, the method using the hydrogen sensor has difficulty in identifying the accurate location of leakage.
In light of the above, in order to more accurately and simply detect hydrogen gas leakage, the use of a hydrogen detection tape has been proposed.
The hydrogen detection tape includes a chemochromic pigment that changes in color by contacting hydrogen gas. Accordingly, the presence of the hydrogen gas can be detected by the change in color of the chemochromic pigment (Patent Documents 1 to 7, for example).


‘15173 GR’ is a new and distinct hardy herbaceous Hibiscus hybrid with novel characteristics that include upright branched stems, numerous, outward-facing, flowers that exhibit a background that is between moderate yellowish pink and strong pink in the mid and upper part, and between vivid reddish orange and deep yellowish pink from the middle part down to the edge of the center eye, a strong red center eye, a prolonged blooming season, and hastate, trilobed leaves.

The present invention relates to the new and distinct hibiscus plant '15173 GR'. '15173 GR' was generated from a cross performed on Jul. 12, 2014 near Vernon, Tex. between '10543-3' (pod parent, unpatented) and '14054-3' (pollen parent, unpatented). The pedigrees of each parent reflect a complex mixture of hibiscus species that include, for example, H. mocheutos, H. coccineus, H. militaris, or H. dasycalyx. The seed from this cross was harvested on Aug. 25, 2014 and the '15173 GR' seedling was selected in the summer of 2015. '15173 GR' was first asexually propagated near Vernon, Tex. in 2016 by stem tip cuttings. The resulting as well as subsequent asexually propagated plants have been stable and true to type throughout successive generations.


A tool-free blade change system includes a sun gear, an arbor bolt including a threaded portion configured to threadedly engage a threaded bore of a power shaft, and a plurality of pins in fixed relationship with the threaded portion, a plurality of planetary gears engaged with the sun gear and located axially outwardly of the sun gear, each of the plurality of planetary gears mounted on a respective one of the plurality of pins, and an outer ring gear engaged with each of the plurality of planetary gears, wherein the sun gear is rotatable with respect to the outer ring gear.

A circular saw generally includes a circular blade having a centrally located hole for mounting the blade to a rotatable shaft. The blade is conventionally mounted to an end of the rotatable shaft in compression between an inner flange and outer flange or washer, held by a conventional arbor bolt threaded into a threaded bore in the shaft.
Circular saw blades must be replaced periodically due to blade wear and to accommodate a variety of different cutting uses. In order to install or remove a blade, a wrench typically must be used to supply sufficient torque to remove the bolt from the shaft. Inconveniences are incurred by the use of a conventional bolt to mount a circular saw blade. For example, the task of obtaining an appropriate wrench can be time consuming, and using the wrench can be cumbersome. It is therefore desirable to provide an improved mechanism for securing and replacing a circular saw blade.

Geared bolt system for securing a circular saw blade


A distributed register/ledger in a distributed trust computing network is the basis for determining the stability of a computing environment. Based on the whether the determined computing environment stability meets predetermined thresholds decisions are made on whether to allow for computing code to be tested within the computing environment or allow for edits/changes to computing code to be checked-in to the code repository.

Before releasing new software or upgrades to existing software, the software must undergo extensive testing to ensure that the software will function properly when it is released to a production environment or a commercial market. Testing is conducted within a computing environment that emulates the production environment or a commercial use environment. However, when a tester retrieves or otherwise accesses the software for purposes of testing, the tester is typically unaware of the current state of the computing environment in which the testing is to occur. If the current state of the computing environment is unstable it may result in ineffective testing and/or prohibit, or at least delay, testing. An unstable environment may be caused by a myriad of different factors, such as application servers being unavailable (i.e., commonly referred to as "down"), software not being properly installed on the applications servers and the like.
In certain instances, the tester is cognizant of computing environment instability because they experience the inability to test or delays in testing. In such instances, the tester notifies applicable personnel of the instability and awaits resolution of the problem before proceeding with further testing. In other instances, due to the subtlety of the instability, the tester may of unaware of the problem; however, the testing may prove to be ineffective.
From a software development standpoint, software is developed, or edits are made to existing software on a workstation and subsequently the developer check-ins the code to a code repository. In certain instances, the code may function properly on the developer's workstation; however, once the code is checked-in, due to instability in the computing environment, the code does not function properly on the main servers or the like.
Therefore, a need exists to ensure the stability of the computing environment in which software is tested. In addition, a need exists to ensure that edits/changes to software that is being developed are checked-in to a computing environment that is stable. As a result, the desired systems, methods, computer program products and the like should provide for authorizing code/software testing and check-in code/software development edits only in those instances in which the computing environment is deemed to be stable. Moreover, the desired systems, methods, computer program products and the like should take into account a wide-range of factors when determining whether or not the computing environment is stable.

Implementing a distributed register to verify the stability of an application server environment for software development and testing


A luminaire (61) is disclosed with a close coupled ballast (62) having a support arm (66) from which is suspended or hung a reflector, and preferably a variable focus reflector (41), having either a single ended lamp (3) or double ended lamp (23). The luminaire (61) is supported from a greenhouse rafter (9) by filaments (10, 11) which are connected one to the ballast (62) and the other to the free end of the support arm (66). In one embodiment the arm (66) is connected to a rigid side plate (64) which is mounted on the ballast (62). In another embodiment the arm (66) is connected to a side plate (164) which is hinged. The arrangement enables flimsy reflectors (41) to be close coupled with electronic ballasts in a way which minimises Radio Frequency Interference (RFI).

Horticultural luminaires are widely used in greenhouse installations for growing flowers, tomatoes and other horticultural products. Usually the luminaires are suspended by a pair of wires from an overhead support such as a rafter, or other bearer, so that the luminaire is substantially horizontal. As a consequence, the light produced by the luminaire shines downwardly on the plants below.
The lamps used in such horticultural applications are high intensity discharge (HID) lamps such as high pressure sodium lamps which have a negative resistance characteristic. As a consequence, a ballast is required to operate the lamp and control the lamp current. Traditionally such ballasts have been inductors and the lamps have been operated at AC mains frequency. As a result, the ballast can be mounted in any convenient position (often approximately at waist height) and is connected to the reflector and lamp by means of a cable having a length in the vicinity of 2-3 m (6-9 ft).
However, in recent times, electronic ballasts have become increasingly popular. Such ballasts operate at high frequencies and are therefore liable to cause radio frequency interference (RFI). In order to reduce the possibility of RFI it is desirable to shorten the electrical connection between the ballast and the lamp. As a consequence, it is desirable to mount the ballast immediately adjacent the lamp. Luminaires where the ballast is immediately adjacent the lamp are said to be close coupled.
Genesis of the Invention
The genesis of the present invention is a desire to provide a close coupled luminaire assembly having a lamp and a reflector arrangement, previously mounted at a position remote from the ballast. In this way such a lamp and reflector arrangement can be converted into a close coupled luminaire assembly.


The present invention relates to a method of operating a crane having a movable undercarriage and a superstructure rotatably supported thereon with a luffable main boom and derrick boom arranged thereon, wherein an auxiliary crane having a telescopic boom is connected to the crane as derrick ballast and the derrick ballast radius is set via the telescopic boom of the auxiliary crane.

The invention relates to a method of operating a crane having a movable undercarriage and a superstructure rotatably supported thereon with a luffable main boom and derrick boom arranged thereon.
Large cranes, in particular large crawler-mounted cranes, require a considerable counter-weight which counteracts the raised payload and prevents the tilting of the crane. This counter-weight can be applied by a central ballast, by a superstructure ballast or also by a ballast at the derrick boom. As a rule, a ballast plate supported with respect to the ground via corresponding auxiliary means to take up the ballast is proposed as a possible derrick ballast. A completely suspended ballast or also a derrick ballast carried by a ballast box is possible as an alternative.
Against this background special ballast boxes have been developed which are designed as independently driven vehicles and can therefore be moved together with the crane to ensure a largely unrestricted crane operation. Such solutions, however, always require a complex separate development of a suitable ballast box which is used only for the ballast application. Furthermore, such a ballast box has to be transported separately onto the construction site for the crane use, which his a disadvantegeous effect on the deployment costs incurred since they depend as a rule on the required ballast mass.
A further problem for the dimensioning at the required ballast presents itself on the erecting of long boom combinations. The boom disposed on the ground has a comparatively are lever arm and therefore induces a comparatively large load torque which far exceeds the load torques occurring later during the crane operation. DE 203 14 503 U1 therefore suggests as a solution to bypass this problem to arrange the auxiliary crane required for the equipping process as additional ballast at the superstructure of the crane to be able to compensate the load torques arising during the erection procedure. It is, however, disadvantageous proposed method that the auxiliary crane operating as ballast can only be used during the erection since it would greatly impair the freedom of movement of the crane during the crane work.


A controlling device has a transient operating quantity upper limit value storing portion storing a transient quantity upper limit value, effective at the time of a transient response due to a change in a setting value. A steady operating quantity upper limit value storing portion storing an operating quantity upper limit value, effective at the time of a steady operation. A setting value change detecting portion detecting a change in the setting value A transient response completion detecting portion detecting the completion of a transient response; an operating quantity upper limit value switching portion setting the operating quantity upper limit value as the operating quantity upper limit value is used in control calculations in a time band from the point in time of the change of the setting value to the point in time of the completion of the transient response.

A two-degree-of-freedom PID control is known as a method for PID control wherein it is possible to tune following characteristics when there is a change in a setting value SP and external noise controlling characteristics in the steady-state independently (separately) (See, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2001-350503). For example, in temperature control of a heating furnace, the scope of increase in temperature is large when there is a change to a setting value SP, and when there is overshooting, this produces a loss in the time required before the equipment can be used. Consequently, PID parameters are tuned emphasizing the suppression of overshooting. On the other hand, in the steady-state (the operating state), PID parameters are tuned emphasizing control so as to minimize variability in the temperature within the heating furnace.
Temperature controllers that are PID controlling device having temperature controlling functions as described above are sold from the controller manufacturers, who manufacture the temperature controllers, to the equipment managers that manufacture the heating furnaces, and the like. They are then in turn are sold to the equipment users from the device manufacturers. In this process, situations often occur wherein an operator who has no specialized knowledge regarding control has no choice but to tune the PID parameters of the temperature controller. Conventionally, specialized knowledge has often been required in PID parameter tuning, and thus, in situations such as described above, there is a risk of destabilizing the control system. This risk being large is a problem to both the control technology provider side and to the recipient side.
The present mentioned was created to solve the problem set forth above, and the object thereof is to provide a controlling device and controlling method able to reduce the risk of setting parameters that would destabilize the control operations in the process of providing a controlling device from the control expert side to the control non-expert side.

Controlling device with operating quantity value switching portion and controlling method using the same


A method of correcting a mask pattern is described. A testing mask including a plurality of original patterns configured according to an original drawing data is provided. The original patterns in the testing mask are transferred to a photo-resistant layer to form a plurality of first post-development patterns and measure first dimensions of the first post-development patterns. A pattern shrink process is performed on the first post-development patterns to form a plurality of first post-shrink patterns and measure second dimensions of the first post-shrink patterns. The bias of each the first dimensions and the second dimensions are calculated. The original drawing data, the first sizes, the second sizes and the bias are collected to set a database. The data of the database is used to establish an optical proximity correction (OPC) model. According to the OPC model, an original drawing data is corrected to obtain a corrected drawing data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for correcting and configuring a photolithographic pattern, particularly to a method for correcting and configuring an optical mask pattern.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, the semiconductor has focused on the development of miniature integrated circuit (IC) element design. Photolithography plays a key role in such a miniaturization development for semiconductor industry because it determines critical dimensions (CDs) of thin film patterns related to semiconductor element structures.
To meet the increasing dement for semiconductor components of smaller sizes and higher resolutions, the KrF exposure machine is used together with a phase shift mask (PSM). However, further advancement of exposure machine requires light source of shorter wavelengths, such as: KrF laser (248 nm), ArF laser (193 nm), F2 laser (157 nm), and Ar2 laser (126 nm) for less linewidths and smaller component sizes. However, exposure devices are either too expensive or under development.
Therefore, a novel pattern shrink technology, chemical shrink process, is provided. Said chemical shrink process includes coating chemical shrink agent on an exposed and developed photo-resistant layer for subsequent baking process to form a new material layer configured at the sidewalls of patterns in the photo-resistant layer.
A typical chemical shrink process usually employs a certain bias value to pre-estimate a shrinkage magnitude, wherein the bias value is equal to the CD of the already shrunk pattern minus the CD of pattern yet to be shrunk. Additionally, the bias value is used for determining the target CD of the developed pattern on the photo-resistant layer and the target CD is used for correcting the dimension of the original pattern of optical masks. However, using a single bias value for correcting different original patterns of the equivalent CD and different pattern densities fails to produce desired results with possibly seriously negative impact on productivity, reliability and workability of elements.

Method for correcting and configuring optical mask pattern


An apparatus for displaying packages in a retail environment includes a rack having vertical sidewalls and a bar interconnecting the sidewalls. A tray has protrusions from an underside thereof adapted to engage the bars to support the tray in a first, retracted package displaying position and a second, extended package loading position. A divider insert includes a plurality of parallel upright divider walls and is sized to releasably fit within the tray, thereby forming channels atop the tray. A plurality of product pushers are releasably connected to the tray in the channels. Packages to be displayed may be positioned in the channels for the product pusher to urge them to one end of the tray for retail purchase and the apparatus may be disassembled to arrange a different divider insert and a plurality of pushers differently in the tray.

The present invention relates to improvements in point-of-sale displays, particularly those that have aids to urge product toward the front of the shelf, known in the trade as "pusher"-type displays.
It is known to display packages such as envelopes of pantyhose in a self-feeding arrangement. This includes a rack having side walls and horizontally extending bars with a tray supported on the bar in a slanted manner. The tray is divided into channels and a box of, literally, rocks is positioned behind the product in the channels. By virtue of the slant of the channel, the box of rocks pushes the products forwardly in the channel as each forwardmost package is removed. This arrangement has been used successfully for a number of years, but it has a number of disadvantages. First, the rocks, being provided simply for the purpose of providing weight, make the entire display a very heavy device, raising shipping costs. Also, since the tray in which the product is displayed is integrally formed, the channels are of an invariable size. Thus, to display products of a different size, the entire tray and boxes of rocks must be discarded and be replaced by a different product. Furthermore, it has been found that the box of rocks may lose or absorb moisture and these can be a source of biological activity giving rise to unsightly growths, clearly undesirable in a merchandising environment.
Spring-driven pusher displays are known, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,201 to Breslow and assigned to RTC Industries, Inc. That display uses a spring-urged motive member to direct product toward the front of a shelf, with the spring being mounted on a component which acts as a divider as well as a spring anchor. The apparatus of the Breslow patent can be used with merchandise of various sizes, but the side dividers must be positioned with care, something that does not invariably happen in field installations. The result may be the dividers are positioned too close together, so that the product is pinched and does not advance properly. Or, the dividers may be too far apart, so that the product is delivered sideways or, simply that valuable shelf space will be wasted.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a point of purchase display having pusher capability, but which can be easily and inexpensively modified to vary from one product size to another, without requiring expensive field expertise.

Variable pusher point of purchase display


[Object] To provide a differential communication system that is preferable for performing differential communication in a dynamically configured network.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to systems, devices, programs, and methods for performing differential communication, and more particularly to a differential communication system, a differential communication device, a differential communication program, and a differential communication method, which are preferable for performing differential communication in a dynamically configured network.
2. Description of Related Art
During communication between a transmitting device and a receiving device, what is called "differential communication" can be used to reduce the amount of communication and to improve confidentiality. In this differential communication, the transmission device and the receiving device hold common reference information in communication therebetween, such that the transmission device transmits difference information, which is a difference between plain information and the reference information, to the receiving device, which in turn restores the original plain information from the received difference information and the reference information.
Conventionally, for example, available technologies for differential communication include a remote maintenance system (hereinafter referred to as a "first conventional example") disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H7-175662, a partial-extraction-type remote maintenance system (hereinafter referred to as a "second conventional example") disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application publication No. H11-265309, and a financial transaction processing system (hereinafter referred to as a "third conventional example") disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-048106.
In the first conventional example, a host computer and a remote computer are connected over a network. At the host computer, first, a change-history generating section generates a change history for an old source program in a storage device, the old source program being designated by a remote computer. A modification-program storage section stores a change history containing modified-line information. An edit-information generating section generates edited information for each communication. A transmitting section transmits the edited information for each communication to the remote computer. At the remote computer, first, a receiving section receives the edited information for each communication and composes a change history for an old source program in a storage device. A program updating section generates a new source program from the change history and the old source program. A compiling section compiles the new source program to generate a new execution-format program.
This arrangement can minimize the amount of data transmitted, and can facilitate a program update for a remote computer without affecting the system operation.
In the second conventional example, a host computer and a remote computer are connected over a network. The host computer includes a difference-information extracting section, a verification-code generating section, and a distributing section. When data stored in the host computer is changed, the difference-information extracting section compares the contents of the data before it is changed and the contents thereof after it is changed, to extract difference information therefor. The verification-code generating section generates a verification code concerning the changed contents. The distributing section distributes change information, which contains the difference information, and the verification code to the remote computer. The remote computer updates the contents of data stored in its own terminal, in accordance with the change information, and generates a verification code from the updated contents. The remote computer also includes a verification-code checking section for checking the generated verification code against a verification code that is transmitted from the host computer.
Thus, upon update of data at the host computer, the amount of data transmitted for updating data in the remote computer can be reduced and the contents of the updated data can be verified at the remote computer.
In the third conventional example, a payment server and a client are connected over a network. The client transmits the date and time of update of a financial-organization-name table and the date and time of update of a branch-name table to the payment server. In response to the transmitted contents, the payment server transmits difference data to the client, which, in turn, uses the difference data to update the financial-organization-name table and the branch-name table and also transmits the updated contents to the payment server.
Thus, in bank transaction utilizing a network, all the names of financial organizations and branches with which transaction is possible can be selected at the time of a transaction, and transaction-processing time can be reduced by minimizing the amount of data communicated during a transaction.

System and methods of differential communication

Abstract: [Solving Means] Portable terminals 100 to 120 each generates difference information from information to be transmitted, based on reference information held by itself, and transmits the generated difference information to an intended portable terminal. Also, upon receiving difference information, each of the portable terminals 100 to 120 determines whether or not reference information held by a transmission source of the difference information and reference information held by itself are the same. Upon determining that they are not the same, each of the portable terminals 100 to 120 obtains the reference information held by the transmission source of the difference information, and, based on the obtained reference information, restores, from the received difference information, information to be transmitted.


An avionics wake turbulence awareness system and method for use in an aircraft includes an ADS-B receiver that is adapted to be positioned in an equipped aircraft and receives ADS-B transmissions from other aircraft. A control system is responsive to the ADS-B receiver and determines an identity for each of the other aircraft and determines a movement of each of the other aircraft relative to the equipped aircraft. The control system determines a flight path history of each of the other aircraft from their respective identities and movements relative to the equipped aircraft. An output device is responsive to the control system to provide guidance to a pilot of the equipped aircraft to avoid an encounter with a wake turbulence caution area that is defined by a flight path history of another aircraft. The control system evaluates the relative risk of the equipped aircraft encountering the respective wake turbulence caution areas of each of the other aircraft, and after selecting an aircraft of the other aircraft with a highest priority, provides guidance to the pilot of the equipped aircraft to avoid an encounter with a wake turbulence caution area of the selected aircraft.

The present invention is directed to an aircraft avionic system and method, and in particular, to a system and method for an equipped aircraft to avoid a potential wake turbulence generated by another aircraft.
While wake turbulence can be a threat to safety of any aircraft, it is particularly dangerous for medium to small aircraft. Such wake turbulence is particularly dangerous immediately before landings and immediately after takeoffs. The task of avoiding potential wake turbulences of other aircraft is made more difficult when a pilot of an aircraft is forced to monitor the position and flight path history of multiple other aircraft.

L3 Commmunications Avionics Systems, Inc.


A fuel injection system for internal combustion engines is proposed which serves the purpose of fuel injection into the air intake tube of the engine. The fuel injection system includes a fuel injection valve, which is supported upstream of a throttle valve in a holder body disposed coaxially in the air intake tube. A fuel supply line leads to the fuel injection valve, extending in a downwardly directed manner toward the fuel injection valve and away from a deaeration chamber. A fuel return line leads away from the fuel injection valve, extending in an upwardly inclined direction to discharge into the regulating chamber, disposed at a higher level, of a pressure regulating valve. A fuel feed line originating at a fuel supply pump terminates in an upwardly directed manner into the dearation chamber, which communicates via a dearation nozzle with the regulating chamber, so that vapor bubbles can escape upstream of the injection valve into the return side of the injection valve.

The invention is directed to a fuel injection system having at least one injection valve disposed in an air intake tube subject to flow therethrough. A fuel injection system is already known in which the danger exists that vapor bubbles carried along with the fuel via the fuel supply line will reach the fuel injection valve, there causing malfunctioning of the valve and attendant difficulties upon starting the internal combustion engine.


A semiconductor light emitting device is provided. The semiconductor light emitting device includes a first nitride layer, an active layer, and a second nitride layer. The first nitride layer includes an irregular, uneven surface, and the active layer is formed on the irregular, uneven surface. The second nitride layer is formed on the active layer. A plurality of quantum dots are formed at the active layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nitride semiconductor light-emitting device, and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of a related art nitride semiconductor may include a GaN-based nitride semiconductor. The GaN-based nitride semiconductor is being applied to a variety of application fields such as an optical device including blue/green light emitting diodes (LEDs), and a fast-switching high-output device including a metal-semiconductor field effect transistor (MESFET) and a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT). Particularly, the blue/green LEDs have already been mass-processed, and the worldwide sales thereof are exponentially increasing.
Particularly, in the field of light emitting devices such as LEDs and semiconductor laser diodes among the application fields of the GaN-based nitride semiconductor, a semiconductor light emitting device that includes a crystal layer made by doping a Ga location of a GaN-based nitride semiconductor with the group 2 element such as magnesium and zinc is receiving much attention as a blue light emitting device.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, an example of the GaN-based nitride semiconductor may include a light-emitting device having a multiple quantum well structure. The light-emitting device is grown on a substrate 1 formed mainly of sapphire or SiC. For example, a polycrystalline thin film of AlyGa1-yN is grown as a buffer layer 2 on the substrate 1 of sapphire or SiC at a low growth temperature. Then, a GaN underlayer 3 is sequentially stacked on the buffer layer 2 at a high temperature. An active layer 4 for light emission is placed on the GaN underlayer 3. A magnesium (Mg)-doped AlGaN electron barrier layer 5, a Mg-doped InGaN layer 6, and a Mg-doped GaN layer 7 that are converted into a p-type by a thermal annealing process are sequentially stacked on the active layer 4.
An insulating layer is formed on the Mg-doped GaN layer 7 and the GaN underlayer 3, and a p-type electrode 9 and an n-type electrode 10 are formed corresponding to the Mg-doped GaN layer 7 and the GaN layer 3, respectively, thereby forming a light emitting device.
Such a related art light emitting device has the following problems. First, in the nitride semiconductor light-emitting device, lattice mismatch exists between the substrate and the GaN, and thus many crystal defects (surface defects, point defects, line defects) occur in an n-type nitride layer or a p-type nitride layer which has undergone crystal growth. Hence, it becomes difficult to achieve good quality of a crystal layer.
Also, at the time of Mg doping for forming a p-type contact layer, Mg is combined with H of an ammonia gas, thereby forming a Mg—H combination having an electrical insulating property. Thus, even if a large amount of Mg is doped, it is difficult to achieve high hole-concentration in a p-type GaN.
In general, it has been known that quantum dots formed in InGaN and GaN epilayers used as an active layer take prominent part in increasing attention on the nitride semiconductor material as a high-output optical device despite its disadvantages of dislocations, defects and an electromagnetic field in a crystal. Such quantum dots perform strong lateral confinement or localization on carriers (electrons and holes) to remarkably reduce an influence of the dislocation or the electromagnetic field.
Specifically, electrons of a conduction band and holes of a valence band in an active layer having a quantum well structure are trapped in the quantum dots, increasing the density states of the electrons and the holes in the quantum dots. Thus, light-emission recombination efficiency of the electrons and the holes effectively increases. Also, a refractive index of the quantum dot is greater than a refractive index of a semiconductor material surrounding the quantum dot. For this reason, photons generated at the quantum dots are spatially trapped near to the quantum dots. Such an active layer structure of the light emitting device simultaneously confines both carriers and photons in the center of an optical waveguide, so that a threshold current of the light emitting device can be reduced approximately tens of times, and temperature stability can be improved to an extent that allows consecutive operation of the light emitting device at a room temperature.
Accordingly, in order to improve light emission efficiency of the nitride semiconductor light-emitting device, it is most important to develop a technology for controlling quantum dots of the active layer.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Nitride semiconductor light-emitting device