The present invention is directed to an improved process for making PDE IV inhibitors. In specific, this application describes a process for making and purifying a chiral bisaryl alcohol, an intermediate compound necessary for the preparation of PDE IV inhibitors such as CDP 840, by asymmetric bioreduction of a pro-chiral ketone. Furthermore, the bioprocess provides for production of each enantiomer of a bisaryl alcohol at elevated optical purity.. This invention takes advantage of a microorganism's ability to reduce a pro-chiral bisaryl ketone to the chiral bisaryl alcohol. The alcohol is readily isolated from the media by solvent extraction, crystallography, or other purification method known to the skilled artisan. The chiral alcohol can then be converted to a PDE IV inhibitor, such as CDP 840, by methods well known in the art.

This invention relates to a process for making phosphodiesterase IV (PDE IV) inhibitors which are useful in treating asthma and other diseases mediated by PDE IV. More particularly, this application describes a process for making and purifying a chiral bisaryl alcohol, an intermediate compound necessary for the preparation of PDE IV inhibitors such as CDP 840, by asymmetric bioreduction of a pro-chiral ketone.
Many hormones and neurotransmitters modulate tissue function by elevating intra-cellular levels of adenosine 3 ', 5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic AMP or cAMP). The role of cAMP as a second messenger is well recognized. It is responsible for transducing the effects of a variety of extracellular signals, including hormones and neurotransmitters. The level of intracellular cAMP is regulated through both its synthesis by adenyl cyclases and degradation by cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDE). PDEs form a family of at least seven enzyme isotypes (I-VII) which differ in their affinity for cAMP and/or cGMP, subcellular localization and regulation (Beavo J. A. and Reifsnyder D. H. (1990) Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 11 150-155; Conti M. et al., (1991) Endocrine Rev. 12 218-234). The clinical effects of a number of drugs can be rationalized on the basis of their selectivity for a particular PDE isotype. For example, the cardiotonic drugs milrinone and zaprinast are PDE III and PDE V inhibitors respectively. (Harrison S. A. et al., (1986) Mol. Pharmacol. 29 506-514; Gillespie P. G. and Beavo J. (1989) Mol. Pharmacol. 36 773-781). The anti-depressant drug, rolipram functions as a selective PDE IV inhibitor. (Schneider H. H. et al., (1986) Eur. J. Pharmacol. 127 105-115.).
The availability of PDE isotype selective inhibitors has enabled the role of PDEs in a variety of cell types to be investigated. In particular it has been established that PDE IV controls the breakdown of cAMP in many inflammatory cells, for example, basophils (Peachell P. T. et al., (1992) J. Immunol. 148 2503-2510) and eosinophils (Dent G. et al., (1991) Br. J. Pharmacol. 103 1339-1346) and that inhibition of this isotype is associated with the inhibition of cell activation. Consequently PDE IV inhibitors are currently being developed as potential anti-inflammatory drugs particularly for the prophylaxis and treatment of asthma.
Several compounds that act as PDE IV inhibitors, including CDP 840, as well as methodology for their production, are disclosed in WO 94/14742, published Jul. 7, 1994, which is hereby incorporated by reference. These compounds are useful as anti-inflammatory drugs, particularly for prophylaxis and treatment of asthma as well as for treatment of other inflammatory diseases. However, WO 94/14742 does not describe an efficient chemical means for making a chiral bisaryl alcohol intermediate for use in production of PDE IV inhibitors. The benefit of such invention is a more efficient means of making PDE IV inhibitor compounds that require a bisaryl alcohol intermediate, such as CDP 840, and greater yield.
The present invention describes a biotransformation process for the production of a specific chiral alcohol intermediate important in the chemical synthesis of PDE IV inhibitors. There is currently no known chemical method for production of a chiral bisaryl alcohol of the invention, which is a key intermediate used to make CDP 840 and other PDE IV inhibitors. The chiral compound of the invention is a necessary intermediate in producing PDE IV inhibitors. Its exceptional optical purity, when made by the bioprocess of the invention, allows production of the PDE IV inhibitor in fewer steps and greater yield than if a synthetically produced racemic mixture were used.
Microorganisms capable of reducing a prochiral bisaryl ketone to a chiral bisaryl alcohol for synthesizing PDE IV inhibitors, such as CDP 840, are used in the invention. Moreover, the enantiomeric purity of the compound of the invention produced in microorganisms permits a greater yield of PDE IV inhibitor and requires less steps than chemical synthesis of the intermediates for making the inhibitors. Thus, the present invention provides an optically pure intermediate for use in making PDE IV inhibitors and permits synthesis of the inhibitor in fewer steps.

Process for bioreduction of bisaryl ketone to bisaryl alcohol


A gas generator (10) is provided, comprising an initiator (48) including an initiator charge, a gas generant insert (52) spaced apart from the initiator (48), and a fluid-impermeable blast director (42) interposed between the initiator (48) and the gas generant insert (52). The blast director (42) provides a barrier between the gas generant insert (52) and a blast resulting from ignition of the initiator charge when the initiator charge is ignited. The blast director (42), when used with particular gas generant configurations, reduces the effects of the initiator blast and reduces the amount of gas generant exposed to the blast, enabling the structural integrity of the gas generant (52) to be maintained.

The present invention relates generally to gas generating systems and, more particularly, to gas generators used in vehicle occupant protection systems and related components, such as seatbelt pretensioners.
Gas generators used in seatbelt pretensioners are known as micro gas generators due to the relatively small size of the gas generator. Exemplary pretensioners using such micro gas generators include those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,460,794, 6,505,790, 6,520,443, and 6,419,177, incorporated herein by reference. Micro gas generators generally contain an initiator including an initiator charge, an initiator retainer, and a gas generant composition which ignites and burns in response to ignition of the initiator to produce gases for actuating the seatbelt pretensioner.
In some micro gas generators, the gas generant is provided in tablet form wherein the aggregate combustion surface area is substantially higher than in gas generants provided in monolithic gas generating casts or inserts, for example. The total surface area of the gas generant in any gas generator is often optimized based on the burning rate of the respective gas generant composition. Historically, many azide-based compositions have been satisfactorily provided in tablet form given the relatively low burn rate of many azide-based compositions. With the advent of non-azide compositions, however, relatively higher burn rates often require a relatively lower aggregate gas generant surface area. Monolithic casts or inserts can be formed that effectively reduce the total gas generant surface area exposed to combustion.
In cases where the gas generant insert is in direct communication with the initiator during initiator activation, flame and ignition products from the initiator may fracture the gas generant insert. The resulting gas generant fragments will generally have a greater aggregate surface area than the intact gas generant cast. In addition, the sizes of the resulting gas generant cast fragments are unpredictable. These factors contribute to ballistic variability, making it difficult to control and predict the inflation characteristics of the gas generator.
Devices such as seatbelt pretensioners require a low initial pressurization and slow starting gas generation. The magnitude of the initial pressurization produced by activation of the initiator is directly related to initiator charge mass and surface area of the gas generant exposed to the initiator blast. Thus, one means of reducing the likelihood of gas generant insert fracture is to reduce the initiator charge mass. However, it can be expensive and/or inconvenient to reduce the initiator charge mass in order to reduce the likelihood of gas generant cast fracture. Thus, it is preferable to attempt to control the magnitude of the initial pressurization by controlling the gas generant surface area exposed to the blast. To do so, the geometry of the gas generant insert must be maintained during activation of the initiator.


A strip storage unit for a continuous operation of rolling mill trains, particularly a loop-forming strip storage unit for sheet metal strips in strip treatment plants. The strip storage unit includes a loop carriage having at least one deflection roller for a strip loop. The loop carriage is movable on guides for changing the length of the loop. Support carriages which are also movable on guides and are provided with at least one support roller each are connected to the loop carriage through traction members, such as, ropes, chains or the like. The storage unit further includes at least one feed roller and a run-out roller for the strip. At least one cam drum is arranged at each support carriage. The traction members travel on the surfaces of the drum. For maintaining an equal distance between the loop carriage and the adjacent support carriage and between the support carriages when the loop carriage is moved by a certain distance, a torque motor acts on each cam drum.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a strip storage unit for a continuous operation of rolling mill trains, particularly a loop-forming strip storage unit for sheet metal strips in strip treatment plants. The strip storage unit includes a loop carriage having at least one deflection roller for a strip loop. The loop carriage is movable on guides for changing the length of the loop. Support carriages which are also movable on guides and are provided with at least one support roller for the strip are connected to the loop carriage through traction members, such as, ropes, chains or the like. The strip storage unit further includes at least one feed roller and a run-out roller for the strip.
2. Description of the Related Art
Strip storage units for rolled strip are necessary for the continuous operation of rolling mill stands in rolling mill trains. Strip storage units are also required when individual coils which must be connected to each other before being introduced into the rolling mill train, are to be fed to the rolling mill train or rolling mill stand and are to be rolled in the stand. In order to avoid a slowdown of the rolling speed or even an interruption of the operation of the rolling mill train or the rolling mill stands, a loop-type storage unit and a loop forming unit of some type must be provided whose capacity is such that the strip can still be continuously fed to the rolling mill stand or rolling mill train if the individual coils must be prepared for welding together. Similar considerations are applicable to other plants which process metal strip, for example, pickling plants or annealing furnaces, which must be operated continuously and in which the different speeds of the strips being introduced must be compensated. Depending on the available space, looping towers, looping pits or horizontally extending loopers are used.
Horizontally extending loopers or horizontally arranged strip storage units are known in the art, particularly from German Offenlegungsschrift 1,953,169, Austrian patent 299,103 and European patent application 0,110,864.
The horizontally extending looper according to according to German Offenlegungsschrift 1,953,169 for strip processing plants with loop carriage and support rollers is characterized in that the support rollers are supported in several so-called trailers which are movable in horizontal direction. The ropes which connect the trailers and the loop carriage are wound onto drums and are kept in constant tension by the drives of the drums. When the loop carriage is moved in order to shorten the length of the supply loop, the loop carriage pushes the trailers ahead. Accordingly, the restoring force exerted by the rope drum drive merely has the purpose to keep the connecting ropes in a tensioned state, so that each following trailer is moved by the loop carriage only when the rope length between the loop carriage and the respective trailer has been used up. When the rope drum is driven by a spring drum, there is the disadvantage that the springs have only a service life of a few months. If the rope drums are driven electrically, there is the disadvantage that each motor must have its own control and its own energy supply.
The horizontal strip storage unit for sheet metal strips according to Austrian patent 299,103, includes a movable loop carriage which is preferably drivable with a constant torque for increasing the length of the loop and a plurality of support carriages which are movable along guide rails. An endless rope guided around deflection rollers is connected to the loop carriage and the support carriages. The drive of the support carriages is provided by the rope through receiving rollers with the intermediate arrangement of reduction transmission units, so that there is an equal spacing between the support carriages when the loop carriage is moved. This strip storage unit has the particular disadvantage that a different transmission ratio is required for each carriage and that there is the danger that dirt accumulates on the drive pinion and the rack, so that the drive and transmission conditions are not exact.
The horizontal strip storage unit according to European application 0,110,864 also includes a movable loop carriage which is coupled with individual support carriages by means of flexible traction members which can be pulled out against a restoring force. The traction members have to be elastically expandable at least over a certain length. The traction members are, for example, rubber ropes or the like, and are guided around deflection rollers to form a loop. The purpose of this construction is to provide an impact-free drive of the support carriage by the loop carriage, while simultaneously ensuring a uniform distance between the individual support carriages. This strip storage unit has the disadvantage that the flexible or elastic rubber ropes age relatively quickly and become brittle and, therefore, can wear in an uncontrolled manner and at a different rate, and that rubber ropes can be damaged relatively quickly in the demanding rolling mill operation, so that there is also the danger that the rubber ropes will break.
It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provide a strip storage unit in which the above-described disadvantages are avoided and in which the connections between the support carriages and the loop carriage are substantially more durable. When the loop carriage is moved in order to change the length of the loop, the distances between the support carriages are to remain equal, so that an optimum guidance of the strip on the support rollers of the support carriages is ensured. In addition, the movement of the support carriages is to be without impact.

Strip storage unit for a continuous operation of rolling mill trains


An ophthalmic lens has a complex surface with a fitting cross, a progression meridian having a power addition greater than or equal to 1.5 diopters between far vision and near vision reference points. The complex surface has within a circle of radius 20 mm centered on the geometrical center of the lens, a cylinder value normalized to the addition of less than 0.8, and a rebound of the sphere quantity normalized to the addition of less than 0.04 on said circle. The surface also has a progression length less than or equal to 14 mm, defined as the vertical distance between the fitting cross and the point on the meridian for which the mean sphere reaches 85% of the addition.

Any ophthalmic lens intended to be held in a frame involves a prescription. The ophthalmic prescription can include a positive or negative power prescription as well as an astigmatism prescription. These prescriptions correspond to corrections enabling the wearer of the lenses to correct defects of his vision. A lens is fitted in the frame in accordance with the prescription and with the position of the wearer's eyes relative to the frame.
In the simplest cases, the prescription is nothing more than a power prescription. The lens is said to be unifocal and has a rotational symmetry. It is fitted in a simple manner in the frame so that the principal viewing direction of the wearer coincides with the axis of symmetry of the lens.
For presbyopic wearers, the value of the power correction is different for far vision and near vision, due to the difficulties of accommodation in near vision. The prescription thus comprises a far vision power value and an addition (or power progression) representing the power increment between far vision and near vision; this comes down to a far vision power prescription and a near vision power prescription. Lenses suitable for presbyopic wearers are progressive multifocal lenses; these lenses are described for example in FR-A-2 699 294, U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,745 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,495, FR-A-2 683 642, FR-A-2 699 294 or also FR-A-2 704 327. Progressive multifocal ophthalmic lenses include a far vision zone, a near vision zone and an intermediate-vision zone, a principal progression meridian crossing these three zones. They are generally determined by optimization, based on a certain number of constraints imposed on the different characteristics of the lens. These lenses are all-purpose lenses in that they are adapted to the different needs of the wearer at the time.
For young presbyopics, lenses have been proposed which do not have a far vision zone with a reference point, unlike standard progressive multifocal lenses; these lenses are described in FR-A-2 588 973. These lenses are prescribed only according to with the power required by the wearer in near vision, regardless of the power required by the wearer in far vision. The lens has a central part which has an additional spherical power offering the wearer satisfactory near vision. It also has a slight decrease in power in the upper part, which ensures the wearer clear vision even beyond the normal near vision field. Finally, the lens has a point with a power value equal to the nominal near vision power, a higher-power zone in the lower part of the lens and a lower-power zone in the upper part of the lens.
FR-A-2 769 997 proposes a lens which, compared with a standard progressive multifocal lens, has a stabilized and larger near vision zone, a significant increase in the field widths in near vision and intermediate vision, as well as a reduction in aberrations and in particular in astigmatism. It ensures a suitable correction for distances between 40 and 80 cm and, in most cases, for distances between 40 cm and 2 m. This lens is actually a near vision—intermediate-vision mid-distance lens, favouring near vision while ensuring clear vision beyond the normal near vision field. On the other hand, no far vision is available. This lens proves particularly well suited to computer work. It is prescribed for young presbyopics, solely according to the prescription for near vision. The rear face of the lens is machined in order to ensure a near vision power matching the prescription, without taking account of the far vision prescription. Two front faces are sufficient to meet all of the wearer's needs.
FR-A-2 769 999 proposes a progressive multifocal ophthalmic lens having improved comfort of vision with a monotone sphere variation as a function of the angle on a circle of radius 20 mm centred on the geometrical centre of the lens on either side of the meridian. This lens ensures unimpeded far vision covering an angular sector originating at the geometrical centre of the lens and having an angle at the centre greater than 150°.
Multifocal lenses, whether they are progressive or intended purely for near vision, can include a complex multifocal face (i.e. allowing no axis of rotation, typically a surface having a power progression), for example the face away from the person wearing the glasses, and a spherical or toric face, called the prescription face. This spherical or toric face allows the lens to be adapted to the user's ametropia, so that a multifocal lens is generally defined only by its complex surface. For a given product different complex faces are defined in accordance with the addition and the base (or mean far vision sphere). Starting from semi-finished lenses, of which only the multifocal face is formed, it is possible to prepare lenses suited to each wearer, by simple machining of a spherical or toric prescription face.
Independently of the power prescription, a wearer may be given an astigmatism prescription. Such a prescription is produced by the ophthalmologist, in the case of far vision, in the form of a pair formed by an axis value (in degrees) and an amplitude value (in diopters). On a surface, the amplitude value represents the difference 1/R1−1/R2 between the principal curvatures; the axis value represents the orientation, relative to a reference axis and in a conventional direction of rotation, of the maximum curvature 1/R1.
In prescription terms, the amplitude value represents the difference between the minimum and maximum powers in a given direction and the axis represents the orientation of the maximum power. The term astigmatism is used for the pair (amplitude, angle); this term is also sometimes used, although this is linguistically incorrect, to designate the amplitude of the astigmatism. The context allows a person skilled in the art to understand which meaning is intended.

Abstract: The lens is suited to hypermetropic wearers with a good perceptual comfort in peripheral vision and good accessibility in near vision.

Essilor International (Compagnie Generale D'Optique)


An apparatus for a thin film device is used for analyzing a biopolymer. The apparatus has a thin film, a first solution in contact with a first surface of the thin film, a second solution in contact with a second surface of the thin film, a flow path or a conductive wire for adjusting the potential difference between the first solution and the second solution to a small value, a control unit for controlling the flow path or the conductive wire, an inlet from which a biopolymer is introduced to at least one of the first and second solution, a first electrode provided in the first solution, a second electrode provided in the second solution and an ammeter for measuring the current which flows between the first and second electrode when the biopolymer passes through a hole in the thin film between the first and second solution.

In a nanopore sequencer, the value of the current flowing through a nanopore embedded in a thin film is measured. At this point, when DNA passes through the nanopore, a difference in the value of the current blocking the nanopore (blockage current value) is caused due to the difference in the bases constituting the DNA, and the nucleotide sequence can be thus determined.
Factors that determine the accuracy in reading DNA with a nanopore sequencer include the thickness of the thin film, the level of the noise in the current flowing through the nanopore and the like. With respect to the thickness of the thin film, a thinner film is preferable. The distance between neighboring bases of the four kinds aligning in a DNA chain is approximately 0.34 nm, and more bases enter the nanopore at the same time as the film becomes thicker as compared to the distance. As a result, the signal obtained as the blockage current becomes the signal derived from more than one base. Thus, the accuracy in determining the nucleotide sequence deteriorates, and the analysis of the signal becomes more complex. Moreover, a smaller noise current is preferable. Because the value of the blockage current is a value to which the noise current value has been added, it is necessary to reduce the blockage current to increase the identification rate of the four kinds of bases.
In NPL 1, the difference in the blockage current derived from the kinds of base has been observed when the DNA has passed through the nanopore in the thin film. In NPL 1, to increase the identification rate of the blockage current, the nanopore is provided in a SiN membrane of the thin film, and the noise current is reduced by applying an insulating film and thus reducing the device capacity. In NPL 2, the nanopore is provided in a Graphene membrane of the thin film, and the noise current is reduced by using an insulating substrate and thus reducing the device capacity.

Biopolymer analysis device and biopolymer analysis method


The present invention is directed to a composition and method for treating uro-genital conditions. One embodiment disclosed is a pharmaceutical composition for use in the treatment of uro-genital conditions wherein said composition comprises a KPV dimer, a first preservative agent, a solvent, an alkalizer, an acrylic acid-based polymer, a second preservative agent and a gelatinizing agent. Another embodiment of the invention is disclosed wherein the composition comprises CKPV (SEQ ID NO: 5) dimer, API, Carbopol®, NF, propylparaben, NF; methylparaben, NF; propylene glycol, USP; edetic acid (EDTA), USP; 2 M sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH); and sterile water for injection, USP. Also disclosed are methods and indications for use of the disclosed composition.

Uro-genital conditions or diseases commonly affect both men and women. These conditions include infections and/or inflammation of the urinary system and the genital system. For example, according to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), "most women will have at least one form of vaginitis in their lifetime."Vaginitis, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development—Publications On-line, www.nichd.nih.giv/publications/pubs/vag1.htm. The causes for vaginitis range from bacterial, fungal or viral infections to irritations from chemicals in creams, sprays, or even clothing that are in contact with this area. Id. For women with bacterial and fungal infections, these infectious agents often originate from the rectal area and migrate across the perineum to reach the vagina or the urethra.
A common type of vaginitis is candidiasis or yeast infection that is most commonly caused by Candida albicans. The Candida species are part of an individual's normal flora of microbial organisms present in skin, mouth, and the gastrointestinal tract. Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease 5th ed., Saunders Co., Philadelphia (1994) p. 354. They also live in small numbers in a woman's vagina. They grow best in warm, moist surfaces such as the vagina or the oral cavity. They are normally non-pathogenic, but when a change in their environment occurs, such as in response to a woman's hormonal changes in menopause, pregnancy, or in response to stress, they can overgrow to cause a yeast infection. These changes can also occur in immunosuppressed or compromised individuals such as people undergoing chemotherapy, taking immunosuppresants, or afflicted with AIDS.
Current treatment for candidiasis includes over the counter drugs with active ingredients such as butoconazole nitrate (Femstat®), clotrimazole (Gyne-Lotrimin® and others), miconazole (Monistat® and others), and tioconazole (Vagistat®). These drugs are topically applied in the vagina and break down Candida's cell wall. Other similar treatments include prescription drugs with active ingredients in the same family such as fluconazole (Diflucan®), terconazole (Terazol®), and ketoconazole (Nizoral®).
Although vaginitis has been commonly associated with Candida, bacterial vaginosis is actually the most common vaginal infection in women of reproductive age according to the NICHD. Vaginitis, supra. Overgrowing of bacteria in the vagina causes bacterial vaginosis much like Candida, but the drugs used for its treatment are different.
On the other hand, men can also contract Candida infections on their penis involving the glans and the prepuce. Balanoposthitis, a nonspecific infection of the glans and prepuce, is caused by a wide variety of organisms including fungi such as Candida and pyogenic bacteria such as Staphylococci Sp. Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease 5th ed., Saunders Co., Philadelphia (1994), p. 1008.
Staphylococci are gram positive bacteria that are normally present in skin and other mucosal membranes of the body. Staphylococcus aureus, in particular, is a virulent pathogen that causes a myriad of conditions and diseases stemming from skin lesions, endocarditis, respiratory infection, food poisoning and toxic shock syndrome.
For women using highly absorbent tampons, it is known that S. aureus can colonize the vagina and secrete a toxin called toxic shock syndrome toxin (TSST-1). According to the Food and Drug Administration, approximately half of the toxic shock syndrome cases reported today are associated with tampon use during menstruation and usually in young women. Tampons and Asbestos, Dioxin, & Toxic Shock Syndrome, FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health (Jul. 23, 1999), www.fda.gov/cdrh/ocd/tamponsabs.html.
S. aureus infections are commonly treated with methicillin. Although it is very effective, some strains of S. aureus have developed resistance to methicillin, and only a few antibiotics can successfully treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. One of these antibiotics commonly used for MRSA is vancomycin. A strain of S. aureus, however, with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin (VISA) has already been identified. Khurshid, M. A., et. al., Staphylococcus aureus with Reduced Susceptibility to Vancomycin—Illinois, 1999, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 48(51): 1165-1167 (2000), www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4851a1.htm. The emergence of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains has created a need for alternative ways to combat bacterial infections.
In addition to infection by fungi and bacteria, viral vaginitis is also common. These infections are most often transmitted through sexual intercourse. Viral vaginitis includes infection by herpes simplex virus (HSV) or human papillomavirus (HPV). HSV viruses, for example, replicate in the genital area, which is the site of entrance, and also infect the neurons that innervate the genitals. To avoid the body's immune system, HSV viruses can remain latent in these neurons, and become reactivated in response to environmental conditions such as stress, immunosuppression, irradiation, or viral infection. Current treatments for HSV include drugs such as acyclovir, famciclovir, or valacyclovir.
As for the urinary system, according to the American Medical Association, urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common disorders prompting a physician visit. Women's Health, Urinary Tract Infections: A Patient's Guide to Treatment, AMA Health Insight, On-Line Health Information for Everyone, www.ama-assn.org/insight/h_focus/wom_hlth/uti/uti.htm. These infections are most often caused by Escherichia coli, but can also involve organisms such as Candida Sp. and Staphylococci Sp. Id. These infections can start at the urethra and travel up to the bladder causing cystitis. Ultimately, it can even ascend to the kidneys through the ureters and cause pyelonephritis. Both men's and women's urinary systems can become infected with these microorganisms.
Since uro-genital conditions are not confined to one single cause, current treatments require different drugs to treat specific causes. These causes have to be first identified. Identification requires time, but more so, requires a gynecological examination for women to determine the specific infectious agents or lack thereof.
With the increased use of antibiotics and other drugs, microorganisms, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, are increasingly developing resistance to currently available drugs. Thus, a continuing need exists for new classes of drugs that can combat the broad spectrum of infectious agents. It has been discovered that dimers comprising Lysine-Proline-Valine as well as other alpha-MSH based peptides disclosed herein, are effective in treating urogenital conditions.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Composition and method of treatment for urogenital conditions


A system for circulating heated gases within the circular leading edge of a jet engine housing to prevent ice build-up thereon, or to remove accumulated ice thereform. Hot gases such as air from a hot, high pressure section of the jet-engine are directed through a conduit. The conduit enters the annular leading edge housing, usually from the aft side through a bulkhead, then turns about 90.degree. to a direction tangential to the leading edge annulus. The hot gases exiting the tube entrain the cooler air in the housing, causing a much larger mass of air to swirl circularly around the annular housing. The entering hot gasses heat the mass of air to an intermediate, but still relatively hot, temperature. This large mass of circularly moving hot air is quite efficient in uniformly transferring heat to the skin of the leading edge without leaving any relatively cold areas and preventing the formation of ice thereon.

The formation of ice on aircraft wings, propellers, engine inlets, etc. has been a problem since the earliest days of heavier-than-air flight. Any accumulated ice adds considerable weight, and changes the airfoil or inlet configuration making the aircraft much more difficult to fly and in some cases has caused the loss of aircraft. In the case of jet aircraft, chunks of ice breaking loose from the leading edge of an engine inlet housing can severely damage turbine blades or other internal engine components and cause engine failure.
Many attempts have been made to overcome the problems and dangers of aircraft icing. For example, proposals have been made, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,135,119 to mechanically vibrate external surfaces to break ice loose, or, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,549,964 to generate electromagnetic pulses in the aircraft skin to break ice loose. These systems, however, tend to be heavy and complex and to only remove existing ice, rather than prevent ice formation.
Heating areas of the aircraft prone to icing has been suggested many times. The heating ranges from microwave heating as suggested by U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,212 to feeding hot gases through holes in the skin, as suggested by U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,431, to resistance heating of the surfaces (U.S. Pat. No. 1,819,497) to actually burning fuel adjacent to ice-prone surfaces, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,680,345. While each of these methods have some advantages, none has been truly effective.
One of the most common anti-ice techniques has been the ducting of hot gases into a housing adjacent to the likely icing area. Typical of the patents describing such hot gas techniques are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,057,154; 3,925,979; 3,933,327 and 4,240,250. In each case, the hot gas conduits simply dump hot gases into a housing, such as the leading edge of a jet engine housing or a wing leading edge. While often useful, these systems are not fully effective due to the low quantity of hot gases introduced relative to the mass of air in the housing, the heating effect tending to be limited to the region near the hot gas introduction point, and the complexity of the hot gas duct system.
Thus, there is a continuing need for improving aircraft icing prevention and removal systems having greater efficiency and mechanical simplicity.


The present invention provides a deposition method of a multilayered structure composed of a III group nitride compound semiconductor having good crystallinity on a substrate. The multilayered structure comprises at least a buffer layer and an underlying layer from the substrate side, and the buffer layer and the underlying layer are formed by a sputtering method. A deposition temperature of the buffer layer is adjusted to a temperature lower than a deposition temperature of the underlying layer, or the thickness of the buffer layer is adjusted to 5 nm to 500 nm. Furthermore, the multilayered structure comprises at least an underlying layer and a light-emissive layer from the substrate side and the underlying layer is formed by a sputtering method, and the method comprises the step of forming the light-emissive layer by a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD method).

A III group nitride compound semiconductor has an energy direct transition-type bandgap corresponding to a visible to ultraviolet radiation range and can emit light with high efficiency, and is therefore manufactured as an LED and LD. The III group nitride compound semiconductor also has a potential to provide characteristics that are not obtained by a conventional III-V group compound semiconductor.
Generally, the III group nitride compound semiconductor is produced by an organic metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method using trimethyl gallium (TMG), trimethyl aluminum (TMA) and ammonia (NH3) as raw materials. The MOCVD method is a method in which a carrier gas is mixed with vapor of a raw material and the mixture is transported onto the surface of a substrate, and then the raw material is decomposed by a reaction with the heated substrate, and thus crystal growth occurs.
A single crystal wafer of the II group nitride compound semiconductor is not commercially available and a method of growing a crystal of the III group nitride compound semiconductor on a single crystal wafer made of a different material is commonly used. There is a large lattice mismatch between a different type of a substrate and the III group nitride compound semiconductor crystal, which is epitaxially grown on the substrate. For example, 16% of the lattice mismatch exists between sapphire (Al2O3) and gallium nitride (GaN), while 6% of the lattice mismatch exists between SiC and gallium nitride. When such a large lattice mismatch exists, it is difficult to epitaxially grow the crystal directly on the substrate and a good crystal cannot be obtained even when epitaxial growth is performed. Therefore, when a III group nitride compound semiconductor crystal is epitaxially grown on a sapphire single crystal substrate or a SiC single crystal substrate by an organic metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3,026,087 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 4-297023, a method has been used of firstly stacking a layer called a low-temperature buffer layer composed of aluminum nitride (AlN) or aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) on a substrate and then epitaxially growing a III group nitride compound semiconductor crystal thereon at a high temperature.
Some reports have been made with respect to a technique of forming, as a buffer layer, a layer of AlN using a method other than a MOCVD method and forming another layer using a MOCVD method. For example, Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 5-86646 describes a technique of using a MOCVD method to grow a crystal with the same composition on a buffer layer formed by RF sputtering. However, Japanese Patent No. 3440873 and Japanese Patent No. 3,700,492 describes that a good crystal cannot be safely obtained only by the technique described in Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 5-86646. In order to stably obtain a good crystal, Japanese Patent No. 3,440,873 described that a buffer layer is annealed in a mixed gas of ammonia and hydrogen after growing the buffer layer, and Japanese Patent No. 3,700,492 describes that it is important that a buffer layer is formed by DC sputtering at a temperature of 400° C. or higher.
Research into producing a III group nitride compound semiconductor crystal by sputtering has been carried out. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 60-39819 describes that a layer of GaN is directly formed on a substrate by sputtering for the purpose of laminating a GaN having high resistance. The conditions used are as follows: attainable pressure: 5×10−7 to 10−8 Torr, gas circulating in chamber: Ar and N2, gas pressure during sputtering: 3 to 5×10−2 Torr, RF voltage: 0.7 to 0.9 kV (power: 20 to 40 W), distance between substrate and target: 20 to 50 mm, and substrate temperature: 150 to 450° C. However, it is not an object of these applications to produce an underlying layer of a light emitting device and there is no description concerning the deposition of a layer on the film.
Collected Papers of 21st Century Combined Symposium, Vol. 2nd, p 295 (2003) describe that a GaN film was formed on Si (100) and Al2O3 (0001) by high-frequency magnetron sputtering using an N2 gas. The deposition conditions are as follows: total gas pressure: 2 m Torr, power: 100 W, and substrate temperature: ranging from room temperature to 900° C. According to the figures in the document, a target is opposed to a substrate in an apparatus used.
In Vacuum, Vol. 66, p 233 (2002), a layer of GaN is formed using an apparatus wherein a cathode is opposed to a target and a mesh is interposed between a substrate and a target. In this document, the deposition conditions are as follows: pressure in N2 gas: 0.67 Pa, substrate temperature: 84 to 600° C., power: 150 W, and distance between substrate and target: 80 mm.

Deposition method of III group nitride compound semiconductor laminated structure


A method and apparatus or arrangement, for monitoring the operating characteristics of valves, principally to monitor for failure of a valve. The method including measuring a pressure differential across a valve 1 and comparing the measured differential with a required differential. If the measured differential is acceptable relative to the required differential, the valve is deemed to be operating acceptably. If the differential is not acceptable relative to the required differential, then further monitoring in the form of flow sensing takes place and is compared relative to required flow characteristics. The method employs a comparison of the pressure differential and the sensed flow characteristics to determine whether the valve is operating acceptably.

Backflow valves are forms or assemblies of check or one-way valves, and operate to allow relatively unimpeded flow in one direction through the valve, and to prevent flow through the valve in the reverse or opposite direction. Backflow prevention usually is desirable in order to prevent contamination of the source of fluid which enters the valve from upstream. A valve which is typically employed in or as a back flow valve, includes a flap which is movable between an open position and a closed position. In the open position, the flap allows fluid to flow through the valve, but in the closed position, the flap presses a resilient seal against a valve seat to prevent flow. Valves of this kind can fail and therefore allow flow of fluid through the valve in the reverse direction for example, in circumstances in which corrosion and/or abrasion has caused the seal or valve seat to be damaged, so that a sufficient seal engagement does not occur in the closed flap position. Failure can alternatively occur by way of foreign matter becoming lodged between the seal and the valve seat, and even though the foreign matter may become dislodged by flow of fluid through the valve, permanent damage may have occurred to either the seal or the valve seat so that reverse flow of fluid through the valve continues.
If failure of a backflow valve occurs, the fluid source can be contaminated by additives downstream of the back flow valve, such as acids, detergents, solvents, sewerage, etc. Given the seriousness of contamination, backflow valves typically incorporate a pair of check or one-way valves which are aligned to allow flow therethrough in one direction, but not in the reverse. Two check or one-way valves are provided so that upon failure of one of those valves, the other maintains protection against backflow contamination.
A further feature of one type of backflow valve, is the presence of a relief valve, inserted between the two check or one-way valves. Such a valve is known in the art as a reduced pressure zone valve or assembly. In this arrangement, the assembly operates so that when a first of the check or one-way valves has a sufficient pressure differential, that differential is employed, generally through a diaphragm, to maintain the relief valve closed. As the differential pressure reduces and the diaphragm is unable to maintain the relief valve closed, back flowing fluid is dumped through the relief valve typically to atmosphere. This serves two purposes, the first of which is that the backflowing fluid is prevented from backflowing past the check or one-way valve, and further, personnel are alerted to a potential problem by the fluid being dumped through the relief valve.
The critical nature of backflow valves, is such that many countries have legislative regulations, that require periodic monitoring of such valves to ensure their fail-safe operation. Typically this involves an annual certification process, which requires a skilled operator to connect hydraulic monitoring equipment to the backflow valve and to isolate the valve from the reticulation network. U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,240 (Engelmann), discloses a method that allows certification to be carried out remotely, but the process disclosed by Engelmann requires fluid flow through a pipe containing the valve to have an effective zero flow rate. Also, Engelmann is deficient in being unable to check the proper operation of a backflow valve, when the valve experiences a back pressure, reverse to the normal direction of pressure through the valve. Therefore, while Engelmann discloses an arrangement which does not necessarily require attendance of a skilled operator at the actual backflow valve and which can further test a valve without requiring the pipe to be disconnected from the reticulation network, the disclosed arrangements nevertheless do not allow for monitoring to take place under all circumstances.


This is a process to restore compression set properties of a silicone rubber fuser structure that has been damaged during the coating of the silicone with Teflon; Teflon is a registered trademark of DuPont. This restoration is achieved by re-baking the coated fuser roll at temperatures of 175° C. to 275° C. This will improve the compression set and will give the fuser structure improved life and provide better image quality.

Generally, in a commercial electrostatographic marking or reproduction apparatus (such as copier/duplicators, printers, multifunctional systems or the like), a latent image charge pattern is formed on a uniformly charged photoconductive or dielectric member. Pigmented marking particles (toner) are attracted to the latent image charge pattern to develop this image on the dielectric member. A receive member, such as paper, is then brought into contact with the dielectric or photoconductive member and an electric field applied to transfer the marking particle developed image to the receiver member from the dielectric member. After transfer, the receiver member bearing the transferred image is transported away from the dielectric member to a fusion station and the image is fixed or fused to the receiver member by heat and/or pressure to form a permanent reproduction thereon. The receiving member passes between a pressure roll and a heated fuser roll or element.
Sometimes copies made in Xerographic or electrostatic marking systems have defects caused by improper fusing of the marking material or the fuser itself. The incomplete fusing can be the result of many factors such as defects in the toner pressure or fuser rolls. Defects in the fuser rolls can be caused by improper compression set properties resulting from extended use or improper coating of the fuser substrates during manufacture.
A electrographic fuser element includes metallic substrate such as aluminum, an elastomeric cover layer, usually a silicone, and at least one coating over the silicone, generally made of a fluoropolymer such as Teflon (a trademark of DuPont).
This invention and its various embodiments are concerned with the manufacturing process for making these coated fuser elements including fuser rolls and other configurations. While for clarity the term "fuser structure or member" will be used throughout this disclosure and claims, any suitable fusing configurations are intended to be included, such as rolls, belts, and pressure members.
As above noted, fuser rolls used in electrostatographic marking systems generally comprise a metal core cylinder coated with one or more elastomer layers such as silicone. Conventional fuser roll core cylinders are relatively thick walled aluminum alloy cylinders. Such thickness has been desired in order to provide strength and durability as the fuser roll presses against the nip of the adjoining compression or pressure roll. For a 35.00 mm outside diameter fuser roll core, a thickness of 1.5 to 8 mm is fairly standard. Similar dimensions are common in office and production printing systems capable of imaging more than 50 pages per minute. In most embodiments, the fuser roll is provided an outer non-stick surface or covering of polytetrafluoroethylene known as Teflon, a trademark of E.I. DuPont. The Teflon coating can be of any suitable thickness usually on the order of several mils.
The use of a fusing member constructed with a non-stick material as a top layer and a heat resistant base layer has been known in the electrostatographic art. Typical non-stick materials that may be used include polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), perfluoroalkoxy (PFA), polychlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE), ethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE), ethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE), ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polyvinyl fluoride (PVF), and blends of these materials.
Fluoropolymer resin by itself, though an excellent non-stick material, is not compliant. Silicone compounds, on the other hand, are compliant. It is known in the art form a fuser member having a material combining the non-stick properties of fluoropolymer resins and the compliant properties of silicone elastomers.
Currently, there are two approaches for making Teflon over silicone fuser members. The first approach is to mold the rubber in between the substrate and the fluoro-plastic sleeve, the other method coats the fluoro-plastic on the silicone and cures it on the silicone. The latter method is preferred because of improved durability and wear. The coating method typically involves the following process: a substrate is primed, silicone rubber is molded, cured and optionally post cured; the required dimension is usually obtained by grinding; the fluoropolymer layers are applied usually by spraying; the whole member is baked above the melting or sintering point (300 C) of the fluoropolymer, then the cured surface is usually polished. The fluoropolymer coating layers typically comprise an adhesive (often silane) and/or polyimide/polyamide coating, an optional fluoropolymer primer layer, an optional mid coat layer and a topcoat fluoropolymer layer that is in contact with the media and toner.
There are several advantages to the latter approach. The fluoropolymer layer can be made thinner than a sleeve, less than the ˜30 μm thick with a tight distribution. Also, there is more choice in the material that can be applied. This configuration has been shown by machine testing to yield a more durable and therefore a longer lived fuser member than the sleeved approach by better resisting damage from paper; stripper fingers or sensors that contact the member.
A problem with this approach is that silicone is degraded at high temperatures, →260° C. while the fluoro-plastic coating develops its best properties when baked in the 370° C. to 400° C. range. There is a delicate balance between under-curing the Teflon which can result in poor wearing components or overheating the silicone and damaging it. The latter condition will cause it to take a set easily when in contact with the pressure roll, stripper fingers or other components causing a PQ defect. In fact, both of these failure modes have been observed indicating there is not sufficient process latitude or process control.
The temperatures required to bake the fluoropolymer layer in a Teflon over silicone system (TOS) damages the properties of the silicone rubber, specifically the compression set properties to the point where set of the member is often seen in the form of flat spots or finger-induced dents. Currently, one may process at a temperature lower than that preferred for Teflon cure to improve set properties at the expense the Teflon properties (primarily wear); the result is degraded life due to occasional poor wear or set. Alternately, the TOS member may be "Molded in Place", MIP, where silicone rubber is molded in between an extruded Teflon sleeve and substrate. This approach has the disadvantage of a relatively thick fluoropolymer layer with wider dimensional tolerances and less durability.

High temperature silicone processing of fuser structure


A digital video system, method, and computer program product for correcting corrupted digital video transport streams is described. The digital video system may include a digital cable, digital broadcast satellite (DBS), high definition television (HDTV), or video-on demand (VOD) system. In a VOD system, a VOD client at each receiver is capable of subscribing to one or more VOD sessions. The headend includes a video server and a control server that is coupled to the video server. The video server transmits one or more VOD sessions to one or more receivers over a transport stream. The control server can also cause the video server to transmit one or more dummy sessions to maintain a predetermined minimum bandwidth of content over the transport stream. Alternatively, the headend can transmit one or more null packets having a randomized payload, as necessary, to maintain a constant bit rate over the transport stream.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to television systems, and specifically, to a method and apparatus for correcting corrupted digital video transport streams using a constant minimum bandwidth allocation, randomized null packet payloads, and/or framing validity technique.
2. Background Information
The advancement of technology has facilitated the development and transmission of digital programming to consumers. One such programming is video on demand (VOD). VOD is a service that is offered by, for example, cable companies which allows customers, for a fee, to order and view movies or other programming at any time, typically by using the consumer's set top box. VOD thus offers flexibility by allowing the user to decide when to watch VOD programs. VOD offers a further advantage of allowing the user to pause the VOD program when the user is interrupted by a telephone call, doorbell, etc.
However, VOD service may occasionally cause reception problems. When a VOD program is selected for download to a client receiver, the video services received and decoded may be obscured by artifacts. The degree of obscuration may be total yielding the program content unwatchable. The problem is most prevalent when only a single session is being supported by the system on an RF channel and virtually guaranteed to occur when that single session has been paused and the customer temporarily tunes away. The problem occurs immediately after channel change to the VOD transport stream.

Method and apparatus for correcting corrupted digital video transport streams


It is an object to manufacture a composite of a metal part and a resin composition part, which is improved so as to securely join and integrate stainless steel and a resin. A stainless steel part whose surface has been suitably roughened by chemical etching or the like can be used. An integrated product is obtained by inserting a stainless steel piece 1 with its surface treated into a cavity formed by a movable-side mold plate 2 and a fixed-side mold plate 3 of a metallic mold for injection molding 10 and injecting a specific resin. PBT, PPS or an aromatic polyamide resin can be used as the main resin component of a resin composition 4 that is used. High injection joining strength is obtained if the resin composition contains, as an auxiliary component, PET and/or a polyolefin resin in the case of PBT, a polyolefin resin in the case of PPS and an aliphatic polyamide resin in the case of an aromatic polyamide resin.

Technology for integrating metals and resins is needed in many different fields of industry, such as manufacturing of parts for automobiles, consumer electrical products, industrial machinery and so forth and many adhesive agents have been developed for this purpose. Some very excellent adhesives have been proposed. For example, adhesives that exhibit their function at normal temperature or with heating are used to integrally join metals and synthetic resins and this method is currently a common joining technique.
On the other hand, more rational joining methods that do not involve the use of an adhesive have been studied heretofore. An example is a method in which a high-strength engineering plastic is integrated with a light metal such as magnesium, aluminum or an alloy of these or an iron alloy such as stainless steel without using any adhesive. For instance, the inventors proposed a method, in which a molten resin is injected onto a metal part preliminarily inserted into a metallic mold for injection molding thereby forming a resin portion and at the same time the molded article and the metal part are joined (hereinafter this will be referred to as "injection joining").
According to the technology, a manufacturing technique was proposed, in which a polybutylene terephthalate resin (hereinafter referred to as "PBT") or a polyphenylene sulfide resin (hereinafter referred to as "PPS") is joined by injection joining to an aluminum alloy (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-216425: Patent Document 1, for example). A joining technique was also disclosed, in which somewhat large holes (but invisible to the naked eye) is made in an anodized film on a piece of aluminum and a synthetic resin is made to penetrate into these holes and adjoined there (see WO/2004-055248 A1: Patent Document 2, for example).
The principle behind the injection joining in Patent Document 1 is as follows. An aluminum alloy is immersed in a dilute aqueous solution of a water-soluble amine compound and the aluminum alloy is finely etched with a weakly basic aqueous solution. It was found that the amine compound molecules are adsorbed to the surface of the aluminum alloy at the same time in this immersion treatment. After undergoing this immersion treatment, the aluminum alloy is inserted into a metallic mold for injection molding and a molten thermoplastic resin is injected under high pressure.
Here, the amine compound molecules adsorbed to the surface of the aluminum alloy encounter the thermoplastic resin to produce a chemical reaction such as an exothermic reaction or a macromolecular cleaving reaction. As a result of this chemical reaction, the thermoplastic resin, which was apt to be quenched, crystallized and solidified by contact with the aluminum alloy held at a low temperature of the mold, is not solidified as quickly and gets into ultrafine recesses on the aluminum alloy surface. Consequently, with a composite composed of an aluminum alloy and a thermoplastic resin, the thermoplastic resin is securely joined (hereinafter also referred to as fixed) without being separated from the aluminum alloy surface. That is, when an exothermic reaction or a macromolecular cleaving reaction occurs, a strong injection joint is produced. It has actually been confirmed that PBT or PPS, which can undergo the above-mentioned chemical reaction with an amine compound, can be joined by injection joining to an aluminum alloy. Another well known technique involves performing chemical etching preliminarily, then inserting a metal part into the metallic mold of an injection molding machine and performing injection molding with a thermoplastic resin material (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-225352: Patent Document 3, for example).
However, although the joining principle in Patent Document 1 by the inventors does exhibit an extremely good effect with aluminum alloys or the like, it has not effect in injection joining to other metals besides aluminum alloys. Accordingly, there has been a need for the development of a novel technique for joining metals and resins. The inventors discovered such a novel technique in the course of making improvements to injection joining of a hard resin to an aluminum alloy. Specifically, the conditions were discovered under which injection joining might be possible without any chemical adsorption of the amine compound to the metal part surface, in other words, without the help of a special exothermic reaction or any particular chemical reaction.
At least two conditions are necessary. The first condition is that a hard resin of high crystallinity be used, namely, that PPS, PBT or an aromatic polyamide be used and, furthermore, that these be suited to injection joining to obtain a further improved composition. Another condition is that the surface layer of the metal part have a suitably rough shape and that the surface be hard. In ordinary words, this means that the surface is strong and strength is expressed in terms of material mechanics by tensile strength, compression strength, shear strength and so forth. However, the actual thickness of the surface layer to which attention is paid in the present invention is from ten to a few dozen nanometers and the strength of such a fine portion can be rephrased as hardness. Therefore, the surface layer is preferably a ceramic layer whose hardness is higher than that of metal crystals and, more specifically, the inventors attained the conclusion that it is essential for the surface layer to be a metal oxide or metal phosphorus oxide.
For example, when a shaped material in which a copper alloy serves as the substrate is used and it is immersed in an acidic hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution, the copper is oxidized to become copper ions. As a result, if the immersion conditions are suitably set, the surface of the substrate is chemically etched to a surface roughness in which the bumps have a period of one to several microns. If the chemically etched copper alloy that has been shaped is then immersed in a strongly basic sodium chlorite aqueous solution, the copper is oxidized but the copper ions do not dissolve and the surface is covered with a thin layer of cupric oxide. Examination of this surface with an electron microscope revealed it to be covered by a ultrafine textured face in which recesses (openings) with a diameter of several dozen to several hundred nanometers are present at a period of several hundred nanometers.
These shaped copper alloys with their surfaces treated are considered theoretically as follows, assuming that they are inserted into a metallic mold for injection molding. The metallic mold for injection molding and the inserted shaped copper alloy are generally held at a temperature that is at least by 100° C. below the melting point of the resin being injected, although it varies with the injection molding conditions, so there is a high possibility that the temperature of injected resin may have dropped below its melting point at the time when it is quenched upon entering the channel inside the metallic mold for injection molding and comes into contact with copper alloy part.
Regardless of the crystalline resin, when it is rapidly cooled to below its melting point, it does not become crystallized and solidified immediately (that is, in zero time) but there is a time, albeit an extremely short time, for the resin to remain in a molten state below the melting temperature or, in other words, in a super-cooled state. If the roughness (surface roughness) of a shaped alloy is on the micron order, that is, if the recesses are large with an inside diameter of several microns, then microcrystalline resin will penetrate into these recesses within the limited time from super-cooled state to creation of the initial crystals, that is, microcrystals. To put this in another way, if the numerical density of the macromolecular microcrystal group that is produced is still low, then the resin will sufficiently penetrate into the recesses as long as the recesses are large with an inside diameter of several microns.
These microcrystals of the injected resin are surmised from molecular models to have a size from a few to more than a dozen nanometers. If there are fine openings (holes in the recesses) about 50 nm in diameter in the inner walls of the above-mentioned micron-order recesses, then there is a slight possibility of penetration, although it can hardly be said that microcrystals can readily penetrate these fine openings. Specifically, countless microcrystals are simultaneously produced, so there is an abrupt increase in the viscosity of the resin flow at places abutting on the metal face of the mold or at the distal end of the injected resin. Therefore, this resin flow is surmised to have a shape resembling the roots of a plant that stick slightly into the fine openings in the inner wall faces.
In other words, the flowing molten resin cannot penetrate into the deep portions of the fine openings but does penetrate somewhat, then crystallizes and solidifies to become a crystalline resin that has solidified in the micron-order recesses. In addition, if the metal surface layer that forms the fine openings is copper oxide, that is, a hard ceramic surface layer, then the resin will be hooked more securely within the recesses, making it less likely that the resin having solidified and crystallized will come out of the recesses. In short, the joint strength will be higher.
Improving the resin composition that is injected is an important element in the present invention. Specifically, if the resin composition is one that crystallizes slowly in injection molding (when quenched from a molten state to a temperature below the melting point), the joint strength will be higher. This is a requirement for a resin composition to be suitable for injection joining. Based on this, the inventors discovered that, if the surface of a shaped copper alloy is chemically etched as discussed above, the surface layer is made into a ceramic by a surface treatment such as oxidation and a hard crystalline resin is joined by injection joining to this, good joining ability is obtained (PCT/JP2007/070205). The inventors have also made a proposal based on their finding that, in addition to the above-mentioned PBT-based and PPS-based resins, a resin composition whose main component is an aromatic polyamide resin is also a suited to injection joining as a resin composition which is hard and highly crystalline and crystallizes extremely slowly during quenching similarly as in the technology discussed just above (PCT/JP2006/324493).
In the above description about the theory of injection joining, there is nothing that limits the kinds of metal. This indicates that injection joining can be performed using PBT, PPS or other such crystalline resin that has been improved for use in injection joining with respect to all metals and metal alloys, as long as it has the same surface shape and surface layer properties. Patent Document 3 discloses a method for manufacturing a lead wire-equipped battery cover having a shape such that several copper wires pass through the middle portion of a PPS disk, in which a chemically etched copper wire is inserted into a metallic mold for injection molding, and PPS is injected. This technology is said to be characterized by the fact that even if the internal pressure of gas generated in a battery rises a labyrinth effect will prevent the gas from leaking out through the lead wire part owing to the shape of bumps (roughness) on the surface of a copper wire by chemical etching.
At first glance the technology discussed in Patent Document 3 represents one that is similar to that according to the present invention. However, it is not the above-mentioned injection joining technology that the inventors assert in detail but is instead a technology that is an extension of existing injection molding technology and is no more than one that utilizes the difference in the linear coefficient of expansion of metals and the molding shrinkage of resins. In manufacturing a shaped article in which a rod-like metal piece passes through the inner portion of a resin part, if the resin is injected around this rod-like piece for injection molding, then the molded article is parted from the mold for injection molding and allowed to be cooled, the rod-like piece is in such a situation as to be pressed by the surrounding molded resin portion. The reason is that the linear coefficient of expansion of a metal is at most 1.7 to 2.5×10−5° C.−1 for an aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, copper or copper alloy and, even if the calculation is made on the assumption that the metal has been removed from the metallic mold for injection molding and cooled to room temperature, the shrinkage will be in a range of the linear coefficient of expansion multiplied by a hundred and several tens of degrees and it will be no more than 0.2 to 0.30 of the total length.
Concerned with a resin, however, the molding shrinkage is about 1% for PPS and 0.5% for PPS containing glass fiber and even for a resin, in which the filler content has been increased, the resin portion will always undergo more heat shrinkage than the metal part after injection molding. Therefore, if a shaped article in which the metal part is disposed in the center and this metal part goes through the resin portion is produced by injection molding with an insert, an integrated product can be manufactured in which the metal part is not likely to come loose due to the pressing effect produced by heat shrinkage after the molding of the resin portion.
This method for manufacturing an integrated metal and resin product that makes use of heat shrinkage is known conventionally and is used to fabricate knobs on fuel oil stoves, for example. This method involves inserting a thick iron needle with a diameter of about 2 mm into a metallic mold for injection molding and injecting a heat resistant resin or the like into the mold. In this method, jagged bumps (by knurling) are formed around the outer peripheral face of the needle and the resin is injected and molded so that there is no relative movement. Patent Document 3 discloses that the surface configuration is smoothed by changing the texturing process from a physical process to a chemical process with knurling or the like, bumps are made finer and grip effect is improved by using a resin that is hard and crystalline.
The composite according to the present invention does not at all require that the resin press the metal by heat shrinkage or the like, and even with a shaped article in which two flat plates are joined together at their flat planes, a tremendous force is needed to break the joint. In order that the joined state of the metal and thermoplastic resin is to be maintained stably over an extended period, it is actually necessary for the linear coefficients of expansion of the two materials to be close in value. The linear coefficient of expansion of a thermoplastic resin composition can be lowered considerably by adding a large amount of glass fiber, carbon fiber or other such reinforcing fiber (that is, a filler) but the limit to this is generally 2 to 3×10−5° C.−1. Kinds of metals that have such numerical value at a normal temperature or so are aluminum, magnesium, copper and silver.
The present invention relates to technology that makes possible the injection joining of a hard resin to stainless steel. The linear coefficient of expansion of stainless steel is about 1×10−5° C.−1, which corresponds to about the middle value of the above-mentioned group of metals. In this sense, research and development related to injection joining conducted by the inventors lags behind in priority, while it is thought very likely that it can be used if the temperature range in use is narrow and the inventors have also conducted research and development into stainless steel.
Stainless steel has a specific gravity of about 8. It has high mechanical strength and is used as a metal with high corrosion resistance. Therefore, stainless steel parts are frequently used in various heavy-duty electronic and electrical equipments, medical instruments, automotive mounted equipments, automobile parts, marine machineries and other such parts used in movable equipments and particularly in the casings and housings of equipments that may be exposed to drops of salt water or sea water. If a hard resin can be injected onto stainless steel, the production of these casings or housings for equipments is considered to be extremely easy.
The required conditions for the injection joining of a metal and a resin will once again be summed and explained below based on the hypothesis of the inventors. Specifically, to obtain good injection joining strength, at least the shaped metal should satisfy the following conditions.
(1) The surface has large bumps (surface roughness) obtained by chemical etching and the period thereof is usually on the micron order, which in the present invention refers to the range of 0.5 to 10 μm.
(2) The surface is sufficiently hard (a metal oxide or metal phosphorus oxide) and, to prevent slippage, has a coarse surface that consists of ultrafine bumps on the nanometer order (a coarse surface in subjective view with an electron microscope).
(3) The resin must be a crystalline resin of high hardness, while it is particularly favorable to use these improved compositions in which the crystallization rate during quenching is further slowed.
The findings of the inventors have shown that this hypothesis is correct for magnesium alloys, copper alloys, and titanium alloys. The "coarse surface" in (2) above is a figure of speech expressing what is observed with an electron microscope and high injection joining strength can be obtained when the surface is a ultrafine textured surface in which the spacing period is at least 10 nm and the height or depth was at least 10 nm.

Composite of metal and resin and method for manufacturing the same


A method for forming a semiconductor structure includes forming a sacrificial layer over a substrate. A first dielectric layer is formed over the sacrificial layer. A plurality of conductive structures are formed within the sacrificial layer and the first dielectric layer. The sacrificial layer is treated through the first dielectric layer, at least partially removing the sacrificial layer and forming at least one air gap between two of the conductive structures. A surface of the first dielectric layer is treated, forming a second dielectric layer over the first dielectric layer, after the formation of the air gap. A third dielectric layer is formed over the second dielectric layer. At least one opening is formed within the third dielectric layer such that the second dielectric layer substantially protects the first dielectric layer from damage by the step of forming the opening.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, most generally, to methods for forming semiconductor structures, and more particularly to methods for forming interconnect structures of integrated circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
With advances in electronic products, semiconductor technology has been applied widely in manufacturing memories, central processing units (CPUs), liquid crystal displays (LCDs), light emitting diodes (LEDs), laser diodes and other devices or chip sets. In order to achieve high-integration and high-speed requirements, dimensions of semiconductor integrated circuits have been reduced and various materials, such as copper and ultra low-k dielectrics, have been proposed along with techniques for overcoming manufacturing obstacles associated with these materials and requirements. In addition, interconnect structures with air gaps have been proposed and used to further reduce dielectric constants of layers and/or spaces between two neighboring conductive lines or layers.
FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing showing a traditional interconnect structure with air gaps. Copper lines 120 are formed over the substrate 100. Air gaps 110 are formed between the copper lines 120. A dielectric layer 130 is formed over the air gaps 110 to seal the air gaps 110 between the copper lines 120. A dielectric layer 150 and an etch stop layer 140 are sequentially formed over the dielectric layer 130. Dual damascene openings 160 are formed within the dielectric layer 150 and the etch stop layer 140, exposing the top surface (not labeled) of the copper lines 120 such that a copper layer can be formed within the dual damascene openings 160 for electrical connection.
The air gaps 110 have a dielectric constant k "1.0." The interconnect structure with the air gaps 110 shown in FIG. 1 thus desirably reduces parasitic capacitances between the copper lines 120. Therefore, the air-gap interconnect conductive structure has a desired resistance-capacitance (RC) time delay such that high-speed integrated circuits can be achieved.
Based on the foregoing, structures and methods for forming interconnect structures with air gaps are desired.

Semiconductor structure having a permeable hard mask layer sealing an air gap

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A secure equijoin technique of generating one table from two tables while curbing the volume of communications traffic is provided. The technique includes: a first permutation generating means 110 that generates a permutation <σ> from an element sequence which is generated from the first column of a table L and the first column of a table R; a first column generating means 120 that generates, for j=2, . . . , a, by using the permutation <σ>, a prefix sum, and an inverse permutation <σ−1>, the j-th column of a table J from an element sequence which is generated from the to j-th column of the table L; a join-result element sequence generating means 130 that generates a join-result element sequence from an element sequence ([[1]], . . . , [[1]], [[0]], . . . , [[0]], [[−1]], . . . , [[−1]]) by using the permutation <σ>, the prefix sum, and the inverse permutation <σ−1>; a second column generating means 140 that generates, for j=a+1, . . . , a+b−1, the j-th column of the table J by using the join-result element sequence and the j−a+1-th column of the table R; and a third column generating means 150 that generates the first column of the table J by using the join-result element sequence and the first column of the table R.

As a method of obtaining the computation result of a designated computation without reconstructing the encrypted numerical values, there is a method called secure computation (see, for example, Non-patent Literature 1). With the method of Non-patent Literature 1, it is possible to perform encryption by which a plurality of pieces of information, whose numerical values can be reconstructed, are distributed over three secure computation devices and to make the three secure computation devices hold the results of addition and subtraction, constant addition, multiplication, constant multiplication, logical operations (a NOT, an AND, an OR, and an XOR), and data format conversion (an integer or a binary) with the results being distributed over these secure computation devices, that is, in an encrypted state, without reconstructing the numerical values. In general, the number of secure computation devices over which the information is distributed is not limited to 3 and can be set at W (W is a predetermined constant greater than or equal to 3), and a protocol that implements secure computation by cooperative computations by W secure computation devices is called a multi-party protocol.
Incidentally, in database processing which is performed on tables, in many cases, data is managed in units of tables, each being made up of a set of records (rows of tables illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B), each being made up of a tuple of a plurality of attribute values (which are values corresponding to attributes; in an example of tables of FIGS. 1A to 1C, for instance, specific values "3", "200", "100", and "delicious water" of No., height, weight, and purchase, respectively, which are the attributes). One of the important processing steps of the database processing is an equijoin. The equijoin is a calculation that uses a plurality of tables such as those depicted in FIGS. 1A and 1B as input, extracts records which share a value (a key attribute value) of an attribute called a key (,a key attribute,) in all the tables, and obtains a new table with these records arranged in a horizontal row. For instance, if an equijoin of a table Ls of FIG. 1A and a table Rs of FIG. 1B is performed with reference to a key attribute (in this example, No.) shared by these tables, a table Js depicted in FIG. 1C is obtained. In the relational database, it is common to manage data by dividing the data into many small tables and perform processing by performing an equijoin of necessary tables when the data is used; therefore, the equijoin is very important processing.
As a method that implements an equijoin of tables by secure computation, there is the method of Non-patent Literature 2. The method of Non-patent Literature 2 implements an equijoin of a plurality of tables having an overlap between key attribute values.

Secure equijoin system, secure equijoin device, secure equijoin method, and program

NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION


The present disclosure relates to a method of augmenting a voice call with supplemental audio. In one example, the method comprises: receiving predetermined input on a first mobile device during a voice call established between the first mobile device and a second mobile device; determining an audio segment corresponding to the predetermined input; and sending the audio segment from the first mobile device to the second mobile device over a communications network during the voice call.

Mobile wireless communications devices ("mobile devices") such as smartphones and tablets are increasingly being used to performing a variety of activities during a voice call. For example, it is not uncommon for users to interact with an application during a voice call. There is remains a need for mobile devices that facilitate supplemental forms of communication during a voice call.

Method of augmenting a voice call with supplemental audio


An equalizer for a VSB receiver, which enables equalizations using segment synchronization information, has an extraction unit extracting the segment synchronization information included in the VSB broadcast signal, a storage unit storing the extracted segment synchronization information, and an equalization unit equalizing the VSB broadcast signal based on the segment synchronization information stored in the storage unit. The storage unit stores the segment synchronization information extracted from the extraction unit by field unit or by unit of N data segments within the field according to a channel state. More stable equalizations can be carried out in channel environment changes by storing segment synchronization information by the predetermined number of data segments and equalizing data within a corresponding data segment in a training mode while using the segment synchronization information every matching number of data segments.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an equalizer for a vestigial side-band (VSB) receiver, and more particularly, to an equalizer for a VSB receiver which compensates for VSB broadcast signal distortions occurring on transmission channels using field synchronization information which includes synchronization information on each field of a VSB broadcast signal and segment synchronization information including synchronization information on each data segment of the field.
2. Description of the Related Art
For broadcast signal transmission modes for digital broadcast implementations, there are currently a vestigial sideband (VSB) modulation mode and a coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (COFDM) modulation mode. The VSB modulation mode is a mode for broadcast signal transmissions in which a broadcast signal is transmitted on a single carrier. The COFDM modulation mode is a mode for broadcast signal transmissions in which a broadcast signal is transmitted through multiple transmission channels with multiple divisions of the broadcast signal. The VSB modulation mode is the digital broadcast transmission mode chosen by Korea, the United States of America, and so on. The COFDM modulation mode is the digital broadcast transmission mode chosen by Europe.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a conventional VSB transmitter. The VSB transmitter has a data inserter 11, an encoder 12, a multiplexer (MUX) 13, a pilot inserter 14, a modulator 15, and an RF-converter 16. The data inserter 11 interleaves the data to be transmitted to a receiver (shown in FIG. 2) according to a predetermined transforming method. The encoder 12 encodes the data interleaved in the data inserter 11. At this time, a generally used encoding method in the encoder 12 is the trellis encoding method.
The MUX 13 inserts field synchronization information F and segment synchronization information S in the encoded data according to a set method. The field synchronization information F includes mode information and the like together with field synchronization information. The segment synchronization information S includes synchronization information of each data segment within a field. Such field synchronization information F and segment synchronization information S are used when restoring data at the receiver.
The pilot inserter 14 inserts a pilot in a VSB broadcast signal including data, field synchronization information F, and segment synchronization information S output from the MUX 13. The modulator 15 applies the VSB modulation to the VSB broadcast signal which includes the pilot based on a set transmission mode. The RF-converter 16 high-frequency-modulates the VSB-modulated VSB broadcast signal for transmission to receivers through an antenna 18.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram for showing a general VSB receiver. The VSB receiver has a tuner 22, an IF amplifier 23, a synchronization detector 24, an offset restorer 25, an equalizer 26, a decoder 27, and a data extractor 28. The tuner 22 selects a desired bandwidth, based on a channel selection command, for the VSB broadcast signal transmitted to the VSB receiver and received at the antenna 21. The IF amplifier 23 IF-amplifies the received VSB broadcast signal of the desired bandwidth. The synchronization detector 24 converts the IF-amplified VSB broadcast signal into a digital format, and restores VSB broadcast signal carrier distortions occurring upon a channel selection operation of the tuner 22. The offset restorer 25 compensates for frequency, phase, and timing offsets as to the VSB broadcast signal which occur upon operations of the synchronization detector 24.
The equalizer 26 compensates channel distortions occurring at a transmission channel of the VSB broadcast signal output from the synchronization detector 24. The decoder 27 decodes data of the VSB broadcast equalized in the equalizer 26. The data extractor 28 carries out interleaving operations which combine data of a VSB broadcast signal interleaved in the VSB transmitter shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a view showing a data frame structure of the VSB broadcast signal transmitted from the VSB transmitter shown in FIG. 1. Specifically, FIG. 3 shows one of the data frames of a VSB broadcast signal. One data frame is composed of two fields, a first field and a second field. Each field has 313 segments. The first and second fields each have the same kind of information, so only the first field is described as an example.
The first field is composed of data including a first field synchronization information F1, the segment synchronization information S, and Forward error correction (FEC), as error check information, which is encoded in the encoder 12. The first field synchronization information F1 includes synchronization information indicating a start of an input of the first field, and so on, and is composed of 828 symbols. The segment synchronization information includes synchronization information indicating a start of every segment, and so on, and each segment is composed of four symbols. A repetition period time is 77.3 μs per segment, and a repetition period time is 24.2 ms per field. Accordingly, a repetition period time of one data frame is 48.4 ms.
The equalizer 26 of a conventional VSB receiver uses a training sequence when equalizing data of the VSB broadcast signal so as to equalize the field synchronization information F included in a pre-set region of the field synchronization information F. Further, the equalizer 26 of the conventional VSB receiver uses the segment synchronization information S repeated at every segment to catch a start point of data included in a corresponding segment. Accordingly, the equalizer 26 of the conventional VSB receiver operates in training for equalizations while segment synchronizations are received.
However, the equalizer 26 of the conventional VSB receiver operates in a blind mode for equalizations while data of each segment is received. Accordingly, the equalizer 26 of the conventional VSB receiver, upon equalization operations, repeats the training and blind modes in one field at every segment. Therefore, the equalizer 26 of the conventional VSB receiver has a problem in frequent switching operations for equalization mode changes.
Further, the equalizer of the conventional VSB receiver has a problem in worsening its data equalization performance since the equalization is carried out in the blind mode when equalizing a section including data of each segment.

Equalizer for a VSB receiver enabling equalizations using segment synchronization information


A semiconductor device and a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device thereof are provided. The manufacturing method includes the following steps. Two stacked structures are formed a substrate. Each of the stacked structures includes a plurality of gate layers, a plurality of gate insulating layers and a top insulating layer. A charge trapping structure and a channel layer are formed. The charge trapping structure includes a plurality of first dielectric layers and a plurality of second dielectric layers. Part of each of first dielectric layers is etched and part of each of second dielectric layers is etched to expose part of the channel layer. A landing pad layer is formed on the first dielectric layers and the second dielectric layers to connect the channel layer.

Technical Field
The disclosure relates in general to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly to a vertical channel semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the structures of semiconductor devices have been changed constantly, and the storage capacity of the devices has been increased continuously. Memory is used for storing varied electronic products such as MP3 files, digital images, computer documents, etc. As the application increases, the demand for the memory focuses on small size and large memory capacity. For satisfying the requirement, a memory having a high element density and a small size and the manufacturing method thereof are in need.
As such, it is desirable to develop a vertical channel memory to achieve greater storage capacity, a small size, and yet having excellent property and stability.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof


According to one embodiment, a method for controlling an exposure apparatus includes calculating a shift from a target value of an illuminance distribution on a reticle of light irradiated onto the reticle. The calculating is based on a relational expression and a measured value of an illuminance distribution on a wafer of light irradiated onto the wafer via a projection optical system. The relational expression has a correlation between the illuminance distribution on the reticle, the illuminance distribution on the wafer, and a spread function reflecting a characteristic of the projection optical system projecting light obtained by way of the reticle onto the wafer.

As patterns that are formed in semiconductor devices are downscaled, the wavelength of the exposure light is becoming shorter; and the practical use of EUV exposure which utilizes extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light of a wavelength of 13.5 nm is needed even more.
Because EUV light has a short wavelength and a reflective optical system is used as the projection optical system toward the wafer, stray light (flare) easily occurs in EUV exposure due to the scattered light caused by the unevenness of the mirror surfaces of the reflective optical system.

Method for controlling exposure apparatus and exposure apparatus