The present invention provides a polymer comprising a polysaccharide having excellent water absorption properties, moisture absorption properties, moisture retention properties and thickening properties. Said polysaccharide has the following properties: (A) the principal constituents of the sugar composition are rhamnose, fucose, glucose and glucuronic acid which are present in a molar ratio of (1-4):2:(1-8):(1-4); (B) elemental analysis (wt %):. C: 36 .+-.3 PA2 H: 7 .+-.1 PA2 O: 56 .+-.4, PA2 containing 9-13% of crystalline water PA2 slightly soluble in water; soluble in alkalies; insoluble in methanol, ethanol and acetone; PA2 an absorption pattern characteristic of polysaccharides is observed near 800-1200.sup.-i. (C) solubility: PA1 (D) UV absorption spectrum: PA1 no absorption detected at 280 nm characteristic of proteins (peptides) or at 260 nm characteristic of nucleic acids; and PA1 (E) IR absorption spectrum:. Said polysaccharide is produced by a fermentation method using a natural medium or a synthetic medium of Alcaligenes microorganism.

With recent changes in life styles, the consumption of sanitary articles and paper diapers is steadily increasing. Most water absorbents, moisture absorbents or humectants and thickening agents used in sanitary articles and paper diapers are based on synthetic high polymer materials. Since currently available sanitary articles and paper diapers are of a disposable type, they are disposed of in flush toilets and discharged into the environment. However, they are essentially not biodegradable and therefore remain in the environment for a prolonged period of time. This is not only unseemly but also deleterious to the environment. Thus, the development of alternatives that are biodegradable and which are hence compatible with the maintenance of a healthy environment is strongly desired.
Similarly, with recent advances in biotechnology, attempts have been made to incorporate biomaterials in cosmetics. However, the use of such "biocosmetics" is very limited and there has been a growing need for the development of new organism-derived moisture absorbents or humectants that can be used as a base for cosmetics.
Desertification is an environmental problem affecting the ecology of the entire earth. Japan is making a contribution to the greening of deserts by supplying Egypt and other such countries with synthetic high polymer water absorbents, moisture absorbents and humectants for use to retain water for irrigating seedlings. If such water absorbents, moisture absorbents or humectants are organism-derived and are biodegradable and compatible with the environment, no harm results from their use in the growing of seedlings.
However, microorganism-derived biopolymers are usually expensive, in comparison with synthetic high polymers, thereby limiting the range of their utilization. In addition, there are many cases wherein synthetic high polymers are formed into various shapes after they have been dissolved or dispersed in organic solvents in commercial production. Accordingly, it is a general consideration that if microorganism-derived biopolymers are treated with an organic solvent, such functions will be impaired. Hence, the range of their application has been generally limited. If such biodegradable biopolymers which are compatible with the environment are treated with an organic solvent without any deterioration in their functions resulting therefrom, application could be envisaged in various fields, including the field of chemical industries and their use will be remarkably advantageous.
Accordingly, in order for biopolymers to be formed in various shapes and to have a wide range of applications, it is essential that their properties should not be caused to deteriorate after they are dissolved or dispersed in organic solvents broadly used in the field of chemical industries. Thus, the biopolymers have come to be used as starting materials for products in various chemical industries.
The object of the present invention therefore is to provide a polymer containing a polysaccharide that overcomes and eliminates the problems associated with synthetic high polymer water absorbents, moisture absorbents or humectants and which, hence, is highly biodegradable and can be used without adversely affecting the environment giving problems such as secondary pollution and which, in addition, has a high water absorption capability, moisture absorption capability, moisture retention capability and thickening capability, having resistance to organic solvents.
With respect to the fermentation and production of polysaccharides, methods using saccharides (fructose and sucrose), inorganic materials and natural medium components (concretely, yeast extracts) have been reported (Japanese Patent Public Disclosure No. 291292/1990).
It has also been found that said polysaccharides can be fermented and produced by adding fructose, sucrose and glucose as saccharides to natural medium components such as yeast extracts, polypeptone and CSL. It is anticipated that when natural medium components are used, components may become unhomogeneous and hence the fermentation and production of said polysaccharides may become unstable. The present inventors have conducted studies and aimed at establishing synthetic mediums which contain no natural component, are cheap to produce and have good workability. As a result, they have found that said polysaccharides can be fermented and produced by synthetic mediums comprising a saccharide, an inorganic salt, an amino acid mixed solution and a trace metal salt mixed solution. It is another object of the present invention to determine their conditions.

Polysaccharide and a method of producing it

Agency of Industrial Science and Technology


A contact structure and a method for fabrication is disclosed for a semiconductor device that includes a plurality of semiconductor regions along the surface of the device, each region having a top surface and at least a sidewall surface, where a first part of the semiconductor regions are of a first conductivity type and a second part of semiconductor regions are of a second conductivity type. Select dielectric spacers are formed along the sidewalls of the select semiconductor regions of first conductivity type while a refractory metal such as titanium, molybdenum or tungsten is used to form contact on the sidewalls of the semiconductor regions of second conductivity type. This structure is most advantageous in bipolar, CMOS and BiCMOS transistor structures as it allows the formation of the sidewall spacers on emitter/gate contacts while having local metal interconnects with the reactive metal on the sidewall of the select base/source/drain contacts.

The present invention relates generally to integrated circuits and their fabrication, and in particular, to a device with selective spacer formation on a first type of conductive material and local silicide interconnect formation on a second type of conductive material.
The use of a polysilicon layer for local interconnect has been reported in the literature for both bipolar and field effect (otherwise known as metal oxide semiconductor or "MOS") technologies. In bipolar processes, a polysilicon layer can be used to electrically contact base, collector, and emitter regions of bipolar transistors. In MOS technologies, a polysilicon layer can be used to electrically contact the source-drain regions of the MOS transistors and form the gates of MOS transistors. By suitable patterning of the polysilicon layer forming the buried contacts, a local interconnect may be formed. Global interconnects are then formed by contacting the polysilicon layer using conventional metal interconnects.
Since the number of metal layers which may be formed on a given portion of a wafer is limited, the use of a polysilicon layer for local interconnect allows a metal layer that was formerly used for local interconnect to be employed as an additional global interconnect layer. In addition to the advantages in layout provided by an additional global interconnect layer, the use of a polysilicon layer to form device contacts also results in an improvement in transistor performance through reduction in device parasitic areas (e.g., the extrinsic base area in bipolar transistors). It also results in simplification of contact etch technology for shallow junctions where very high etch selectivity to the substrate is required. This is particularly important in processes where dielectric planarization is performed before contact etch, because the thickness nonuniformity of the dielectric creates a substantial risk of etching into the shallow junction. By using a polysilicon layer to contact the shallow junction, metal contacts may be made to the polysilicon layer rather than the shallow junction, and the risk of overetching is reduced.
Recent processes also provide for fabricating metal silicide layers on desired components of bipolar circuits by a process that is self-aligned to the components. These processes have been modified to limit dopant movement from polysilicon into the silicide, to eliminate metallic contaminants from the surface of the field oxide surrounding active device areas, and to eliminate the need for masking/etching the metal silicide. One process utilizing some of the above techniques is taught by Koh et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,568.
Advanced complementary MOS (CMOS), bipolar/CMOS (BiCMOS), MOS, and bipolar devices have very high packing densities. The formation of spacers on the sidewalls of, for example, emitter/gate polysilicon regions on a substrate are essential in order to isolate these regions. Some processes form spacers on the sidewalls of the emitter/gate polysilicon patterns by depositing a uniform oxide where vertical polysilicon sidewalls have been created. A plasma etch is then performed to selectively remove oxide from horizontal surfaces of the polysilicon, but not the vertical sidewalls. This step may be followed by formation of metal silicide contacts.
While meeting with some success, the above processes have met with certain limitations. For example, contact resistance is often increased because only the top portion of the polysilicon is provided with a silicide region.
From the above, it is seen that an improved device with sidewall spacers and a method of fabrication thereof is desired.

Spacer formation in a semiconductor structure


A window assembly has a sash vertically movable within a window jamb and positioned in the jamb by elongated side guide tubes enclosing counter balance means and resiliently biased partially into engagement with side ploughs of said sash, with the guide tubes extending outwardly from channels provided in opposed side jamb members. The guide tubes prevent lateral displacement of the sash as the sash is positioned within and moves from a window open to a window closed position within the plane of the jamb. The guide tubes can be reciprocally and resiliently compressed into the channels to release the ploughs and sash whereby the sash can be removed from the window construction.

A wide variety of window constructions for both original and replacement windows are known in the art. Such windows include single-hung, double-hung and casement window constructions for use in residential as well as other building constructions. Among the older double-hung designs are wood sash window assemblies where the sashes are non-removable and connected by the jambs along the full height of both sides of the sash. Advantages of this system include good wind load resistance and means for providing good air infiltration resistance properties to the window.
However, more modern double-hung window constructions provide for ease of removal of the sash for cleaning purposes and to allow entrance and egress to construction through the window jamb. Such constructions include conventional double-hung tilt sash constructions well-known in the industry. Such windows have the advantage of ease of sash removal. However, in many cares, because each sash is connected to the jamb at four points via the tilt bars at the bottom and two tilt latches at the top, wind load resistance is decreased over non-removable window constructions. Moreover, such window constructions cause greater air infiltration during high wind load conditions. The problem is particularly pronounced in P.V.C. window constructions where overall mechanical strength may be lower than some wood or metal window designs, such as casement constructions. Such P.V.C. window constructions further often have an undesirable plastic look rather than the more acceptable wood grained appearance. A number of overlays and wood surfacing techniques have been devised but such materials do not enhance mechanical strength features in comparison to other constructions.

Removable sash window construction having releasable guide members


A recreational buoyancy system is provided that includes multiple floats and a user support that engages and conforms to a shape of a body of a user. The user support may include an intermediate portion and multiple arms that extend from the intermediate portion in different directions toward outer ends of the multiple arms. Multiple floats are arranged at the outer ends of the multiple arms, respectively. The user support may be made from a flexible material so that the user support can conform to the body of the user while the multiple floats buoyantly support the user in the water at the spaced-apart locations while allowing the multiple floats to move relative to each other.

Recreational flotation and buoyancy devices are known for use with water recreational activities. Mattress-like floats that are filled with air are known, which allow users to float on top of the water. Other known devices are foam-based. Chairs or seats that are mounted to or made entirely from foam allow users to float upon the water. Other foam-based devices, such as foam tubes which are sometimes called "noodles" are known. Users of foam tubes can float by holding on to the foam tubes.


An information processing device includes a display unit, a movement detection unit, and a control section. The display unit has two display screens of a first screen and a second screen, the second screen being an opposite side of the first screen. The movement detection unit detects a first movement state of the information processing device moving in a direction that the first screen faces and a second movement state of the information processing device moving in a direction that the second screen faces. When the movement detection unit detects the first movement state, the control section allows the first screen to display first content and allows the second screen to display second content. When the movement detection unit detects the second movement state, the control section allows the second display screen to display the first content and allows the first screen to display the second content.

The present disclosure relates to a portable information processing device that includes a display unit having two display screens of a first screen and a second screen, the second screen being an opposite side of the first screen. The present disclosure particularly relates to a technique of switching display of each of the screens.
There are general display devices that, for example, include display screens disposed at front sides and back sides of the display devices. In such a display device, a control device and an acceleration sensor are provided at a frame of a display panel, and the control device determines of the front side of the display device on the basis of an inclination angle of the display device detected by the acceleration sensor. The control device allows the display panel to display, on the display screen at the front side, an image based on display data and allows the display panel to display, on the display screen at the back side, an image based on inverted display data in which the display data is inverted left and right and black and white.


Disclosed is a process for preparing linear, high molecular weight copolyesters from either (A) polyesters or copolyesters, the acid component of which consists of at least 70 mole percent terephthalic acid and the diol component of which consists of at least 70 mole percent ethylene glycol or (B) copolyesters, the acid component of which consists of at least 70 mole percent terephthalic acid and the diol component of which consists of at least 70 mole percent of a mixture of ethylene glycol and 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol in a mole ratio of from 20:80 to 97:3, the process comprising heating the polymer in the presence of 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol to glycolize the polymer, distilling out ethylene glycol from the glycolysis mixture, and polycondensing the glycolysis mixture to form a copolyester of which at least a portion of ethylene glycol units are replaced by 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol units. The process provides a fast polymerization rate and the polymers so produced can be used in the manufacture of plastics, fibers, films and other shaped objects having good physical properties.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for utilizing polyethylene terephthalate, especially scrap polyethylene terephthalate in the production of linear, high molecular weight copolyesters.
The growing demand for polyethylene terephthalate disposable containers such as beverage bottles has created a need to develop uses for scrap polyethylene terephthalate. The present invention provides a process for utilizing polyethylene terephthalate as a reactive intermediate in the production of copolyesters useful in the manufacture of such products as fibers, films, and other shaped objects.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous patents disclose processes for utilizing scrap polyesters in polymer production such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,222,999, 3,344,091, 4,078,143 and 4,138,374.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,222,299 it is stated that reclaimed monomer, obtained by heating waste polymer with glycol, may be injected into the polymerization system but must be kept below a level of about 20% of the total monomer if the polymer produced is to have satisfactory properties. When amounts of recovered monomer higher than about 20% are injected, it is found that the rate of polymerization of the mixture is reduced to such an extent that the output of the equipment must be cut back to a prohibitively low level. In the present process, 100% scrap polyester can be utilized with no loss in properties or polymerization rate. In fact, the polymerization rate is faster than the rate for the preparation of the same copolyesters from dimethyl terephthalate, ethylene glycol, and 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol.

Process for preparing high molecular weight copolyesters


An apparatus and method for processing a substrate in the presence of a plasma, the apparatus including: a chamber enclosing a region maintained at a low pressure; a substrate support disposed in the region and having a substantially horizontal substrate support surface for supporting a substrate; and a coil disposed in the chamber and for producing a radio frequency field within the chamber to create an ionizing plasma above the substrate support surface, the coil being disposed for maintaining a plasma having equipotential lines which extend substantially parallel to the upper surface of the substrate across substantially the entire upper surface of the substrate.

The present invention relates to plasma generators, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for generating a plasma to sputter deposit a layer of material in the fabrication of semiconductor devices.
Low density plasmas have become convenient sources of energetic ions and activated atoms which can be employed in a variety of semiconductor device fabrication processes including surface treatments, depositions, and etching processes. For example, to deposit materials onto a semiconductor wafer using a sputter deposition process, a plasma is produced in the vicinity of a sputter target material which is negatively biased. Ions created adjacent to the target impact the surface of the target to dislodge, i.e., "sputter" material from the target. The sputtered materials are then transported and deposited on the surface of the semiconductor wafer.
Sputtered material has a tendency to travel in straight line paths from the target to the substrate being deposited, at angles which are oblique to the surface of the substrate. As a consequence, materials deposited in etched trenches and holes of semiconductor devices having trenches or holes with a high depth to width aspect ratio, can bridge over, which is undesirable; to prevent this, the sputtered material can be redirected into substantially vertical paths between the target and the substrate by negatively charging the substrate to position vertically oriented electric fields adjacent the substrate if the sputtered material is sufficiently ionized by the plasma. However, material sputtered in a low density plasma often has an ionization degree of less than 10% which is usually insufficient to avoid the formation of an excessive number of cavities. Accordingly, it is desirable to increase the density of the plasma to increase the ionization rate of the sputtered material in order to decrease the formation of unwanted cavities in the deposition layer. As used herein, the term "dense plasma" is intended to refer to one that has a high electron and/or ion density.
There are several known techniques for exciting a plasma with RF fields including capacitive coupling, inductive coupling and wave heating. In a standard inductively coupled plasma (ICP) generator, RF current passing through a coil generates a plasma in a region surrounded by the coil, the plasma consisting of electromagnetic currents. These currents heat the conducting plasma by ohmic heating, so that it is sustained in steady state. As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,632, for example, current through a coil is supplied by an RF generator coupled to the coil through an impedance-matching network, such that the coil acts as the first winding of a transformer. The plasma acts as a single turn second winding of the transformer.
A high density plasma typically requires the chamber to be operated at a relatively high pressure. As a result, the frequency of collisions between the plasma ions and the deposition material atoms is increased and the scattering of the deposition atoms is likewise increased. This scattering of the deposition atoms typically causes the deposition layer on the substrate to be thicker on that portion of the substrate aligned with the center of the target and thinner in the outlying regions. Such nonuniformity of deposition is often undesirable in the fabrication of semiconductor devices.
It is recognized that the uniformity with which an etching or deposition operation across the surface of a substrate is adversely affected by variations in the density of the ionized plasma across the surface of the substrate. As a consequence, the uniformity of the plasma density across the substrate surface can be improved, it is believed that the uniformity of the resulting etching or deposition operation can likewise be improved.
A number of designs and arrangements for plasma generating coils have been proposed which are intended to improve the uniformity of the generated plasma. Typically, one or more coils are disposed at locations above the wafer surface and according to many of these proposals, the coils are located outside of the chamber in which the plasma itself is confined. Investigations have indicated that these prior coil arrangements tend to produce plasma fields which have substantial plasma density nonuniformity across the wafer surface.

Method and apparatus for producing a uniform density plasma above a substrate


A display rack for displaying all sizes of beverage bottles has a support column with a plurality of keyways. Each keyway receives and holds a beverage bottle by its neck ring. Each keyway limits upward movement of one head of one bottle inserted therein while allowing the body of the bottle to tilt downward to thereby hold the bottle by its neck. A plurality of brackets, each having a keyway, can be fastened to the support column with each bracket having a lower connecting flange fastened to the support column and an upper positioning flange. The brackets can be fastened to one another forming a vertical column without the vertical support member. Each bracket has a lower horizontally oriented connecting flange and an angled upper positioning to cause a bottle to tilt downward when inserted in the keyway. The keyways can be formed in the support column without brackets or the brackets can surround the support column forming platforms.

Merchandising display racks are not only used to shelve items awaiting purchase by a consumer so that the items are available, but are also used to arrange available items attractively and make them easy to recognize. There is intense competition for shelf space. In the beverage industry there is fierce competition so that making available items attractive and easy to recognize is crucial. A merchandising display rack can maximize shelf space while minimizing floor space allowing a retailer to stock more of the items consumers demand as well as stock more brands of competing products, particularly beverages.
Bottle beverages in the large two and three liter container sizes present a challenge. Conventional racks position the bottles either vertically or horizontally. When positioned horizontally, the horizontal rows must be spaced apart a sufficient distance to view the labels otherwise only the top row or eye level row of labels is visible. When positioned vertically, more product visibility is achieved but more precious floor space must be used to achieve the same shelf space as horizontal positioning. While racks can be made to reach the ceiling, ceiling high racks are not practical because a consumer would need a ladder to reach the top shelf. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that it would be highly desirable to have a display rack that combines the visibility of vertical racks with the product density of horizontal racks while using the floor space of compact vertical racks.
With any self-service shelving system a very important consideration, if not the most important, is the ease with the consumer can retrieve the desired product from the shelf While products at eye level are perhaps the easiest to view on a shelf, those placed lower at elbow level are easiest to retrieve. It is therefore desirable to have a merchandising display rack for large beverage bottles that promotes bottle retrieval from elbow level.

Beverage display rack with head locking keyway


A chemical moiety is disclosed which comprises a chemical biochemical, or biological substance attached to one or more electrochemiluminescent organometallic compounds. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the substance is attached to one or more ruthenium-containing or osmiumcontaining luminescent organometallic compounds. Methods are disclosed for detecting very small amounts of the chemical moiety using chemiluminescent, electrochemiluminescent, and photoluminescent means. Compounds are disclosed which are useful for labelling substances of interest with ruthenium-containing and osmium-containing labels or other electrochemiluminescent labels. These labelled substances are useful in methods provided for detecting and quantifying analytes of interest in binding assays and competitive binding assays. The labelled substances are of particular use in homogeneous binding assays. These methods form the bases for systems designed to enable the rapid, efficient, and sensitive determination of a broad array of chemical, biochemical, and biological materials of interest.

There is a continuous and expanding need for rapid, highly specific methods of detecting and quantifying chemical, biochemical, and biological substances. Of particular value are methods for measuring small quantities of pharmaceuticals, metabolites, microorganisms and other materials of diagnostic value. Examples of such materials include narcotics and poisons, drugs administered for therapeutic purposes, hormones, pathogenic microorganisms and viruses, antibodies, metabolites, enzymes and nucleic acids.
The presence of these materials can often be determined by binding methods which exploit the high degree of specificity which characterizes many biochemical and biological systems. Frequently used methods are based on, for example, antigen-antibody systems, nucleic acid hybridization techniques, and protein-ligand systems. In these methods, the existence of the complex of diagnostic value is typically indicated by the presence or absence of an observable "label" which has been attached to one or more of the complexing materials.
The specific labelling method chosen often dictates the usefulness and versatility of a particular system for detecting a material of interest. A preferred label should be inexpensive, safe, and capable of being attached efficiently to a wide variety of chemical, biochemical, and biological materials without changing the important binding characteristics of those materials. The label should give a highly characteristic signal, and should be rarely, or preferably never found in nature. The label should be stable and detectable in aqueous systems over periods of time ranging up to months. Detection of the label should be rapid, sensitive, and reproducible without the need for expensive, specialized facilities or personnel. Quantification of the label should be relatively independent of variables such as temperature and the composition of the mixture to be assayed. Most advantageous are labels which can be used in homogeneous systems, i.e. systems in which separation of the complexed and uncomplexed labelled material is not necessary. This is possible if the detectability of the label is modulated when the labelled material is incorporated into a specific complex.
A wide variety of labels have been developed, each with particular advantages and disadvantages. For example, radioactive labels are quite versatile, and can be detected at very low concentrations. However, they are expensive, hazardous, and their use requires sophisticated equipment and trained personnel. Furthermore, the sensitivity of radioactive labels is limited by the fact that the detectable event can, in its essential nature, occur only once per radioactive atom in the labelled material. Moreover, radioactive labels cannot be used in homogeneous methods.
Thus, there is wide interest in non-radioactive labels. These include molecules observable by spectrophotometric, spin resonance, and luminescence techniques, as well as enzymes which produce such molecules. Among the useful non-radioactive labelling materials are organometallic compounds. Because of the rarity of some metals in biological systems, methods which specifically assay the metal component of the organometallic compounds can be successfully exploited. For example, Cais, U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,952 discloses the use of immunochemically active materials labelled with certain organometallic compounds for use in quantitating specific antigens. Any general method of detecting the chosen metals can be used with these labels, including emission, absorption and fluorescence spectrometry, atomic absorption, and neutron activation. These methods often suffer from lack of sensitivity, can seldom be adapted to a homogenous system, and as with atomic absorption, sometimes entail destruction of the sample.
Of particular interest are labels which can be made to luminesce through photochemical, chemical, and electrochemical means. "Photoluminescence" is the process whereby a material is induced to luminesce when it absorbs electromagnetic radiation. Fluorescence and phosphorescence are types of photoluminescence. "Chemiluminescent" processes entail the creation of the luminescent species by a chemical transfer of energy. "Electrochemiluminescence" entails the creation of the luminescent species electrochemically.
These luminescent systems are of increasing importance. For example, Mandle, U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,745 discloses the use of chemiluminescent labels in immunochemical applications. In the disclosed systems, the labels are excited into a luminescent state by chemical means such as by reaction of the label with H.sub.2 O.sub.2 and an oxalate. In these systems, H.sub.2 O.sub.2 oxidatively converts the oxalate into a high energy derivative, which then excites the label. This system will, in principle, work with any luminescent material that is stable in the oxidizing conditions of the assay and can be excited by the high energy oxalate derivative. Unfortunately, this very versatility is the source of a major limitation of the technique: typical biological fluids containing the analyte of interest also contain a large number of potentially luminescent substances that can cause high background levels of luminescence.
The present invention is concerned with electrochemiluminescent labels. Suitable labels comprise electrochemiluminescent compounds, including organic compounds and organometallic compounds. Electrochemiluminescent methods of determining the presence of labelled materials are preferred over other methods for many reasons. They are highly diagnostic of the presence of a particular label, sensitive, nonhazardous, inexpensive and can be used in a wide variety of applications. Organic compounds which are suitable electrochemical labels include, for example, rubrene and 9,10-diphenyl anthracene. Many organometallic compounds are suitable electrochemical labels, but of particular use are Ru-containing and Os-containing compounds.
The present invention is concerned with the use of Ru-containing and Os-containing labels which can be detected by a wide variety of methods. These labels are advantageous for many reasons that will be discussed herein.
Ru-containing and Os-containing organometallic compounds have been discussed in the literature. Cais discloses that any metal element or combination of metal elements, including noble metals from group VIII such as Ru, would be suitable components of organometallic labels detectable by atomic absorption methods. (Cais, column 11, line 20). However, ruthenium is not a preferred metal in Cais, osmium is not specifically mentioned, no data is presented on the efficiency of using Ru or Os in any of the methods disclosed, and the preferred method of detection, atomic absorption, entails destruction of the sample.
Weber, U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,310, discloses the use of Ru-containing and Os-containing complexes as electrochemical labels for analytes in immunoassays. The disclosed complexes are linked to amino groups on the analytes through a thiourea linkage. Weber also suggests the possibility of forming carboxylate esters between the labels and hydroxy groups on other analytes.
According to Weber, the presence of the labelled materials can be determined with an apparatus and method which comprises a quencher and an electrochemical flow cell with light means The photoelectrochemically active label upon photoexcitation transfers an electron to a quencher molecule; the oxidized molecule is subsequently reduced with an electron from an electrode of the flow cell which is held at suitable potential. This electron is measured as photocurrent. The amount of free labelled analyte in the system is determined by the photocurrent signal. Note that this method is the reverse of electrochemiluminescent detection of luminescent materials
In subsequent reports, Weber et al. (1983), Clinical Chemistry 29, pp. 1665-1672, Photoelectroanalytical Chemistry: Possible Interferences in Serum and Selective Detection of Tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) in the Presence of Interferents, have discussed the problems associated with the use of this method to detect Ru-containing labels In Table 2 of Weber et al., the extrapolated detection limit for tris(bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) is 1.1.times.10.sup.-10 moles/L under optimal conditions. In anticipating that the actual use of these labels would entail measurements in the presence of complex mixtures, Weber et al. tested for potential interferents in their system. Table 3 of Weber et al. lists dimethylalkyl amines, EDTA, N-methylmorpholine, N,N'-dimethylpiperazine, hydroxide, oxalate, ascorbate, uric acid, and serum as interferents which would presumably raise the practical detection limit substantially above 1.1.times.10.sup.-10 moles/L.
These studies were performed with a simple Ru-containing compound. No studies were reported in Weber or Weber et al. regarding the limits of detection of complex substances labelled with Ru-containing labels, or on whether the thiourea linkage between the labelled material and label is stable under conditions of the assay.
The particular labels with which the present invention is concerned are electrochemiluminescent. They can often be excited to a luminescent state without their oxidation or reduction by exposing the compounds to electromagnetic radiation or to a chemical energy source such as that created by typical oxalate-H.sub.2 O.sub.2 systems. In addition, luminescence of these compounds can be induced by electrochemical methods which do entail their- oxidation and reduction.
Extensive work has been reported on methods for detecting Ru(2,2'-bipyridine).sub.3.sup.2 + using photoluminescent, chemiluminescent, and electrochemiluminescent means: Rubinstein and Bard (1981), "Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence. 37. Aqueous Ecl Systems based on Ru(2,2'bipyridine).sub.3.sup.2+ and Oxalate or Organic Acids", J. Am. Chem. Soc., 103, pp. 512-516; and White and Bard (1982), "Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence. 41. Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence and Chemiluminescence of the Ru(2,2'-bpy).sub.3.sup.2+ - S.sub.2 O.sub.82.sup.2 - System in Acetonitrile-Water Solutions", J. Am. Chem. Soc., 104, p. 6891. This work demonstrates that bright orange chemiluminescence can be based on the aqueous reaction of chemically generated or electrogenerated Ru(bpy).sub.3.sup.3+ (where "bpy" represents a bipyridyl ligand) with strong reductants produced as intermediates in the oxidation of oxalate ions or other organic acids. Luminescence also can be achieved in organic solvent-H.sub.2 O solutions by the reaction of electrogenerated, or chemically generated, Ru(bpy).sub.3 .sup.2+ with strong oxidants generated during reduction of peroxydisulfate. A third mechanism for production of electrochemiluminescence from Ru(bpy).sub.3.sup.3+. involves the oscillation of an electrode potential between a potential sufficiently negative to produce Ru(bpy).sub.3.sup.3+ and sufficiently positive to produce Ru(bpy)33+. These three methods are called, respectively, "oxidative-reduction," "reductive-oxidation," and "the Ru(bpy)3.sup.3+ /+ regenerative system.
The oxidative-reduction method can be performed in water, and produces an intense, efficient, stable luminescence, which is relatively insensitive to the presence of oxygen or impurities. This luminescence from Ru(bpy).sub.3.sup.2+ depends upon the presence of oxalate or other organic acids such as pyruvate, lactate, malonate, tartrate and citrate, and means of oxidatively producing Ru(bpy).sub.3.sup.3+ species. This oxidation can be performed chemically by such strong oxidants as PbO.sub.2 or a Ce(IV) salt. It can be performed electrochemically by a sufficiently positive potential applied either continuously or intermittently. Suitable electrodes for the electrochemical oxidation of Ru(bpy).sub.32.sup.2+ are, for example, Pt, pyrolytic graphite, and glassy carbon. Although the oxalate or other organic acid is consumed during chemiluminescence, a strong, constant chemiluminescence for many hours can be achieved by the presence of an excess of the consumed material, or by a continuous supply of the consumed material to the reaction chamber.
The reductive-oxidation method can be performed in partially aqueous solutions containing an organic cosolvent such as, for example, acetonitrile. This luminescence depends upon the presence of peroxydisulfate and a means of reductively producing Ru(bpy).sub.3.sup.1+ species. The reduction can be performed chemically by strong reductants such as, for example, magnesium or other metals. It can be performed electrochemically by a sufficiently negative potential applied either continuously or intermittently. A suitable electrode for the electrochemical reduction of Ru(bpy).sub.3.sup.2+ is, for example, a polished glassy-carbon electrode. As with the oxidative-reduction method, continuous, intense luminescence can be achieved for many hours by inclusion of excess reagents, or by continuous addition of the consumed reagents to the reaction mixture.
The Ru(bpy).sub.3.sup.3+ /+ regenerative system can be performed in organic solvents such as acetonitrile or in partially aqueous systems, by pulsing an electrode potential between a potential sufficiently negative to reduce Ru(bpy).sub.3.sup.2+ and a potential sufficiently positive to oxidize Ru(bpy).sub.3.sup.2+. A suitable electrode for such a regenerative system is, for example, a Pt electrode. This system does not consume chemical reagents and can proceed, in principle, for an unlimited duration.
These three methods of producing luminescent Ru-containing compounds have in common the repetitive oxidation-reduction or reduction-oxidation of the Ru-containing compound. The luminescence of solutions containing these compounds is therefore highly dependent on the electric potential of the applied energy source, and is therefore highly diagnostic of the presence of a Ru-containing compound.
Mandle cites Curtis et al. (1977), "Chemiluminescence; A New Method for Detecting Fluorescent Compounds Separated By Thin Layer Chromatography", J. Chromatography 134, pp. 343-350, as identifying Ru-tris(bipyridyl)(II) as a possible label in chemiluminescent applications. Curtis et al. reports only unpublished observations that Ru complexes can be induced to emit light when chemically excited by an oxalate/H.sub.2 O.sub.2 system (Curtis et al. p. 350).
Neither Mandle nor Curtis recognized the exceptional utility of ruthenium and osmium complexes in chemiluminescent applications or the utility of electrochemilumiscent systems. Sprintschnik, G. et al. (1977), "Preparation and Photochemical Reactivity of Surfactant Ruthenium (II) Complexes in Monolayer Assemblies and at Water-Solid Interfaces", J. Am. Chem. Soc. 99, pp. 4947-4954, have described complexes of tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) esterified with octadecanol or dehydrocholesterol, and have created monolayer films of these surfactant complexes. The complexes were photoluminescent. But when the films were exposed to water, and then to light, the Ru-complexes failed to photoluminesce. This was attributed to photohydrolysis of ester groups in the presence of light.
It has been discovered and is disclosed herein, that a wide variety of analytes of interest and chemical moieties that bind to analytes of interest may be conveniently attached to Ru-containing or Os-containing labels through amide linkages. The labelled materials may then be determined by any of a wide variety of means, but by far the most efficient, reliable, and sensitive means are photoluminescent, chemiluminescent, and electrochemiluminescent means. It is also disclosed herein that electrochemilumiscent labels, including Ru-containing and Os-containing labels and organic molecules such as rubrene and 9,10-diphenyl anthracene, are particularly versatile and advantageous. The great advantages of the use of these novel labelled materials, and of the methods of detecting them, are further discussed hereinbelow.

Luminescent metal chelate labels and means for detection


A telecommunications protection unit includes a voltage unit having an electrically insulating base configured to house a diode module assembly and a voltage limiting cell therein. The voltage limiting cell and diode module assembly are retained within the housing by a bus clip. The housing includes structure for preventing damage to the voltage limiting cell and diode module assembly during placement of the bus clip thereon. The diode module assembly is a one-piece article including a bus bar and several diodes and terminals which can be used by itself or in a voltage unit to provide desired electrical effects and facilitate assembly of an electrical system such as a telecommunications protection unit. The terminals of the diode module are highly flexible to respond to excessive voltage and sneak current events encountered by telecommunications protection equipment, and the bus clip is constructed to provide a plurality of independently yieldable segments to accommodate diode stacks of variable heights and reduce manufacturing costs.

Protecting telecommunications equipment in telephone central offices or other locations against voltage surges and sneak currents is well known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,150 discloses a solid state protector for insertion in a telephone line having tip and ring conductors. The protector comprises a current unit, a voltage unit and a pair of springs assembled within a housing structure. The voltage unit includes solid state devices that respond instantaneously to spurious voltage surges on the telephone line in the tip conductor, the ring conductor, or both tip and ring conductors. When a voltage surge exceeds a predetermined threshold, the voltage device operates to ground the telephone line thereby insuring that the spurious voltage bypasses the telephone equipment in the central office.
Conventional voltage units including that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,150 often include one or more metal clips for retaining the various diodes and terminals of the voltage unit in a desired assembled state. However, the clips used in these devices are quite narrow relative to the length of the voltage unit housing to which they are attached. Thus, the clips often pivot out of proper alignment and become dislodged during placement onto the housing. As a result, the clip(s) may become dislodged and one or more of the electrical components of the voltage unit may become loose, lost or damaged both during or after assembly. Additionally, in certain existing voltage unit assemblies, the clip may fail to retain the electrical components within the housing if one or more of the diodes becomes damaged during operation and its thickness is reduced. Either of these eventualities may hinder the assembly process or the reliability of the voltage unit.


An anchor has a pointed end portion may be utilized to form an opening in a bone in a patient""s body. The anchor is moved into the opening formed in the bone in the patient""s body with a suture connected to the anchor. The suture may then be utilized to retain body tissue in a desired position relative to the bone. The body tissue may be either hard or soft body tissue. If desired the anchor may be utilized in conjunction with layers of soft body tissue. When a suture is used it may be secured by connecting a retainer with the suture. Alternatively, sections of the suture may be interconnected. It is believed that it may be preferred to secure the suture in place after at least a predetermined tension has been established in the suture and/or a predetermined force has been transmitted to the body tissue. The suture may be secured in place by exposing a retainer to ultrasonic vibratory energy or by applying the ultrasonic vibratory energy directly to sections of the suture.

The present invention relates to a new and improved method and apparatus for securing tissue in a patient""s body. The method and apparatus may be utilized to secure hard tissue and/or soft tissue in a patient""s body.
Anchors have previously been utilized to retain sutures in a patient""s body. The anchors have previously been formed of metal, such as stainless steel or titanium. In addition, anchors have been formed of biodegradable materials. Anchors have also been formed of bone. It has previously been suggested to construct anchors in the manner disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,527,343; 5,534,012; 5,928,267; and 5,989,282. The disclosures in the aforementioned patents are hereby incorporated herein in their entirety by this reference thereto.
It has previously been suggested that ultrasonic vibratory energy be utilized to interconnect sections of a suture in the manner disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,848. This patent suggests that the suture is initially tensioned by a surgeon or his assistant by gripping free ends of the suture and applying the requisite force. While the requisite force is maintained, ultrasonic energy is applied to the segments of the suture. The high frequency mechanical vibrations applied to the suture result in bonding of overlapping areas on segments of the suture. It has also been suggested that ultrasonic energy could be utilized in connecting an elongated element with a fusible receptacle in the manner disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,765.
When tissue is to be secured against movement relative to a portion of a bone, it is necessary to interconnect the bone and the tissue. In this situation, it has been a common practice to drill a hole which extends into or through the bone. A retaining member, such as a pin, screw or suture anchor is positioned in the hole after it has been drilled in the bone. The concept of utilizing a retainer member formed of bone to anchor a suture is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,612. It has also been suggested that screws, pins, anchors and plates could be fabricated from bone in the manner disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,968,047.
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for use in securing soft tissue, hard tissue, or hard and soft tissue in a patient""s body. The hard tissue may be any one of the many bones in a patient""s body. The soft tissue may be any one of the tissues in a patient""s body other than the hard tissue.
The tissue may be secured by using a suture. The suture may be connected with an anchor. When an anchor is utilized in association with a suture, the anchor may be formed of any one of many different materials including bone or other body tissue, biodegradable materials, or non-biodegradable materials. The anchor may be formed of two or more different materials.
When a suture is utilized to secure body tissue, a retainer may be connected with the suture. Alternatively, sections of the suture may be connected with each other.
If a suture is utilized to secure body tissue, an apparatus may advantageously be provided to tension the suture with a predetermined force. If a retainer is utilized in association with the suture, the apparatus may urge the retainer toward the body tissue with a predetermined force. The retainer may be connected with the suture in response to detection of at least a predetermined tension in the suture and/or the transmission of a predetermined force to the body tissue. When the retainer is to be eliminated, sections of the suture may be interconnected in response to detection of a predetermined tension in the suture and/or detection of the transmission of a predetermined force to the body tissue.
The anchor, for some uses at least, may be formed of a single piece of bone. A pointed end portion of the anchor may have a surface which forms an opening in a bone or other tissue in a patient""s body. The anchor may be moved into the opening formed in the tissue by the pointed leading end portion of the anchor.
It should be understood that in certain situations, it may be desired to use just a suture, without an anchor, to secure the body tissue. In these situations, a retainer may be connected with the suture. Alternatively, sections of the suture may be directly connected with each other. In other situations, it may be desired to use an anchor, without a suture, to secure body tissue.

Method and apparatus for securing tissue


The present invention relates to an apparatus for controlling a light beam path.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments relate to an apparatus for controlling a light beam path, and more particularly, to an apparatus for controlling a light beam path which controls a light beam path for a lighting device installed in a display apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Holographic display reconstructs a stereoscopic object in space, which is an ideal fully three-dimensional (3D) display technology. Specifically, holographic display reproduces wavefronts caused by an object as they are to provide an effect as if the object were actually present in front of one's eyes. Conventional holographic display creates left-eye and right-eye images which are different on eye movements and thus causes eye strain and dizziness due to parallax.
Development of 3D display in recent years allows reproduction of an object with accurate parallax and depth to avoid eye strain and dizziness due to accommodation-convergence inconsistency. Further, holographic display has evolved into an ultimate 3D display technology which enables different images based on viewpoint changes to be viewed and allows a plurality of users to watch images without additional devices (for example, glasses). However, there is a plurality of requirements to realize holographic display.
First, holographic display needs a display device for reproducing an image with a wide viewing angle. That is, holographic display is to reconstruct an image with a wide viewing angle, which involves a display device with a pixel pitch of about visible ray wavelength (1 μm or less).
Second, holographic display requires a display area with at least a certain size for reproducing a holographic image. That is, holographic display reproduces a holographic image with a sufficient size based on an image. Thus, a display area of a spatial light modulator is required to have an active area with at least a certain size (at least 2 inches). To this end, a technique for expanding a panel size for holography by tiling a small panel has been introduced recently.
However, in a tiling structure, joint boundary lines cause black lines in a reproduced hologram, thus worsening quality of the reproduced hologram. In addition, commercially available display devices can currently reconstruct holographic images with very limited ranges of sizes and viewing angles, making it difficult to actually observe characteristics (motion parallax, accommodation-convergence consistency, and binocular parallax) of holographic display as ideal 3D display.
Thus, extensive studies are being conducted to overcome the foregoing limitations by combining display devices with additional optical and mechanical control systems. However, such systems occupy a large space and involve an optically precise alignment process. Even though a holographic display system is actually realized, a bulky system structure thereof is a serious disadvantage of not being easy to move. Further, holographic display mostly uses an illumination light source having coherence, such as a laser. Here, since it is dangerous to expose eyes directly to an illumination light for a long time, indirectly observing and viewing images generally captured with a camera may be needed to provide optimal images.
Therefore, coherent light with a sufficient intensity need to be emitted at a uniform intensity to an active area of a spatial light modulator which encodes a hologram. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide a holographic display including a flat illumination device which is as thin and light as possible and includes a display active area in the holographic image reproduction system.

Apparatus for controlling light beam path

Abstract: Specifically, the apparatus for controlling the light beam path outputs light beams with a uniform intensity expanded corresponding to a size of an active area of a display by using characteristics of an incident wave field of light beams having coherence.

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A tube cutting device includes a tube holding member that holds a target tube from an inside of the target tube, allowing the target tube to be cut from an outside; and a cutter carrier member that includes a cutter eccentrically pivotable relative to the geometry axis of an elongate body of the cutter carrier member, such that when in a non-extended position, the cutter is positioned within a diameter of the elongate body, and when in an extended position, the cutter extends outwardly and cuts into a wall of the target tube.

Tubing is widely used in industries for conveying liquids and gases of all types and is convenient for use in construction and other environments. For example, copper evaporator tubes are typically used in chillers because it is easily bendable and may be formed to fit into the space that may be available. Tube cutters are used to cut damaged copper evaporator tubes to remove rough edges of the tubes, thereby allowing the copper tubes to be pulled through a tubesheet, and subsequently removed and replaced in the field.

Tube cutting device and method of using the same


The present invention relates to a device for holding a faucet handle to a valve stem. The device tightens onto the valve stem when drawn upwardly into the faucet handle.

The present disclosure relates generally to a device for holding a faucet handle to a valve stem. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a collet that tightens onto a valve stem when coupled to a faucet handle.
Many faucet systems utilize set screws to couple a faucet handle to a valve stem. In these systems, the set screws are prone to loosening, causing the faucet handle to loosen from the valve stem. Over-tightened set screws may cause the faucet handle to jam into the valve assembly or the faucet body. Further, the set screws are typically visible on the outside of the faucet handle, thereby reducing the aesthetic appearance of the faucet system.
According to an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure, a faucet assembly includes a handle body having a receiving chamber defining a longitudinal axis, and a valve assembly having a valve stem. The faucet assembly further includes a collet having a clamping portion for receiving the valve stem, wherein the clamping portion is received within the receiving chamber of the handle body and wherein axial movement of the handle body into the receiving chamber causes a radial force on the clamping portion to grip the valve stem.
According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, a collet for holding a faucet handle body to a valve stem is provided, wherein the faucet handle body has a receiving chamber with a substantially tapered portion. The collet includes a coupling portion for securing the collet to the faucet handle body, and a clamping portion for receiving the valve stem. The clamping portion has a substantially tapered outer surface configured to cooperate with the substantially tapered portion of the receiving chamber and thereby clamp the clamping portion onto the valve stem.
According to another illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure, a faucet assembly includes a handle body having a receiving chamber, wherein the receiving chamber has a substantially tapered inner surface. A valve assembly includes a valve stem, and a collet includes a coupling portion for securing the collet to the handle body and a clamping portion for receiving the valve stem. The clamping portion has a substantially tapered outer surface configured to cooperate with the substantially tapered inner surface of the receiving chamber to clamp the clamping portion onto the valve stem.
According to yet another illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure, a faucet assembly includes a handle body having a receiving chamber defining a longitudinal axis, and a valve assembly including a valve stem. A holding device is configured to hold the handle body to the valve stem, wherein the holding device is received within the receiving chamber of the handle body and is movable in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis from an unlocked mode wherein the handle body is infinitely rotationally adjustable within a range of motion about the longitudinal axis relative to the holding device, to a locked mode wherein the handle body is rotationally locked to the holding device.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Although the drawings represent embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated in order to better illustrate and explain the present disclosure. The exemplification set out herein illustrates an embodiment of the disclosure, in one form, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure in any manner.


Systems and methods disclosed herein compactly store representations of segment-specific interaction data from a real time data stream of data interactions by multiple entities to facilitate segment-specific analytics for particular time periods. Segment rules defining characteristics of entities within a segment are received. A first probabilistic data structure is created representing unique entity IDs included in instances of interaction data in the real time data stream during a first time period. A second probabilistic data structure representing unique entity IDs included in instances of interaction data in the real time data stream during a second time period different from the first time period. The first probabilistic data structure represents only entity IDs of entities within the segment and the second probabilistic data structure represents only entity IDs of entities within the segment. The first and second probabilistic data structures are indexed and stored.

The increasing number of devices connected to the Internet has led to an ever increasing amount of data associated with the devices and users of the devices. It is desirable to obtain real-time data about such devices and users and store such data for later analysis. Current data analytics tools can count users and devices in real-time. With the increasing number of users and devices, the ability to count and the store data related to the large number of users and devices has become increasingly expensive, both computationally and economically. Additionally, current tools do not allow granular flexibility to compute separately multiple different segments of users and devices and store and index those segments. For example, it has become increasing difficult to not only keep track of the number of individual users of a website, but also to keep track of the different devices that a user accesses the website from and of a particular user's habits while on the website on each device. In this example, current analytics tools provide a website owner with various counts, such as number of people visiting the website and number of people purchasing goods from the website. However, these current analytics tools lack the ability to provide more specific information about users and devices and require the website owner to make a number of inferences regarding the meaning of the data counts.

Systems and methods for determining real-time visitor segments


High-cadmium silicates, namely 2CdO.SiO.sub.2, 5CdO.2SiO.sub.2 and 3CdO.SiO.sub.2, are employed as the flux in a dielectric ceramic precursor mixture. The characteristic melting temperature of these fluxes is greater than the maximum ceramic firing temperature employed in the present method. Nevertheless, liquid phase sintering is achieved when such cations as the alkaline earth metals or lead from the high firing ceramic precursors diffuses into the flux, displacing some of the cadmium and reducing the melting temperature of the flux below that of the firing temperature. Some of the cadmium from the flux is drawn into the grains to replace the lost barium and lead. Escape of cadmium into the atmosphere is thereby substantially prevented. This method is particularly effective when the dielectric ceramic is a barium lead titanate zirconate and when the amount of the flux is kept very small. Even more particularly, unusually smooth capacitance versus temperature characteristics and high room-temperature dielectric-constants are realized for solid solutions of barium titanate with from 8-15 mole percent lead zirconate.

This invention relates to a low firing barium-lead-titanate capacitor and a method for making that capacitor comprising firing the green ceramic body at a temperature less than the melting temperature of all the start materials, which start materials include a crystalline high-cadmium silicate flux.
It is known to use a low-melting-temperature sintering aid for reducing the temperature at which otherwise high firing ceramic materials such as the alkaline earth titanates will densify and mature. For example, my patent U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,941 issued May 27, 1975, describes the use as a sintering aid of multiple component cadmium-containing glasses having melting temperatures no higher than 875.degree. C. The cadmium and lead oxides in these glasses are highly toxic and volatile so that firing on an open slab leads to loss of these oxides from the sintering ceramic body to the surrounding atmosphere. This results in hazardous work conditions as well as degradation of the ultimate dielectric properties. Controlled atmosphere firing in closed containers is much safer and provides much better dielectric properties with tighter control, as is described in my patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,426, issued Jan. 3, 1978.
It is also known to combine and fire lead-lanthanum-titanate-zirconate (PLZT) ceramic powders with a low melting glass as is described in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,209 issued May 31, 1977.
All three of the above noted patents are assigned to the same assignee as is the present invention. Sintering aids known heretofore are usually glasses and are always designed to melt at the firing temperature to promote liquid phase sintering.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an efficient method for fluxing and promoting densification of a dielectric ceramic material at low firing temperatures with a minimum reduction in the resulting dielectric constant.
It is a further object of this invention to provide in such a method the use of a cadmium rich flux.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide such a method capable of execution without the need for completely closed atmospheres and without substantial loss of cadmium to the atmosphere.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a dielectric body having a very high dielectric constant for any one standard class of temperature characteristics.

Ceramic capacitor and method for making the same


A conveyor 10 includes a cyclically powered drive mechanism 24 for moving products along an elongate tray 12 in a forward direction. The tray 12 includes a substantially planar floor 14 for supporting product thereon and tray side 16, 18 on opposing transverse sides of the tray floor. A flow leveler 40, 54, 80, 90 is positioned along the tray floor and normalizes the flow of product moving along the tray. In its preferred embodiment, the flow leveler includes a plurality of elongate ramp members 82, 92 laterally spaced between the tray sides, and optionally arranged in staggered rows. The flow leveler may include a planar leveler floor 48 for positioning within a cutout in the tray floor and a plurality of securing members 42 for movably securing the leveler floor to the tray. The inclined ramp surface of the leveler is preferably angled up to 25.degree. to 45.degree.. The flow leveler is particularly well suited for leveling the flow rate of irregularly shaped snack goods conveyed along the linear motion conveyor.

An increasingly common type of conveyor utilizes a substantially planar tray floor and a drive mechanism cyclically powered to move goods along the tray floor. Because only the conveyor tray contacts the material being conveyed, these types of conveyors are preferred in applications requiring high cleanliness, and are commonly used, for example, in the food processing industry. These conveyors thus have significant advantages over conveyors which utilize moving parts, such as belts or chains, which contact the conveyed products.
One type of conveyor which utilizes a cyclically powered tray is a vibratory conveyor, which employs a substantially planar tray floor with opposing tray sides. The stroke of a vibratory conveyor is relatively short, and typically is approximately 1/16th of an inch in length, so that the tray imparts an upward and forward motion to products supported on the tray. The tray is thus returned to its original position while the products are out of contact with the tray floor. While vibratory conveyors are widely used in the food processing industry, they have significant disadvantages which have been recognized for decades. The movement of products along the vibratory conveyor tray can be damaging to the products, and thus vibratory conveyors frequently are not desired when moving fragile products. Moreover, when moving products with a seasoning or coating, such as seasoned potato chips, vibratory conveyors are not favored since the vibratory motion tends to shake the seasoning or coating off of the products. In other applications, however, vibratory conveyors are widely accepted for moving products which do not have seasonings or coatings. Also, vibratory conveyor manufacturers have been able to reduce the amount of vibration imparted to the product while still maintaining an acceptable product flow rate along the tray. A exemplary vibratory conveyor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,277.
Another type of cyclically powered trough-type conveyor is a linear motion conveyor. The stroke of a linear motion conveyor is much longer than for a vibratory conveyor, and typically is in the range of approximately an inch and a half The products move slowly forward with the linear motion of the conveyor tray, and the drive mechanism then returns the tray backward more quickly, thereby sliding the products along the tray. A linear motion conveyor has several significant advantages over vibratory conveyors, primarily because the tray motion is more gentle on the transported products. Linear motion conveyors are thus well suited for transporting fragile goods, such as snack foods. Since the products are not thrust upward off the tray supporting surface, seasoning loosely attached to the products remains on the products. Linear motion conveyors with an improved drive mechanism are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,351,807 and 5,794,757.
One of the drawbacks with early versions of linear motion conveyors was that the drive mechanisms could not rapidly start and stop the conveyor tray movement. These earlier versions of linear motion conveyors were nevertheless commonly used along main conveyor lines. Because of this slow start and slow stop limitation, however, linear motion conveyors were seldom used in cross feeder applications or as conveyors used to feed weighing scales. Newer designs of linear motion conveyors, as disclosed in the above referenced patents, have overcome this limitation, and the drive mechanisms disclosed in currently available linear motion conveyors are able to both start and stop the conveyor tray movement substantially instantaneously. Because of this ability, linear motion conveyors with these improved drive mechanisms are increasingly used in cross-feeder applications and in applications to feed weighing scales.
One of the problems with cyclically powered trough-type conveyors is that product irregularly fed to the conveyor tray tends to remain in that configuration as the linear motion conveyor moves the product along the conveyor tray. Because linear motion conveyors have gentle product handling characteristics, when piles of products are introduced to a linear motion conveyor, the piles thus tend to remain substantially as input to the linear motion conveyor and continue down the length of the tray without leveling out. Piles and voids of product along a linear motion conveyor tray provide irregular product feed rate to the downstream equipment, which then may adversely affect the performance of scales and other equipment which attempts to cope with this substantially irregular product feed rate. The irregular product feed rate from a linear motion conveyor is a significant problem, particularly when the conveyed product, like potato chips, tend to interlock together. Potato chips may thus be irregularly output from a seasoning tumbler to a linear motion conveyor, and irregularly shaped piles of potato chips move along the linear motion conveyor. Due to the shape of the conveyed product and the gentle motion of the linear motion conveyor, these product piles thus continue to travel down the conveyor tray, and are a significant problem to the reliable performance of weighing scales which are adversely affected by the substantially varying product output rate from the linear motion conveyor. Vibratory conveyors have some capability of reducing product piles along the tray due to the vibratory action on the product. As vibration is reduced, however, to accommodate products requiring more gentle handling, irregular product feed rate becomes more of a concern also for vibratory conveyors.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention, and an improved cyclically powered trough type conveyor with a flow leveler is hereinafter disclosed for normalizing product flow along a linear motion conveyor tray.

Cyclically powered conveyor with flow leveler


A plug for plugging wrapped sleeves of paper or cardboard includes a hollow rotation-symmetrical body one half of which is cylindrical and another part of which is frusto-conical. The outer edge or rim of the cylindrical part is provided with a thickening which continually increases towards the end face of the plug.

The present invention relates to a one-piece compression-molded, substantially cylindrical plug for plugging a sleeve wrapped up of paper or cardboard.
Plugs of the type under discussion are substantially cylindrical hollow elements pressed or molded of the mixture of fibers with a heat-hardenable binder and utilized for wrapped sleeves of paper or cardboard. Such a plug is cylindrical over the half of its length and has a substantially the same outer diameter over that half while its other half or remaining portion is conical. Thickenings are provided on the peripheral face of the plug.
Such a plug has been disclosed, for example, in "Compression molded plug for rolled sleeves," Fa. Werzalit AG & Co., Unternehmenbereich Industrieproducte, 7141 Oberstenfeld.
Known plugs of the foregoing type are utilized with rolled sleeves which are preferably made of paper, cardboard and/or paperboard according to German standard No. DIN6748. After the wrapping material is wrapped about the sleeve the wrapped up roll is removed from the wrapping device and the plug is driven into such roll before the latter is transported to a packing device.
End faces of such rolls or sleeves wrapped with wrapping material are covered firstly with circular discs or washers, for example of paperboard by a packing device, and then the periphery of the roll of wrapping material is wound up with paper in the packing machine. The circular discs or washers are secured to the plugs by means of clamps.
When tolerances of the external diameter of the plug and/or internal diameter of the wrapped-up sleeve are added to negative values it can occur that the plug, during fastening of the circular disc by a required large driving force for the clamps, is driven into the sleeve over a predetermined length.
This, however, causes a disadvantageous effect which resides in that the disc does not snugly abut the end face of the wrapped up sleeve but the disc becomes at its outer edge concavely deformed. This leads to the fact that the deformed edge of the disc is not detected in the packing device in which wrapping up of the rolls is carried out automatically, and the packing can be incorrect.

Plug for wrapped sleeves of paper or cardboard


The present invention relates to a method for producing porous polysaccharide beads, comprising: (a) mixing a water-based solution of a polysaccharide under stirring with an essentially water-immiscible first organic phase to form an emulsion which separates into two continuous phases; (b) adding a second organic phase comprising an emulsifier and an organic solvent to form a three-phase system; (c) allowing the three-phase system to emulsify; and (d) decreasing the temperature below the gelling point of the polysaccharide, thereby obtaining beads having two sets of pores, said method being characterised in that the emulsifier is a water-insoluble polymer capable of stabilizing said three-phase system.

This application is a 371 of PCT/SE99/01663, filed Sep. 23, 1999.
The present invention relates to methods for producing porous polysaccharide beads.
Polysaccharide gels are known to play an important role in the manufacture of materials for separation of mixtures of biomolecules. Among the characteristics making these gels interesting can be mentioned their inertness in contact with proteins and other biomolecules, and their porous structure. A further important property is their resistance against alkaline conditions, which is of great importance in large scale separation processes requiring frequent regeneration and sterilisation of the gel. Polysaccharide gels, unlike many other separation materials, allow in situ regeneration with alkaline agents, e.g. sodium hydroxide.
In many chromatography methods, such as gel filtration, ion exchange chromatography and affinity chromatography, polysaccharide gels are preferred because of their inertness and well established derivatisation chemistry. However, polysaccharide gels also exhibit certain drawbacks, like the limited mechanical stability. This is not a real problem when comparatively large gel beads. (around 100 xcexcm) are used in traditional chromatography. The situation is different when attempts are made to increase the separation efficacy by the use of smaller gel beads (5-20 xcexcm). At flow rates optimal for diffusion, the pressure drop in the gel bed is so high that the polysaccharide beads will collapse.
As a solution to the problem how to increase the separation efficacy, polysaccharide gels which contain two types of pores, small diameter diffusion pores (micropores), and large diameter flow-trough pores (macropores or superpores), have been disclosed (WO 93/19115). Such xe2x80x9csuperporousxe2x80x9d gels are manufactured by a method wherein a water-based solution of the polysaccharide is mixed, under controlled stirring, with an essentially water-immiscible organic phase to form an oil-in-water emulsion, which when allowed to solidify forms a network of two continuous phases; an aqueous polysaccharide phase and an organic phase. The aqueous phase forms a solid matrix, while the organic phase forms a network of flow-through pores within the matrix. Simultaneously, conventional small diameter diffusion pores are formed in the aqueous phase.
In order to obtain polysaccharide beads, the oil-in-water emulsion is emulsified in a second organic phase to give a three-phase system, comprising polysaccharide droplets in the organic phase. When the temperature is decreased below the gelling temperature of the polysaccharide, beads having the said two types of pores are obtained. In addition to smaller pores (diffusion pores normally around 20 to 500 xc3x85), which are typical for polysaccharides, the formed gel thus also contains larger pores (xe2x80x9csuperporesxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cflow-through pores, normally between 5 and 100 xcexcm).
When this superporous material is packed in a chromatographic column, some of the flow will pass via the superpores. The biomolecules to be separated are thus transported also to the inner parts of the beads by convective flow, which is a faster way of transportation than diffusion. Only short distances will have to be covered by diffusion in the superporous material and the particles will therefore, in spite of a much larger particle size, be as effective as conventional polysaccharide beads, and still give rise to a much lower pressure drop over the gel bed.
However, the presently known method for producing superporous gels has the drawback that this kind of three-phase system is unstable and has to be immediately stabilised by cooling in order to form superporous beads. There is thus a need for an improved method for manufacture of superporous gels or beads, which provides increased stability during the emulsifying process and which allows for large-scale production.
It has surprisingly been found that superporous polysaccharide beads as defined above can be conveniently produced by a method in which the above-mentioned drawbacks can be minimized.
Consequently, in a first aspect this invention provides a method for producing porous polysaccharide beads, comprising
(a) mixing a water-based solution (aqueous solution) of a polysaccharide under controlled stirring with an essentially water-immiscible first organic phase to form an emulsion (emulsion 1) which when allowed to solidify separates into a network of two continuous phases;
(b) adding a second organic phase comprising an emulsifier I and an organic solvent to form a three-phase system;
(c) allowing the said three-phase system to emulsify (formation of emulsion 2); and
(d) decreasing the temperature below the gelling point of the said polysaccharide, thereby obtaining beads having two sets of pores as defined above.
The method is characterised in that emulsifier I is a water-insoluble polymer capable of stabilising emulsion 2.
The two-phase system obtained in step (a) (Emulsion 1) can be produced by methods known from WO 93/19115. Briefly, a water-based polysaccharide phase is mixed, under vigorous stirring, with an essentially water-immiscible organic phase, consisting of one or more components, usually an organic solvent preferably together with an emulsifier of the type stabilising xe2x80x9coil-in-waterxe2x80x9d systems (emulsifier II).
The skilled person will be able to determine by known methods whether Emulsion 1 will be suitable for preparation of superporous beads. Rapid tests are available for verifying that a given combination of features will give a system suitable for the preparation of the desired material. One test involves study of Emulsion 1 under a microscope. The crucial factor is that the two phases must form a network of two continuous phases upon cooling. Another test involves a function test of pore flow. A small sample of Emulsion 1 is solidified and a thin (about 1 mm) gel slice is prepared. The gel slice is placed on a supporting net and a water jet is directed to the gel surface. If suitable super pores are present, the water jet will readily displace the organic phase in the gel slice. The appearance of the gel slice will change from white to semi-transparent in this process.
Emulsifier I stabilises emulsion 2 by being capable of adsorbing to the droplets of emulsion 1 in the second organic phase, thereby preventing destabilisation of the droplets by diffusion of the inner oil phase to the outer oil phase.
There is a large number of water-insoluble polymers that can be used as emulsifier I. Each candidate to be used can be prechecked, for instance by running the experimental protocol outlined in the experimental part. The proper functioning of a candidate will give rise to beads with flow-through pores also after prolonged emulsification. Flow-through pores can be detected either by ESEM (Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy) or simply by visual inspection of the beads. Visual inspection: Transparent beads means that flow-through pores are absent while xe2x80x9cmilkyxe2x80x9d beads means that flow-through pores are present.
Initially the following water-insoluble polymers were of potential interest: Polybutadiene, polyisoprene, polyisobutene, polyacrylates, polymetacrylates, poly(vinyl acetate), polystyrene, polypropene oxide, polytetrahydrofurane, polycarbonate, non-crystalline polyesters, polydimethylsiloxan, ethyl cellulose, cellulose ethers, PEG-polyhydroxystearic acid block copolymers (Hypermer), styrene-butadiene/isoprene block copolymers (Kraton), water-insoluble ethylene oxide-propylene oxide block copolymers (Pluronics), ethylene oxide-tetrahydrofuran block copolymers (Berol).
Preferably, emulsifier I is selected from ethyl celluloses or polyvinyl acetates or other polymers having similar balance between hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity.
Polymers used as emulsifier I, should preferably contain at least 20, such as at least 30, monomeric units. When the polymer is an ethyl cellulose or a polyvinylacetate, the molecular weight of the polymer should preferably be above 7000 Da.
The organic solvent used in the first and second organic phase (step a and b, respectively) can e.g. be cyclohexane, toluene or heptane, or a mixture. Preferably, the said organic solvent is toluene. The organic solvent used in step a and step b may be the same or different.
It is an important aspect of the invention that the said three-phase system can be allowed to emulsify during a time period of more than 40 min, preferably around 1 hour, before the temperature is decreased below the gelling point of the said polysaccharide.
Different polysaccharides can be used in the methods according to the invention for production of superporous beads. Examples of suitable polysaccharides are agar, agarose, alginate, dextran, carrageenan, chitosan, cellulose and starch, as well as mixtures of these. The actual choice of polysaccharide will depend on the desired properties of the final product, for instance with regard to pore size, charge, stability in various media, cost, etc. Agarose is preferred, since it is essentially non-ionic and inert towards proteins.
If so required the polysaccharide is derivatized to have the proper solidifying/gelling properties.
As mentioned above, the obtained superporous beads have two sets of pores. The term xe2x80x9ctwo sets of poresxe2x80x9d is intended to mean that the formed polysaccharide beads comprise
(1) a first set of pores (superpores) essentially being above the size of diffusion pores, for instance between 5 and 100 xcexcm, and
(2) a second set of pores essentially being diffusion pores, for instance with a size between 20 and 521 xc3x85.
Typically the ratio between the pore diameters of the first set of pores and the particle diameter is in the interval 0.01-0.3, with preference for 0.05-0.2. The ratio between the pore diameters of the second set and the particle diameter may in the preferred variants extend up to 0.05 but is otherwise below 0.01.
The polysaccharide beads manufactured according to the invention have the same utility as the known gels disclosed in WO 93/19115. They can be produced in various shapes, e.g. more or less regular beads, and can be used in the manufacture of chromatographic media and as a carrier matrix for various biomolecules, like cells, enzymes, antibodies, etc. Because of its improved properties, superporous beads are particularly useful for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
After cooling the formed gel may be cross-linked and/or further derivatized in the same manner as described in WO 93/19115. Further derivatization encompasses among others that affinity groups are attached to the beads. An affinity group is a member of an affinity pair. Well-known affinity pairs are
(a) positively and negatively entities (ion exchange; the immobilised entity being selected among primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary ammonium, sulphonate, sulphate, phosphonate, phosphate, carboxy etc groups),
(b) antibodies and antigens/haptens,
(c) lectins and carbohydrate structures,
(d) IgG binding proteins and IgG,
(e) pair of hydrophobic groups,
(f) polymeric chelators and chelates,
(g) complementary nucleic acids, etc.
Affinity members also include entities participating in catalytic reactions, for instance enzymes, enzyme substrates, cofactors, cosubstrates etc: Members of affinity pairs include chemically produced mimetics of biomolecules.
Potentially affinity groups may also be attached to the polysaccharide before it is used for preparing beads according to the invention.

Process for the production of polysaccharide beads


An endless power transmission belt comprising a plurality of V-belt parts spaced laterally apart from one another and tie band having an improved structure and connecting the V-belt parts together. The V-belt part and the tie band are essentially made of elastomer material and fabrics. More specifically, the tie band is made up of at least two cord fabric layers and an elastomer material in which the cord fabric layers are embedded. An intermediate elastomer material layer is provided between the fabric layers. The fabric layers are made of cords which are extended obliquely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the belt in such a manner that the cords forming one fabric layer form an angle with the cords forming another fabric layer adjacent thereto. The upper surfaces of the plurality of V-belt parts are connected by the tie band thus constructed, to form one unit.

This invention relates to an improvement for an endless belt for transmitting power from a driving pulley to a driven pulley. More particularly it relates to a power transmission belt for heavy loads, which transmit great torque from a driving pulley mounted on a driving shaft to a driven pulley mounted on a driven shaft.
An object of this invention is to improve the flexibility, side pressure durability and crack resistance of a power transmission belt. Also, it is an object of this invention to eliminate drawbacks such as vibration, removal and turning-over accompanying a conventional multi-V-belt drive system, and to eliminate power transmission loss due to the unequal lengths of plural belts. Hence, this invention seeks to increase the service life of a power transmission belt.
In the aforementioned multi-V-belt drive system, generally a plurality of power transmission V-belts are laid over a single pulley having a plurality of pulley grooves, and the V-belts are liable to be of different length. Therefore, loads applied to the V-belts are different, and accordingly loads are collectively applied to a particular belt among the belts. As a result the life of that belt is shortened. Furthermore, in the case where a machine such as a crusher or a compressor having a great impact force is driven by the multi-V-belt system, the belts are vibrated and are brought into contact with adjacent belts. As a result the belt or belts may be turned over or may be dropped off the pulley.
In order to overcome these difficulties, a power transmission belt has been proposed by U.S. Pat. No. 3,404,577 issued to Zahn, in which the upper surfaces of plural V-belt bodies are connected by an elastomer tie band in which a plurality of nylon cords substantially 90.degree. with the longitudinal axis of the belt are embedded. This conventional belt is excellent in flexibility in the longitudinal direction of the belt. However, where the belt is used with a small diameter pulley, the rubber between the cords, which forms the tie band, repeatedly excessively elongated in the longitudinal direction. Hence, it is liable to be cracked. Since the nylon cords are extended in the widthwise direction of the belt, the belt is rigid in the widthwise direction, but it is low in stretchability. Thus, the belt cannot sufficiently follows motions in the widthwise direction thereof.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 3,564,933 issued to Clinkenbeard disclose a belt in which the upper surfaces of V-belt bodies are connected by a tie band which is obtained by embedding wide angle cloth in an elastomer material. Since the tie band includes the wide angle cloth, the tie band is relatively high in stretchability in the lengthwise and widthwise directions of the belt. However, when the belt is used with a small diameter pulley, it still suffers from the following disadvantages. The wide angle cloth is a fabric made up of warps and wefts, and the warps and wefts intersect with one another. Therefore, as the belt is bent on a small diameter pulley, the tie band is elongated considerably in the longitudinal direction of the belt and simultaneously the wide angle cloth of the tie band is also elongated. In this operation, the warps and the wefts are abraded by each other, and they are easily damaged.
The warps and wefts of the wide angle cloth are extended in a wavy state during weaving. Therefore, the rigidity, in the widthwise direction of the belt, of the wide angle cloth is not as high as expected. Accordingly, the V-belt bodies are dropped in the pulley grooves, as a result the service life of the belt is relatively short.


An object of the present invention is to provide a method in which a fat and/or oil is produced by a transesterification reaction using a lipase. Specifically, the present invention relates to a method for producing a transesterified fat and/or oil, comprising: (1) a low-temperature clay treatment step of bringing a fat and/or oil and a clay into contact with each other at 30 to 80° C. to obtain a reaction substrate; and (2) a step of subjecting the reaction substrate to a transesterification reaction in the presence of a lipase-containing composition.

Lipases have been widely used for ester synthesis reactions between various carboxylic acids such as fatty acids and alcohols such as monoalcohols and polyols, transesterification reactions between alcohols and carboxylic acid esters, between carboxylic acids and carboxylic acid esters, and between multiple carboxylic acid esters, and the like. Of these reactions, the transesterification reactions are an important technology as methods for producing esters of various fatty acids, sugar esters, and steroid esters, including those for modification of animal or vegetable fats and/or oils. When a lipase, which is a fat and/or oil hydrolyzing enzyme, is used as a catalyst for such a reaction, the transesterification reaction can be carried out under a mild condition of about room temperature to approximately 130° C. In this case, the side reactions are more suppressed and the energy costs are more reduced than in a conventional chemical reaction. Moreover, the lipase used as the catalyst is highly safe, because the lipase is a natural product. Furthermore, because of the substrate specificity and the positional specificity, the target product can be produced efficiently.
Since such a lipase is expensive, attempts have been made to stabilize the enzymatic activity of a lipase by activating the enzymatic activity of the lipase and suppressing decrease in activity of the lipase. For example, before a transesterification of a raw material fat and/or oil is conducted by using a lipase, the raw material fat and/or oil is treated with a substance having amino groups such as an anion exchange resin. In this manner, the decrease in enzymatic activity has been suppressed (Patent Literature 1). In addition, in Patent Literature 1, the raw material fat and/or oil and a clay are brought into contact with each other at 110° C. in a decolorization step. However, this step is intended only for decolorization of the fat and/or oil, and not for suppression of decrease in enzymatic activity. In addition, when the fat and/or oil and the clay are brought into contact with each other at 110° C., the enzyme cannot be activated. As described above, no study has been made to stabilize the enzymatic activity by bringing a raw material fat and/or oil and a clay into contact with each other before a transesterification reaction.

Method for producing transesterified fat and/or oil