A laser light irradiation apparatus used for medical treatment of tissues. According to a preferred embodiment, the apparatus comprises a probe, an optical fiber feeding laser light into the probe and a lead wire for detecting a temperature being inserted through and projecting from the probe. Then, the probe contains laser light scattering particles for uniform irradiation of the laser light against the tissues. Further, the probe is fabricated from a laser light tramissive synthetic material, and the fore end of a core of the optical fiber and the inserting part of the lead wire are in the synthetic material of the probe for easy molding for this apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a laser light irradiation apparatus, which irradiates laser light to living tissues of an animal such as a human body to permit an incision, vaporization of the living tissues or a thermal therapy and, more particularly, to a laser light irradiation apparatus by which a thermal therapy can be carried out efficiently for cancer tissues and the like while the penetrating member of the laser light irradiation apparatus is brought into contact with the surface of the living tissues directly or through the intermediary of a surface layer on the penetrating member.
2. Prior Art
Medical treatments such as incisions of living tissues of animal organisms by irradiation with laser light are conspicuous due to the ability of hemostasis.
It had been the conventional method that the laser light was irradiated from the fore end of an optical fiber which is held out of contact with the living tissues. This method, however, causes severe damage to the fore end portion of the optical fiber. Therefore, a method which has been utilized lately is as follows;
First, laser light is transmitted into an optical fiber, whose fore end portion is located adjacent to the treated living tissues. Next, the laser light fed out from the fore end of the optical fiber is applied to an emitting probe, which can be held in contact or out of contact with the living tissues. Then, the laser light passes through the probe and is emitted from the surface of the probe for irradiating against the tissues. In this case, it is preferred that the probe be brought into contact with the living tissues (hereafter "living tissue" is sometimes expressed by "tissue" only).
The Applicant developed many kinds of contact probes which are utilized for various purposes.
Further, lately, localized thermal therapy is drawing special attention as a carcinostatic therapy. According to this method, cancer tissues are destroyed by keeping the cancer tissues at a temperature of about 42.degree.-44.degree. C. for 10-25 minutes by irradiation with laser light. The effectiveness of this method has been reported by the inventors in the Bulletin of Japan Society of Laser Medicine, Vol. 6, No. 3 (January 1986), pp. 71-76 and 347-350.
On the other hand, considerable attention has been paid to laser-chemical therapies including the method reported in 1987 by Dougherty et al of the United States. According to this method, 48 hours after an intravenous injection of a hematoporphyrin derivative (HpD), weak laser light such as argon laser or argon pigment laser is irradiated against a target area of the treatment. Whereupon oxygen of the primary term which as a strong carcinostatic action is produced by HpD. Since then, there have been published various reports in this regard, including the one in the Bulletin of Japan Society of Laser Medicine, Vol. 6, No. 3 (January 1986), pp. 113-116. In this connection, it has also been known in the art to use "pheophobide a" as a photo-reactant. Further, recently, YAG laser has been put into use as a laser light source.
In the above mentioned medical treatment, it is important that the laser light is irradiated uniformly for the cancer tissues and, in case of the thermal therapy, it is particularly important that the cancer tissues are heated uniformly.
However, it is very difficult to irradiate the laser light uniformly and it is further difficult to irradiate against a broad target area. Therefore, a following method should be carried out;
The laser light is repeated to be irradiated against each small part of the target area separately so that the whole target area can be irradiated. Accordingly, it takes a long time to perform the medical operation.
Under these circumstances, laser light irradiation apparatuses having a plural number of laser light emitters or probes were studied. With the apparatus of this type, the laser light emitted from the probes is irradiated simultaneously against the tissues. Such laser light irradiation apparatus was shown also by Applicant in Japanese Patent Application No. 62-50723.
It is sure that the laser light can be irradiated against the tissues uniformly to some degree with these apparatuses. However, uniformity is not enough. On the other hand, the plural number of laser light conduction passages and probes, and a controller for the passages and the process are necessary in these apparatuses, therefore increasing cost.


A manufacturing method of a magnetic recording medium includes follows: forming a magnetic recording layer on a substrate; forming an under layer and a metal release layer that forms an alloy with the under layer on the magnetic recording layer in this order and forming an alloyed release layer by alloying the under layer and the metal release layer; forming a mask layer on the alloyed release layer; forming a resist layer on the mask layer; providing a protrusion-recess pattern by patterning the resist layer; transferring the protrusion-recess pattern to the mask layer; transferring the protrusion-recess pattern to the alloyed release layer; transferring the protrusion-recess pattern to the magnetic recording layer; dissolving the alloyed release layer by using a stripping solution and removing a layer formed on the alloyed release layer from an upper side of the magnetic recording layer.

In recent years, the amount information to be processed, stored, and communicated has increased significantly, creating a demand for high capacity information recording devices. In hard disk drive (HDD) technology, various technological advancements particularly those related to perpendicular magnetic recording have achieved a desired increase in a recording density. Configurations for discrete track and/or bit patterned magnetic media which provide an increase in the recording density and keep the effects of thermal fluctuations within acceptable tolerances have been proposed. Development of manufacturing technology to produce such proposed configurations is urgently needed.
In a pattern of magnetic cells in a medium, each magnetic cell needs to be magnetically separated from other cells to provide storage for one bit of information (data) in each cell of a bit patterned medium. Using microfabrication technology, magnetic cells (e.g., dot shaped areas) and nonmagnetic regions are often formed in the same plane of a medium. A method for selectively deactivating the magnetic property of selected portions the recording medium by injecting an ionized different-type element can be used to make the nonmagnetic regions. Microfabrication patterns are generally used in the process of creating such structures.
Specifically, semiconductor manufacturing patterning is performed to create a magnetic region and a nonmagnetic region on a magnetic recording layer of a substrate which are independent and separate. A mask for a patterning to transfer a fine protrusion-recess pattern is formed on a magnetic recording layer, and that particular protrusion-recess pattern is produced on a magnetic recording medium underlying the magnetic recording layer upon further selective material removal processes are used to remove material after the protrusion-recession pattern is provided thereon.
A general-purpose resist material as is commonly used in semiconductor manufacturing processes is used to create protrusions and recesses in the mask pattern. A methods to obtain desired resist patterns include selectively creating a pattern by using an irradiating energy beam and selectively patterning a self-assembling film containing a resist film in which a chemically different pattern (or arrangement) is used. Another method uses irradiation to inject high energy ions into the magnetic recording layer to deactivate magnetization portions of a pattern after the protrusion-recession is provided to a mask pattern, so that the pattern defines magnetically separate regions in the medium.
When a mask pattern remains on the magnetic recording layer, a protrusion part that forms a magnetic dot (region) creating a high area above adjacent structures which may cause a magnetic head performing writing or recording to the magnetic recording medium on the medium to crash. Also, when the distance between the magnetic recording layer and the magnetic head is large, a signal to noise (S/N) ratio of signals that can be detected by the magnetic head becomes small. Therefore, the height of the protrusion part above surrounding/adjacent structures should be minimized by removing the mask pattern on the magnetic recording layer after the patterning of the magnetic recording layer. A release layer is provided between the magnetic recording layer and the mask layer in a practical process. The mask layer is removed from the upper side of the magnetic recording layer by dissolving the release layer, and the planarity of the medium is improved (i.e., roughness is reduced), so that a favorable head to magnetic recording medium glide property is obtained.
In a stripping process of a bit patterned medium, in addition to a stripping method in which a carbon film is exposed in an oxygen plasma atmosphere and a dry etching is performed, there is also a stripping method in which a metal film is used as a release layer and a wet etching using an acid, etc. as a stripping solution is performed. In dry etching, unremoved particles remain after the mask process becomes a transfer mask, the unremoved particles also remain on the medium surface after the dry etch stripping process which contributes to a degradation of a head disk interface (HDI) property. On the other hand, in the wet etching, the unremoved particles are lifted off from the mask by dissolving the release layer, so the amount of residue on the medium surface is reduced and the HDI property is improved.
Because the release layer used in the wet stripping eventually becomes an under layer of the mask layer that is provided in a further upper portion, pattern size variation from layer to layer in subsequent processes is reduced. In order to maintain the planarity, it is desired that the surface roughness of the release layer be small.
On the other hand, it is necessary to transfer the protrusion-recess pattern to the release layer before the magnetic recording layer is processed. However, the mask layer at that time includes recesses, so subsequent processing requires tight process control, i.e., the allowable variation processing in subsequent processing of the magnetic recording layer is narrowed. Following the teachings of conventional technology, to obtain acceptable tolerances of the parameters for satisfactory process control and the desired stripping process performance, a method for adjusting the thickness of the release layer is proposed. However, while the recess depth of the processed mask is reduced when the release layer is made thinner, the contact area on which the stripping solution acts is reduced, so that the amount of residue left after the stripping is increased. In contrast, when the film thickness of the release layer is thickened, the contact area available is increases and the stripping process efficiency is improved. However, the range of process variation to achieve acceptable processing of the thick release layer becomes narrow, and also the pattern size variation, which is caused by an increase in the surface roughness, becomes large. Therefore, an adjustment of the thickness of the release layer does not result in a satisfactory solution to the challenge of transferring a fine pattern of the release layer and performing the specified layer stripping process, therefore, it is desired to improve the processability, the stripping property, and the planarity of the release layer.

Magnetic recording medium and method of manufacturing


An inserting machine has a plurality of successively arranged feeder heads mounted along two parallel travel paths. In a main jacket feeding station, main jackets are inserted fold first into the feeder heads. The main jackets are opened and one or more insert feeding stations insert inserts into the main jackets. For increasing the output of the inserting machine, the insert feeding station is constructed for selectively feeding inserts to the feeder heads of both parallel travel paths.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inserting machine includes a plurality of feeder heads or pockets which are driven along two parallel paths. The feeder heads are arranged at uniform distances from each other and printed products can be fed into the feeder heads from above. At the front ends of the two parallel paths are provided a main jacket feeding station each and means for opening the main jackets which have been placed in the feeder heads with the fold first. Insert or pre-printed section feeding stations are arranged in front of removal stations which are located at the discharge ends of the paths.
The feeder heads may revolve, for example, in vertical planes and feeding may be carried out from a coil through a conveyor which is arranged following a feeder.
2. Description of the Related Art
An inserting machine of the above-described type is known, for example, from EP-B1 0336 062. This inserting machine includes means for opening the main jackets placed in the feeder heads before the inserts or pre-printed sections are inserted.
An inserting machine of the above-described type and the auxiliary units required for a complete plant, such as, insert stations and opening stations, are very expensive to acquire. An enlargement of the plant for using additional insert stations is very difficult to realize and hardly provides a better result with respect to efficiency, especially since it is in many cases not possible to adapt in an efficient manner an inserting machine which has a fixed length to the requirements of specific orders.


Serotype-specific human anti-Pseudomonas monoclonal antibodies which bind to determinants of the cell wall lipopolysaccharides of P. aeruginosa are prepared from hybrid cell lines. The antibodies may be of any isotype. These antibodies may be used to treat infections caused by P. aeruginosa.

This invention relates to the production of human antibodies which are type specific and directed against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a highly virulent pathogen which infects patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy or suffering from severe thermal burns or other serious injuries, cystic fibrosis, or neoplastic diseases. Mortality from P. aeruginosa has been reduced as the result of such therapeutic agents as mafenide acetate and silver salts which inhibit bacterial colonization of the burn wound surface, potent antibiotics for treating bacteremia, and barrier isolation to minimize contact of the patient with hospital flora. Such agents, however, have only proved partially successful in controlling the morbidity and mortality associated with Pseudomonas infections.
Recently, researchers have found that specific antibodies constitute a critical immunologic defense mechanism against Pseudomonas disease; therefore, vaccines have been administered to patients in attempts to increase antibody titers in the patients. No non-toxic vaccines have been found to date which are particularly effective against the pathogen.
It is not yet clear what components of P. aeruginosa are responsible for its virulence. Many different types of infections are recognized, from acute localized eye infections and chronic lung infections to generalized systemic infections and septicemia. Several lines of evidence, however, suggest that lipopolysaccharide (endotoxin) (LPS) contributes substantially as a pathogenic factor. These include the toxic nature of P. aeruginosa LPS (Pennington et al., Am. J. Med., 58, 629-636 (1975)), and the fact that circulating D antibodies to LPS are shown to prevent or attenuate some of the adverse effects of LPS in experimental models (Cryz et al., Infect. Immun., 40, 659-664 (1983); Young et al., J. Clin. Invest., 56, 850-861 (1975)). Pollack et al., J. Clin. Invest., 63, 276-286 (1979) concluded from their studies that serum antibodies to LPS found in most patients with P. aeruginosa septicemia were correlated with patient recovery.
Numerous studies have indicated that immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody to LPS is protective in experimentally infected animals (Cryz et al., supra; Moody et al., Infect. Immun., 21, 905-913 (1978)), and more so when combined with an antibiotic (Cryz et al., supra). A heptavalent vaccine containing LPS of the seven Fisher-Devlin-Gnabasik immunotypes of P. aeruginosa (Fisher et al., J. Bacteriol., 98, 833-836 (1969)) was found to be effective in inducing antibodies in humans. See Kohler and White, J. Infect. Dis., 136, 112-116 (1977). Attempts to immunize patients at high risk of P. aeruginosa infection with this vaccine, however, have been only moderately successful due in part to the potent endotoxin activity of LPS. Local and systemic adverse reactions to endotoxin, including fever, malaise, and pain at the site of injection, can limit vaccine dosage. See Pennington et al., supra.
Collins et al., J. of Trauma, 23, 530-534 (1983) disclose a test of a commercially available human IgG in burned mice for activity against the seven immunotypes of P. aeruginosa and an additional strain. The human IgG was not effective against imaunotypes 5 and 6 but was protective against immunotypes 1-4 and 7. In addition, Cryz et al., Infect. Immun., 39, 1072 (1983) and Sawada et al., J. Infect. Dis., 150, 570 (1984) disclose work suggesting that type-specific anti-P. aeruginosa antisera and mouse monoclonal antibodies can reduce the lethality of these bacteria in the burned mouse model. Hancock et al., Infect. Immun., 37, 166-71 (1982), Mackie et al., J. Immunol., 129, 829-32 (1982) and EP 101,039 also disclose monoclonal antibodies against P. aeruginosa.
There is a need to develop human monoclonal antibodies for passive immunotherapy of patients infected with P. aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa type-specific human monoclonal antibodies, their preparation and use


A communication host and a photovoltaic power generation system are provided. The communication host includes an acquiring module, a determining module and a control module. The acquiring module is configured to acquire an operating state parameter of the system. The determining module is configured to determine whether the optimizer meets a first preset triggering condition based on the operating state parameter. In a case where the optimizer meets the first preset triggering condition, a first triggering instruction is transmitted, to instruct the system to decrease, in response to the first triggering instruction, the direct current bus voltage of the grid-connected inverter, and/or a second triggering instruction is transmitted, to instruct the system to increase, in response to the second triggering instruction, an output voltage limiting value of at least one of the optimizers meeting the first preset triggering condition.

With the continuous development of science and technology, photovoltaic power generation systems are developed rapidly. Generally, in a current photovoltaic power generation system, multiple photovoltaic modules are connected in series to form a photovoltaic string, and photovoltaic strings are connected in parallel to form a photovoltaic array. An inverter converts a direct current (DC) into an alternating current (AC) by performing maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control on the photovoltaic string or the photovoltaic array, and transmits the AC to the power grid.
For conventional photovoltaic power generation systems, a centralized photovoltaic power generation system usually performs MPPT on only one path, and both a string-type photovoltaic power generation system and a distributed photovoltaic power generation system perform MPPT on multiple paths. However, series mismatch and parallel mismatch among modules may be caused due to factors such as shadow occlusion and differences between module parameters, thereby resulting in a loss in a power generation capacity.
At present, in order to solve the series mismatch and parallel mismatch among the photovoltaic modules, each of the photovoltaic modules is generally provided with an optimizer having a module-level MPPT function. As shown in FIG. 1, multiple optimizers are connected in series to form an optimizer set, and multiple optimizer sets are connected in parallel to a DC input terminal of a grid-connected inverter.
However, it is found by the inventor that with the optimizers having such structure, in order to ensure that the inverter operates in an optimal operating range, the DC bus voltage of the grid-connected inverter is usually controlled to be a constant value. In a case where there is a great difference between maximum powers of photovoltaic panels in the same optimizer set (in a case where the photovoltaic panels are uniformly shielded by leaves, dark clouds and the like), the maximum power generation capacity of the system cannot be achieved with the conventional solution.
Therefore, a technical issue to be solved urgently by those skilled in the art is to provide a photovoltaic power generation system, such that the maximum power generation capacity of the photovoltaic power generation system can be achieved.

Communication host and photovoltaic power generation system


A plate comprises a planar central region with a perimeter and a lip with first and second sections, each including two ends. A first end of the first section extends from the perimeter up and away from the planar central region, and a first of the second section extends from a second of the two ends of the first section down and away from the planar central region. A plate comprises circular, mid and end regions. The mid-region protrudes from an outer edge of the circular region in a first direction away therefrom. The end-region protrudes from an outer edge of the mid-region in an opposite direction and away therefrom. The mid and end-regions include openings. A plate comprises a first area and a rim surrounding the first area. The rim has walls which intersect. Each of the walls is either straight or concave. Both of the walls includes openings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a top down view 100 of a prior art plate 102. FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view 200 of the plate 102 along line A-A of FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, the plate 102 rests on a surface 202 such as a table. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the plate 102 includes a circular planar surface 104 having a radius 106. The planar surface 104 has a top side 108 which is configured to support a food product, and a bottom side 110 which is configured to rest on the surface 202. The top and bottom sides 108 and 110 are on opposite sides of the plate 102.
The plate 102 further includes a lip 112. The lip 112 includes a first convex section 114 protruding up and outward from the top side 108 of the planar surface 104 in a direction away from the planar surface 104 and having a first length 116. The lip 112 further includes a second convex section 118 extending from a free end of the first section 114 and having a second length 120. The second section 118 slopes downward and away from the planar surface 104. In other examples, the second convex section 118 extends parallel to the planar surface 104 or is omitted.
FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view 300 of the plate 102 along line B-B of FIG. 1 in connection with wind 302. In this example, the wind 302 flows towards the plate 102 with laminar flow. In FIG. 4, a first component 402 of the wind 302 strikes the second convex section 118 of the lip 112, exerting a first force (F1), which has both a horizontal component (F1h) and a downward vertical component (F1v). A second component 404 of the wind 302 traversing over the lip 112 causes pressure reduction above the lip 112, which results in a second force or upward vertical force (F2v) on the lip 112.
A third component 406 of the wind 302 strikes the inside of the first convex section 114 under the lip 112, exerting a third force (F3), which has both a horizontal component (F3h) and an upward vertical component (F3v). The third component 406 of the wind 302, unlike the first and second components 402 and 404, is trapped under the lip 112, which increases a pressure under the lip 112, causing a fourth force or upward vertical force (F4v). A fifth force includes a static or frictional force (Fs) between the bottom 110 of the plate 102 and the surface 202.
If the sum of the upward vertical forces is greater than the sum of the downward vertical forces, the plate 102 will lift off the surface 103. Furthermore, if the sum of the horizontal forces is greater than the static force, the plate 102 will slide across the surface 103 in the direction of the wind 302. As such, the plate 102 may only slide or only lift, or the plate 102 may concurrently slide and lift, depending on the forces. Unfortunately, such forces may result in plate 102 "flying" away and/or inadvertent expulsion of any food that was supported on the plate 102, e.g., due to the plate tipping, flipping, sliding, etc.


Histogram construction and selectivity estimation for string and substring match queries in databases of data having strings associated with attributes. The histogram construction counts string-attribute pairs in the documents, and outputs string-attribute-count triples sorted by count. The collection is partitioned into buckets. A synopsis is generated for the partition, having an average selectivity or count of the string-attribute-count triples in the partition and summary information representing the set of string-attribute pairs belonging to the bucket. Subsequent queries, both for exact and substring matches, use the synopsis to estimate the selectivity of buckets.

XML is an example of a database of strings associated with attributes, and in native database management systems ("DBMSs") of, for example, XML documents, the documents are stored as trees and queries are processed using either indexes or tree traversals. Nodes in a XML tree are often located using paths.
A path is a sequence of tag names that specify a navigational trajectory to a set of nodes in the XML tree. A rooted path is one that begins at the root node of the XML tree. For efficient processing, complex path expressions in XML queries are often preprocessed into a set of candidate (path, pred) pairs, where "path" is a linear rooted path and "pred" is a string predicate on the leaf value reachable via path. Consequently, an XML query (such as XQuery) can be mapped to several retrieval operations using (path, pred) pairs. These retrieval operations using (path, pred) pairs form the set of basic query processing operators. Accurate estimation of the selectivity of such (path, pred) pairs is therefore crucial for choosing an optimal execution plan in cost-based query optimization. Previous work on XML selectivity estimation has focused mainly on the tag-labeled paths (tree structure) of the XML data. Examples of this previous work are: A. Aboulnaga, et al., "Estimating the selectivity of XML path expressions for internet scale applications," VLDB 2001, pp. 591-600, (2001), N. Polyzotis, et al., "Statistical synopses for graph-structured XML databases," SIGMOD 2002, pp. 358-369, (2002).
However, for most actually existing attribute-string databases, such as XML, the number of distinct string values at the leaf nodes is orders of magnitude larger than the set of distinct rooted tag paths. A significant challenge therefore exists in accurately estimating the selectivity of string predicates on the leaf values reachable via a given path.
Using XML as an example, the XML string selectivity estimation problem is defined as follows: Given a (path, pred) query, where pred is a string predicate, estimate the number of nodes in the XML data that are reachable by path and whose associated string values satisfy the string predicate pred. Examples of queries with different string predicates include exact match queries and substring queries. An exact match query is specified by a (path, string) pair and retrieves all nodes reachable via path whose string value matches the query string exactly. A substring query is specified by a (path, substring) pair and retrieves all nodes reachable via path whose string value contains substring.
The present invention provides a novel method for collecting and maintaining statistics to support selectivity estimation for both exact/full string match queries and substring match queries of any database of documents arranged data strings associated with any number of attributes. In the case of XML, the data consists of path-string pairs, where each string is associated with exactly one attribute that is a path. In other cases, each string can be associated with any number (including zero) of attributes.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Classification-based method and apparatus for string selectivity estimation

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention provides a process that enables a substituted methylamine compound which is useful as an intermediate for the production of agricultural chemicals and medicines, to be produced easily, with good yield, and at low cost, and also provides a production intermediate thereof. The process comprises a step of reacting a hexamethylenetetraammonium salt compound represented by a formula (I) with a base to obtain an N-methylidene-substituted methylamine oligomer represented by a formula (II) or a mixture of two or more of the oligomers, and a step of hydrolyzing the N-methylidene-substituted methylamine oligomer represented by formula (II) or the mixture of two or more of the oligomers in the presence of an acid.

Substituted methylamine compounds, including pyridylmethylamine compounds such as 2-chloro-5-pyridylmethylamine, are useful as intermediates for the production of agricultural chemicals and medicines.
Conventionally, known processes for producing pyridylmethylamine compounds include a process in which 2-chloro-5-chloromethylpyridine is reacted with potassium phthalimide to obtain N-(2-chloro-5-pyridylmethyl)phthalimide, which is subsequently reacted with hydrazine (see Patent Document 1), a process in which 2-chloro-5-(chloromethyl)pyridine is reacted with hexamethylenetetramine to obtain 2-chloro-5-pyridylmethylhexamethylenetetraanunonium chloride, and a hydrolysis is subsequently performed in the presence of a lower alcohol and a mineral acid (see Patent Document 2), and a process in which 2-chloro-5-pyridylmethylhexamethylenetetraammonium chloride is hydrolyzed using water or alkaline water to generate N-methylidene-2-chloro-5-pyridylmethylamine, which is subsequently isolated and then hydrolyzed in an acid (see Patent Document 3).
However, none of these production processes can be claimed to be entirely satisfactory from an industrial perspective. Namely, the first process requires the use of the comparatively expensive potassium phthalimide as a raw material, meaning the process is undesirable from an economic perspective. Further, because an operation is required to remove phthalazine from the hydrazine reaction mixture, the post-processing operation tends to be complex. In the case of the second process, the amount of solvent used in the reaction is large, and a large amount of comparatively expensive hexamethylenetetramine must also be used, and therefore the process is undesirable from an economic perspective. Further, in this process, because the generated 2-chloro-5-pyridylmethylhexamethylenetetraammonium chloride must be first isolated, before being subjected to hydrolysis, a problem arises in that the operation is overly complex. In the third process, a problem arises in that the isolated N-methylidene-2-chloro-5-pyridinemethylamine is unstable and difficult to handle.
[Patent Document 1]
(West) German Pat. No. 3,727,126
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 3-271273
[Patent Document 3]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 8-295670

Process for producing substituted methylamine compound and triazine derivative

Abstract: (wherein A represents an organic group that is either a hydrocarbon group or a heterocyclic group, or said organic group that has a substituent, R represents a hydrogen atom, an organic group that is either a hydrocarbon group or a heterocyclic group, or said organic group that has a substituent, L represents a halogen atom and the like, and n represents an integer of 2 to 20)


A new structure is disclosed for source/drain bit lines in arrays of MOSFET devices. Rows of conducting regions are formed by ion implantation through openings adjacent to gate structures and in isolation regions separating columns of active areas of the arrays. The openings are filled with insulating material.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to semiconductor integrated circuit technology and more particularly to split gate memory cells used in flash EPROMs (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory).
(2) Description of Prior Art
Increased performance in computers is often directly related to a higher level of circuit integration. Tolerances play an important role in the ability to shrink dimensions on a chip. Self-alignment of components in a device serves to reduce tolerances and thus improve the packing density of chips. Other techniques can be important in shrinking device size. A method is disclosed later in the embodiments of the present invention of forming self-aligned source and drain regions through which a significant reduction in the split-gate flash memory cell area is possible. As is well known in the art, a split-gate flash memory cell normally has source and drain regions that are contacted by utilizing poly plugs. Insulating layers are required as spacers to separate these poly plugs from the floating gates and control gates of the cell, and this uses up area. Furthermore, because of the high voltages required in the erase operation the spacer width cannot be decreased without paying a penalty in reduced reliability. Elimination of the poly plugs, as in the method disclosed by the present invention, eliminates the reliability issue, allows a reduction in cell area and facilitates shrinking the cell size.
A method of fabricating a traditional split gate flash memory cell is presented in FIGS. 1a-1f, where top views of the cell are presented at successive stages of the process and in FIGS. 2a-2f, which show the corresponding cross-sections. Active regions, 10, are defined on a semiconductor substrate, 2, which preferably is a silicon substrate, using isolating regions, such as shallow trench isolation regions, 4. An implant is performed to adjust the cell threshold voltage, which may be a boron implant at about 20 keV to a dose of about 5E11 per sq. cm. The floating gate oxide, 6, is then formed to a thickness of about 150 Angstroms, followed by deposition of a poly 1 layer, 8, to a depth of about 800 Angstroms. A photoresist layer is formed and patterned to partially define the poly 1 floating gates, and after a poly 1 etch, to achieve the shape of region 8 as shown in FIG. 1a, and removal of the photoresist, the structure is as depicted in FIGS. 1a and 2a. The traditional method continues with formation of a dielectric separator between the poly 1 floating gate and poly 2 control gate that is disposed over the dielectric separator. This dielectric separator often consists of composite oxide/nitride/oxide (ONO) layers, with the layer thickness being about 75, 150, 30 Angstroms, respectively. There follows a deposition of about 1000 Angstroms of poly 2 and then about 1500 Angstroms of nitride 1. A photoresist layer is formed and patterned to define the control gates. Etching the nitride layer, the poly 2 layer and the ONO layer and then removing the photoresist results in the structure depicted in FIGS. 1b and 2b. The ONO layer, 54, provides dielectric separation between the poly 2 layer, 12, which acts as a control gate or transfer gate, and the poly 1 floating gate. The nitride 1 layer, 14, is required for dielectric separation between poly 2 and subsequent poly layers. A photoresist layer is formed and patterned, 18, to define source/drain openings, poly 1 is etched and source/drain implantation performed to create source/drain regions 16. Often arsenic ions are used for the source/drain implantation, at energy of about 50 keV to a dose of about 3E15 per sq. cm. After removal of the photoresist, 18, about 500 Angstrom of high temperature oxide (HTO) is formed and etched to create HTO spacers, 20. Next, about 1500 Angstroms of poly 3 is deposited and etched back to form poly plugs, 22, to contact the source drain regions, 16. The structure is at this stage as depicted in FIGS. 1d and 2d. Spacers 20 serve to isolate poly plugs, 22, from poly 1 regions, 8, and poly 2 regions, 12. For this isolation to be reliable the spacers must be sufficiently wide, posing a restriction on shrinkage of the cell. A photoresist layer is formed and patterned, 24, to define the erasing gate regions. Poly 3 and poly 1 of the exposed regions are etched. The structure of the floating gates 30 is now complete. An implant, often BF2 at about 60 keV to a dose of about 1E13 per sq. cm. , is performed to adjust the erasing gate threshold voltage and the exposed floating gate oxide, 6, is etched. At this point the structure is as depicted in FIGS. 1e and 2e. Following photoresist removal, about 250 Angstroms of erasing gate oxide, 26, is formed. Next the erasing gate, 28, is formed. This is accomplished by depositing about 1500 Angstroms of poly 4, forming and defining a photoresist layer for the erasing gate, etching the poly 4 and removing the photoresist. This completes the formation of a traditional split gate flash memory cell, which is shown in FIGS. 1f and 2f.
There are three basic operations used in a split gate flash memory cell. These are the program operation, the erase operation and the read operation, which are shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b, FIGS. 4a and 4b, and FIGS. 5a and 5b, respectively. In the programming operation electrons are injected into a particular floating gate or bit, and the selection of the bit involves an erasing gate line acting as a word line and a drain line acting as a bit line. The programming process, the process of charging the floating gates, is shown in FIG. 3a. Voltages applied to control gate, 36, erasing gate, 28, and transfer gate, 36, form an n-channel. The voltage applied to the drain, 32, is sufficiently higher than that applied to the source, 34, so that channel electrons in the vicinity of the selected floating gate, 40, have been heated significantly. A higher voltage applied to the control gate, 36, causes an enhanced injection of the heated electrons into the floating gate, 40, which charges the floating gate. Selection of the programmed bit is illustrated in FIG. 3b. Successive erasing gate or word lines, 44, 28 and 46 have 0, 2 and 0 volts applied respectively. Only with cell 40 are the two necessary conditions for programming satisfied. It is along word line 28 with 2 volts applied, so a continuous channel is established between source and drain so that channel electrons can be heated by the source-drain potential difference. In addition, there is a higher voltage applied to its control gate to enhance injection of the heated channel electrons. Thus only bit 40 will be programmed. Other cells, 42, are not selected because either channel electrons are not heated, or there is no higher voltage applied to a control gate to facilitate electron injection into the corresponding floating gate or both conditions are absent. In the erase operation, shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b, a high voltage, sufficient to cause Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling through the poly-to-poly oxide between adjacent erasing and floating gates, is applied to an erasing gate word line, 28. All other voltages are maintained at 0 volts so that all floating gates along the biased word line, 40 in FIG. 4b, are selected, while cells 42, along unbiased word lines, such as 44 and 48, are not selected. The high erasing gate voltage required, achieving sufficient F-N tunneling, could present reliability issues due to high oxide stress. The read operation, in which the bit to be read is selected by a word line and a bit line, is shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b and determines if the selected bit is in the programmed state or in the erased state. With the source, 34, at 0 volts, 1.5 volts are applied to the drain line, 32, acting as the bit line, of the selected cell, 40, and 2 volts are applied to the erasing gate line, 28, acting as the word line of the selected cell, 40. There is 6 volts applied to transfer gates, 38 and 1.5 volts to control gates, 36. When the selected cell is in the programmed state a channel does not form under the selected cell and the drain current is low. On the other hand, when the selected cell is in the erased state a channel does form under the selected cell and there is thus a complete channel from source to drain and a large drain current is observed.
A method of forming polysilicon gate tips for enhanced F-N tunneling in split-gate flash memory cells is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,733 to Sung et al. A method for shrinking array dimensions of split-gate memory devices, using multilayer etching to define cell and source lines, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,503 to Hsieh et al. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,126 to Hsieh et al. there is disclosed a split-gate flash memory cell where the floating gate of the cell is self aligned to isolation to source and to word line. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,695 to Hsieh et al. there is disclosed a split-gate flash memory cell where the floating gate of the cell is self aligned to the control gate and the source is self aligned.
It is a primary objective of the invention to provide a method of forming self-aligned source and drain regions through which a significant reduction in the split-gate flash memory cell area is possible. As is well known in the art, a split-gate flash memory cell normally has source and drain regions that are contacted by utilizing poly plugs. Insulating layers are required as spacers to separate these poly plugs from the floating gates and control gates of the cell, and this uses up area. Furthermore, because of the high voltages required in the erase operation the spacer width cannot be decreased without paying a penalty in reduced reliability. Elimination of the poly plugs, as in the method disclosed by the present invention, eliminates the reliability issue, allows a reduction in cell area and facilitates shrinking the cell size. Instead of poly plugs, a new self-aligned source/drain oxide etching procedure enables the formation of source/drain regions that are connected in rows directly within the silicon. This procedure of connecting source/drains is generally applicable to arrays of MOSFET-like devices.
A new structure is disclosed for source/drain bit lines in arrays of MOSFET devices. Rows of conducting regions are formed by ion implantation through openings adjacent to gate structures and in isolation regions separating columns of active areas of the arrays. The openings are filled with insulating material.

Method to fabricate self-aligned source and drain in split gate flash

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company


A first interface for reading image data of an anatomical region obtained by means of a medical imaging method is provided. A modeling module serves for establishing a volumetric biomechanical structure model of the anatomical region on the basis of the image data. Moreover, provision is made of a tracking module, couplable with a camera, for video-based registration of spatial gestures of a user. Furthermore, a simulation module, based on the biomechanical structure model, serves to assign a registered gesture to a simulated mechanical effect on the anatomical region, simulate a mechanical reaction of the anatomical region to the simulated mechanical effect, and modify the biomechanical structure model in accordance with the simulated mechanical reaction. Moreover, provision is made for a visualization module for the volumetric visualization of the biomechanical structure model.

In clinical practice, surgical interventions are generally planned on the basis of medical image recordings in combination with recommendations from clinical guidelines. However, a substantial portion of the planning and the success of an intervention can be apportioned to the experience of the performing surgeon or surgeons. Many interventions, such as e.g. heart valve repairs, especially require good planning, experience and surgical skill. It is therefore a goal worth striving for to assist the surgeon when planning and training interventions to the best possible extent.
The practice of using decision assistance systems for planning surgical interventions, which decision assistance systems are based on a simulation of physiological structures and functions, such as e.g. of a heart valve, by means of a biomechanical model, are known. By way of example, such biomechanical simulations of heart valves are known from documents U.S. 2010/0240996 A1 and U.S. 2012/0232386 A1. By way of such simulations, it is possible to estimate an effect of a surgical intervention and this can be used to plan the intervention. However, use of such simulation tools generally requires a complicated induction due to the complexity thereof
Furthermore, the practice of recording a real surgical intervention by way of a camera fastened to the head of the surgeon and transmitting the resulting video stream to observers, who can therefore follow the intervention from the view of the performing surgeon, for the purposes of training in surgical interventions is known from, for example, the website http://www.surgevry.com by Surgevry. However, this only allows the observers to have passive training of the intervention.

Device and method for the computer-assisted simulation of surgical interventions


A novel glucopyranoside, 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside of the formula 1

The present invention relates to a novel glucopyranoside, 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside of the formula 1
The present invention also relates to a process for the isolation of said novel glucopyranoside of formula 1 from Pterocarpus marsupium.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a process of isolation of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside of formula 1, from Pterocarpus marsupium. The present invention also relates to a pharmaceutical composition containing 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside of the formula 1 and to method for the treatment of diabetes using said compound of formula 1.
Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb (Leguminosae) also known as Indian Kino tree or Bijasar, is common in the hilly regions of central and peninsular India [Jain, S. K., Medicinal Plants, National Book Trust, New Delhi, 1968, p. 116]. The extracts of leaves, flowers and gum of this tree have been used medicinally in the treatment of diarrhea, toothache, fever, urinary tract and skin infections. [Chopra, R. N., Chopra, I. C., Handa, K. L. and Kapur, L. D., Indigenous Drugs of India, 2nd Ed., Dhar, U. N. and Sons Private Limited, Calcutta, 1958, p. 522]. The extract of the bark has long been regarded as useful in the therapy of diabetes [Kirtikar, K. R. and Basu, B. D., Indian Medicinal Plants, 2nd Ed., edited by Blatter, E., Cailes, J. F. and Mhaskar, K. S., Singh and Singh, Delhi, India, 1975, V. 2135]. It is reported by Chakravarthy et al [Chakravarthy, B. K., Gupta, S. and Gode, K. D., Lancet, 1982, 272 (and references cited therein)] that the active hypoglycemic principle of the bark is (xe2x88x92)-epicatechin and that its effect is due to the regeneration of pancreatic beta cells. However, this claim has been questioned by Kolb et al [Kolb, H., Kiesel, U., Grenlich, B. and Bosch, J. V. D., Lancet, 1982, 1303] and Sheehan et al [Sheehan, E. W., Zemaitis, M. A., Slatkin, D. J. and Schiff Jr., P. L., Journal of Natural Products, 1983, 46, 232]. It is now felt that further investigation is necessary before (xe2x88x92)-epicatechin can be considered a viable antidiabetic agent for use in human clinical studies.
Practitioners of the Indian System of Medicine are of the view that the heartwood rather than the bark of Pterocarpus marsupium is useful for treatment of diabetic patients and that older the plant more efficacious is its heartwood. It is also claimed that only heartwood that is distinctly red in colour and which imparts a red colouration with bluish green fluorescence to water in which it is kept soaked is suitable for use as an antidiabetic drug.
Hypoglycaemic effects of aqueous or alcoholic extracts of heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium have been verified by experimental [Shah, D. S., Indian Journal of Medical Research, 1967, 55, 166 and references cited therein; Gupta, S. S., Indian Journal of Medical Research, 1963, 51, 716] and clinical studies [Sepha, G. C. and Bose, S. N., J. Ind. Med. Assoc., 1956, 27, 383; Kedar, P. and Chakrabarti, C. H., Maharashtra Med. J., 1981, 28, 165]. The heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium is rich in phenolics. Chemical investigation on heartwood of P. marsupium dates back to 1946 but early works [Bhargava, P. N., Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1946, 24A, 496] on this drug are fragmentary in nature. Previous reported studies on this plant disclose the following chemical constituents.
1. The ether extract of P. marsupium heartwood furnished isoflavonoid glycol 4,4-dihydroxy-xcex1-methylhydrobenzoin designated Marsupol [Rao, A. V. S., Mathew, J., Phytochemistry, 1982, 21, 1837], a benzofurannone derivative, 2,4xe2x80x2,6-trihydroxy-4-methoxybenzo(b)furan-3(2H)-one designated carpusin [Mathew, J. and Rao, A. V. S., Phytochemistry, 1983, 22, 794], 2-propanol derivative, 1,3-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propan-2-ol, designated propterol [Rao, A. V. S., Mathew, J. and Shankaran, A. V. B., Phytochemistry, 1984, 23, 897], 1-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propan-2-ol designated propterol B [Mathew, J., Rao, A. V. S. and Rambhav, S. Current Science, 1984, 53, 576], 6-hydroxy-7-O-methyl-3-(3-hydroxy-4-O-methyl benzyl)chroman-4-one [Jain, S. C., Sharma, S. K., Kumar, R., Rajwansh, V. K. and Babu, V. R., Phytochemistry, 1997, 44, 765].
2. Ethyl acetate soluble fraction of alcoholic extract of the heartwood furnished pterosupin xcex2,2xe2x80x2,4,4xe2x80x2-tetrahydroxy-3xe2x80x2(c-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside)dihydrochalcone [Adinarayana, D., Syamsundar, K. V., Seligmann, O., and wagner, H., (Z. Naturforsch., 1982, 37C, 145)], Marsupinol [Trivedi, J. J., Indian J. Phys. Pharmacol, 1997, 15, 51], 5,4xe2x80x2-dimethoxy-8-methylisoflavone-7-O-xcex1-L-rhamnopyranoside, retusin-O-xcex2-D glucopyranoside and irisolidine-7-O-xcex1-L-rhamnopyranoside [Mitra, J. and Joshi, T., Phytochemistry, 1982, 21, 2429] and 5,7xe2x80x2-dihydroxy-6-methoxy-7-O-xcex1-L-rhamnopyranoside [Mitra, J. and Joshi, T., Phytochemistry, 1983, 22, 2326] obtained from the ethyl acetate soluble fraction of alcoholic extract of the heartwood.
3. Novel benzofuranone derivative, 2,6-dihydroxy-2-(p-hydroxybenzyl)-4-methoxy-3(2H)-benzofuranone designated marsupin [Maurya, R., Ray, A. B., Duah, F. K., Slatkin, D. J. and Schiff, P. L. Jr., Heterocycles, 1982, 19, 2103], pterostilbin, (2S)-hydroxyflavone, isoliquiritigenin, liquiritigenin, 7,4xe2x80x2-dihydroxyflavone, 5-deoxykaempferol and 3,7,4xe2x80x2-trihydroxyflavone [Maurya, R., Ray, A. B. Duah, F. K., Slatkin, D. J. and Schiff, P. L. Jr., J. Nat. Prod. 1984, 47, 179], two C-glycosides, 8-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranosyl-3,7,4xe2x80x2-trihydroxy and 3,7,3xe2x80x2,4xe2x80x2-tetrahydroxy flavone and 3xe2x80x2-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranosyl-xcex1-hydroxy dihydrochalcone [Bezuidenhoudt, B. C. B., Brandt, E. V., and Ferreira, E. V., Phytochemistry, 1987, 26, 531] from ethyl acetate extract of defatted heartwood.
However, the prior art does not provide any details about the biological activities associated with such chemical constituents. Also prior art discloses only preparation of ether extract, ethyl acetate extract and ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the alcoholic extract but does not disclose any method of preparing water extracts of heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium and attempting to isolate any chemical constituents therefrom.
The main object of the invention is to accordingly prepare water extracts of the heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium and to obtain chemical constituents therefrom.
It is another object of the invention to obtain novel bioactive fractions from water extracts of heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium which are useful in treatment of diabetes.
The above and other objects of the invention are achieved by partitioning an aqueous extract of powdered heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium with different organic solvents. The novel bioactive fraction, 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside is isolated from the polar fraction by choromatographic techniques and is found to show hypoglycaemic activity. There is no disclosure in the prior art of this compound since work had been done in the art on the ether extract, ethyl acetate extract and ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the alcoholic extract.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a novel glucopyranoside 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside of formula 1 where R is H or COCH3
The present invention also provides a process for the isolation of 6hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside of the formula 1 which comprises:
(a) powdering the heartwood of the plant Pterocarpus marsupium,
(b) extracting the powdered plant material with a protic solvent,
(c) concentrating the extract to minimum volume and partitioning with different organic solvents of increasing polarity to remove non-polar components, extracting the aqueous layer with polar solvent, removing the solvent to get the residue,
(d) isolating 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside from the residue.
In one embodiment of the invention, the protic solvent used for preparing the extract in step (b) is selected from the group consisting of water, methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol and any mixture thereof.
In another embodiment of the invention, the organic solvents used in step (c) comprise solvents of increasing polarity containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms in the molecule.
In another embodiment of the invention, the organic solvents of increasing polarity used in step (c) to remove the nonrpolar components comprise hexane, chloroform, methanol and ethanol in that order.
In another embodiment of the invention the organic solvents of increasing polarity used to extract the aqueous layer comprise hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol in that order.
In another embodiment of the invention the organic solvents of increasing polarity used to extract the aqueous layer comprise hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, propanol and n-butanol in that order.
In another embodiment of the invention, the chromatographic methods used for the isolation of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside is selected from MPLC, HPLC and flash chromatography.
The present invention also provides a pharmaceutical composition containing a pharmaceutically effective amount of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside of formula 1 in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
In one embodiment of the invention, the amount of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside in said composition is in the range of 0.5 mg to 15 mg per kg of body weight of the patient.
The invention also relates to a method for the treatment of diabetes comprising administering a pharmaceutically effective amount of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofiuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside to a patient.
In one embodiment of the invention, the amount of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside in said composition is in the range of 0.5 mg to 15 mg per kg of body weight of the patient.
The present invention also relates to the use of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside in the preparation of a pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of diabetes.
In one embodiment of the invention, the amount of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside in said composition is in the range of 0.5 mg to 15 mg per kg of body weight of the patient.
The present invention provides a process for the isolation of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside which comprises:
(a) powdering the heartwood of the plant Pterocarpus marsupium,
(b) extracting the powdered plant material so prepared with a protic solvent,
(c) concentrating the aqueous extract to minimum volume and partitioning with organic solvents of increasing polarity to remove non-polar components, extracting the aqueous layer with polar solvent, removing the solvent to get the residue;
(d) isolating the 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside from residue.
The solvent used for preparing the extract may be water, methanol, ethanol, propanol and butanol and like or their mixtures. The organic solvent used in step (c) to remove the non-polar components is selected from hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol, ethanol, propanol, n-butanol and chloroform. The polar solvent used to extract the aqueous layer is selected from ethyl acetate, propanol, butanol and a mixture thereof. The chromatographic methods used for the isolation of methanol, ethanol, propanol may be MPLC, flash chromatography etc.
In the MPLC method the required eluting solvent is pumped through the column and in the flash chromatography solvent is pushed with air pressure. The compound of the invention was recrystallised from a mixture of ethyl acetate and methanol, mp 117-118xc2x0 C., [xcex1]D19+9.15xc2x0 (MeOH, c, 0.295), showed UV maxima at 242, 253 and 284 nm in methanol. The molecular formula of the compound was established as C21H22O8 on the basis of strong peak at m/z 402 [M]+ in the FAB mass spectrum, together with the support of spectroscopic methods.
The compound 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside was isolated from the n-butanol soluble fraction of the water decoction of the heartwood of P. marsupium which has shown antidiabetic activity in both humans and animals. There is no disclosure in the prior art of this compound since work had been done in the art on the ether extract, ethyl acetate extract and ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the alcoholic extract.
The process of isolating active principle from Pterocarpus marsupium comprises partition of the aqueous extract of powdered heartwood with different organic solvents containing 1-6 carbon atoms in the molecule. 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside of formula 1 is isolated from polar fraction by applying modern chromatographic techniques such as medium pressure liquid chromatography (MPLC), high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and flash chromatography using silica gel (230-400 mesh) and shows hypoglycaemic activity.
The 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside isolated from Pterocarpus marsupium possesses anti-diabetic activity.
The chromatographic methods used for the isolation of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside may be MPLC, flash chromatography etc. In the MPLC method the solvent is pumped through the column and in the flash chromatography is pushed with air pressure. The IR spectrum revealed absorptions at 3300 for hydroxyls, 1600, 1584, 1512 cmxe2x88x921 for aromatic ring. The 1H and 13C NMR spectra exhibited two sets of multiplets for aromatic protons centered at xcex47.18 (H-5,3xe2x80x2,5xe2x80x2) and 6.70 (H-4,2xe2x80x2,6xe2x80x2), one furan proton singled at xcex46.27 (H-3), xcex4C 102.9, a singlet for one benzylic methylene group, at xcex43.65, xcex4C 34.2 and multiplet at xcex43.00-5.00 for sugar protons. The spectral data suggest that the compound of the invention is a benzofuran C-glucoside containing one phenolic hydroxy group in ring xe2x80x94C. On acetylation the compound of the invention furnished hexa-acetate where in formula 1 R is acetyl, recrystallised from methanol, mp 80-81xc2x0 C., [xcex1]D19xe2x88x9285.40xc2x0 (CHCl3, c, 0.185), showed UV maxima at 248, 252; 278, 286 nm in chloroform. IR in KBr 1725, 1600, 1580, 1385 cmxe2x88x921, the molecular formula of the hexaacetate being C33H34O14, m/z 655[M+1}+. The 1H and 13C NMR spectra indicated the presence of four singlets for sugar acetate groups at xcex42.17, 2.16, 2.09, and 2.08, two singlets for aromatic acetate groups at xcex42.42, and 2.35, one singlet for bynzylic methylene group at xcex44.16, xcex4C 34.3, one singlet for furan proton at xcex46.38, xcex4C 103.4, two ortho coupled aromatic protons at xcex47.46 (1H, d, J=8.4 Hz), and 6.92 (1H, d, J=8.4 Hz), one A2B2 aromatic system at xcex47.36 (2H, d, J=8.3 Hz) and 7.10 (2H, d, J=8.3 Hz). The anomeric proton of sugar appeared at xcex45.02 (1H, d, J=9.9 Hz), xcex4C 74.5, indicating it to have the xcex2-configuration on the basis of chemical shift and coupling constant [Roberts J. D., Weigert, F. J., Kroschwitz, J. I. and Reich, H. J., J. Am. Chem.Soc., 1970, 92, 1338]. Further methine protons of sugar appeared at xcex45.73 (1H, d, J=9.3 Hz), 5.42 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz) and 5.28 (1H, d, J=9.4 Hz). Coupling constants for the methine protons H-1xe2x80x3 to H-5xe2x80x3 of the hexose showed an all trans-axial relationship and together with the methylene (H-6xe2x80x3) resonances confirmed the identity of sugar as xcex2-D-glucose. Further the carbon chemical shifts of the glucose moiety were congruent with those of C-xcex2-D-glucopyranosyl residue [Ikeya, Y., Sugama, K., and Maruno, M., Chemistry and Pharmacology Bulletin, 1994, 42, 2305] and HMBC spectra indicated it is linked to aglycone at C-7. On the basis of the above spectral data the structure of the compound was established as 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside of the formula 1 where R is hydrogen.
The compound was evaluated for hypoglycaemic activity in 18 hour fasted Wistar rats. In a dose of 15 mg/kg p.o., hypoglycaemic effect was recorded in all the treated rats. The mean fall recorded was 24 mg/100 ml blood, from an initial mean of 91 to mean of 67 mg/100 ml blood. As compared to this, conventional hypoglycaemic agents such as chlorpropamide used as a positive control showed mean fall of 18 mg/100 ml of blood.

Glucopyranoside, process for isolation thereof, pharmaceutical composition containing same and use thereof

Abstract: isolated from Pterocarpus marsupium and to a process for the isolation thereof is disclosed. The invention also relates to a pharmaceutical composition containing 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside and to method for the treatment of diabetes using said compound.

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research


An upper spray arm is mounted to the underside of the upper dish rack of a dishwasher and rotates in response to a jet of water supplied through the lower spray arm. The upper spray arm mounting is provided with a self-aligning bearing which includes a stationary mounting platform attached to the upper dish rack and a flanged, cylindrical bearing connected to the spray arm. An enlarged bore in the mounting platform accommodates the bearing cylinder and permits radial movement of the bearing cylinder relative to the platform. The bearing flange transmits thrust forces to the stationary platform and slides radially relative to the platform to the extent the platform bore is larger than the bearing cylinder. Impetus for radial movement of the bearing and spray arm is produced by a bell shaped receiver located on the underside of the spray arm. An angular wall is presented to the water jet if the jet and arm should be misaligned producing a sidewardly directed force which causes corrective movement of the upper spray arm and attached bearing relative to the stationary mount and upper dish rack.

The present invention is directed to dishwashing appliances, and particularly dishwashers which include upper and lower dish racks and separate spray arms associated with each rack. U.S. Pat. No. 3,180,348, which issued to J. F. Clearman on Apr. 27, 1965 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,762, which issued to Ray W. Spiegel et al on Dec. 17, 1974, both of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention, describe dishwashing appliances which contain dual spray arms, the upper of which is driven by a liquid jet or stream produced by a recirculation pump.
Both of the above patents disclose a dishwasher which contains upper and lower dish racks which may be withdrawn to permit loading. Mounted beneath the lower dish rack is a spray arm which rotates to direct washing liquid, which may be water or water with cleansing agents added, to articles loaded in the lower rack and includes a central aperture through which a jet of liquid is directed toward the upper dish rack.
A rotatable upper spray arm mounted to the upper dish rack receives the jet of washing liquid in a conical receiver which directs the liquid to the upper spray arm. Nozzles spaced along the spray arms are positioned to cause the spray arm assembly to rotate and distribute washing liquid over the dishes.
In order to be efficient, the upper spray arm receiver must be centrally located with respect to the jet of washing liquid produced by the recirculation pump. Misalignment produces unbalanced forces on the upper spray arm and inefficient distribution of washing liquid. Alignment of the upper spray arm and liquid jet has proven difficult to accomplish in the past since it is necessary that the upper dish rack be movable with respect to the dishwasher in order to permit dishes to be conveniently loaded. The above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,180,348 discloses a mechanism for manually adjusting the horizontal position of the upper spray arm with respect to the upper dish rack by manual rotation of an eccentric bearing mounting. It thus has been necessary to provide means which will accurately position the upper rack with respect to the cabinet and also accurately position the upper spray arm with respect to the upper rack. Close tolerance manufacturing and assembly techniques have been necessary to provide the required positional accuracy.
These methods materially increase the manufacturing expenses involved and in addition, have not always proven successful. Factors such as remaining production tolerances, the necessary adjustability of the top rack, distortion of a lower dish rack mounted jet stream directing tower and the position of the lower arm with respect to the cabinet all may still contribute to produce misalignment of the upper spray arm with respect to the jet of washing liquid.


The present invention relates to methods, monitors and systems, useful, for example, for advanced detection of sepsis in a subject.

Early detection of a disease condition typically allows for a more effective therapeutic treatment with a correspondingly more favorable clinical outcome. In many cases, however, early detection of disease symptoms is problematic due to the complexity of the disease; hence, a disease may become relatively advanced before diagnosis is possible. Systemic inflammatory conditions, such as sepsis, severe sepsis, septic shock, multiple organ dysfunction, represent one such class of diseases. These conditions, particularly sepsis, typically, but not always, result from an interaction between a pathogenic microorganism and the host's defense system that triggers an excessive and dysregulated inflammatory response in the host. The complexity of the host's response during the septic response has complicated efforts towards understanding disease pathogenesis (reviewed in Healy, 2002, Ann. Pharmacother. 36:648-54). Early and reliable diagnosis is imperative, however, because of the remarkably rapid progression of sepsis into a life-threatening condition.
Sepsis follows a well-described time course, progressing from systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)-negative to SIRS-positive to sepsis, which may then progress to severe sepsis, septic shock, multiple organ dysfunction (MOD), and ultimately death. Sepsis also may arise in an infected individual when the individual subsequently develops SIRS. "SIRS" is commonly defined as the presence of two or more of the following parameters: body temperature greater than 38° C. or less than 36° C.; heart rate greater than 90 beats per minute; respiratory rate greater than 20 breaths per minute; PCO2 less than 32 mm Hg; and a white blood cell count either less than 4.0×109 cells/L or greater than 12.0×109 cells/L, or having greater than 10% immature band forms. "Sepsis" is commonly defined as SIRS with a confirmed infectious process. "Severe sepsis" is associated with MOD, hypotension, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) or hypoperfusion abnormalities, including lactic acidosis, oliguria, and changes in mental status. "Septic shock" is commonly defined as sepsis-induced hypotension that is resistant to fluid resuscitation with the additional presence of hypoperfusion abnormalities.
Documenting the presence of the pathogenic microorganisms that are clinically significant to sepsis has proven difficult. Causative microorganisms typically are detected by culturing a subject's blood, sputum, urine, wound secretion, in-dwelling line catheter surfaces, etc. Causative microorganisms, however, may reside only in certain body microenvironments such that the particular material that is cultured may not contain the contaminating microorganisms. Detection may be complicated further by low numbers of microorganisms at the site of infection. Low numbers of pathogens in blood present a particular problem for diagnosing sepsis by culturing blood. In one study, for example, positive culture results were obtained in only 17% of subjects presenting clinical manifestations of sepsis (Rangel-Frausto et al., 1995, JAMA 273:117-123). Diagnosis can be further complicated by contamination of samples by non-pathogenic microorganisms. For example, only 12.4% of detected microorganisms were clinically significant in a study of 707 subjects with septicemia (Weinstein et al., 1997, Clinical Infectious Diseases 24:584-602).
The important of early diagnosis of sepsis is reflected by the high morbidity and mortality associated with the disease. Sepsis currently is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States and is especially prevalent among hospitalized subjects in non-coronary intensive care units (ICUs), where it is the most common cause of death. The overall rate of mortality is as high as 35%, with an estimated 750,000 cases per year occurring in the United States alone. The annual cost to treat sepsis in the United States alone is on the order of billions of dollars.
Most existing sepsis scoring systems or predictive models predict only the risk of late-stage complications, including death, in subjects who already are considered septic and do not predict the development of sepsis itself. Often, the diagnosis of sepsis is based on clinical suspicion with an empirical score system such as APACHE II (Knaus et al., 1985, Crit. Care Med. 13:818-829), followed by blood culture. It can take 48 hours or longer to confirm any systemic infections. By then, it is often too late to save some subjects. If detection of sepsis can be made early, prior to manifestation of overt clinical symptoms currently viewed as indicative of a clinically significant infection, treatment can be made available to prevent conversion of a SIRS-positive state into sepsis, or to slow the conversion of sepsis into severe sepsis or septic shock.
A need, therefore, exists for methods of the advanced detection of sepsis using techniques that have satisfactory specificity and sensitivity, sufficiently early to allow effective intervention and prevention.


A materials-processing system based on projection irradiation using a pulsed-laser source is disclosed. The salient features include a novel illumination system containing a homogenizer that produces a self-luminous light beam of selected cross-section, spatially uniform intensity, and selected numerical aperture, as well as a novel high-efficiency, energy-recycling exposure system that provides pulse-duration extension. The output of the pulsed-laser source is shaped, optionally attenuated, and homogenized, and the pulse duration is extended by the illumination system, including beam-shaping optics, homogenizer, and optionally a condenser lens or pulse-extender-plate (PEP). The illumination is imaged either onto the mask, which is in turn imaged onto the substrate, or the illumination is imaged onto the substrate directly. The high-fluence irradiation effects a desired physical change in the material, for example melting and solidification as required in the sequential lateral solidification (SLS) process. Concurrently, the substrate and/or mask are translated, in a manner precisely coordinated with the laser pulses, as dictated by the particular process being conducted. The high efficiency of the illumination system, combined with the ability to shape the homogeneous illumination into a variety of shapes, such as a high-aspect-ratio rectangle, for example, and the pulse-duration extension, renders the system uniquely capable of executing various materials-processing operations, such as SLS, post-doping annealing, and ablation in a high-throughput manner.

(NONE)
(NONE)
(NONE)
(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a materials-processing system for applying controlled pulses of radiation to materials for making physical changes, and more particularly relates to a highly uniform, high-efficiency optical illumination system which is highly controllable in shape, intensity, and pulse duration to achieve high resolution imaging for materials processing.
(2) Description of Related Art
Several techniques have been developed for converting thin amorphous silicon films into polycrystalline films. See Im and Sposili, Materials Research Society Bulletin, 21, 39(3) (1996). This is desirable because better-performing thin-film transistor (TFT) devices can be fabricated from crystalline silicon than from amorphous silicon, and it is not possible to deposit silicon films directly in a high-quality crystalline state. Among the various crystallization techniques, those based on excimer laser irradiation (or pulsed-laser irradiation more generally) are prevalent because they are compatible with substrates that cannot withstand high-temperature processing; the techniques can be applied when the silicon film to be crystallized is deposited on such a substrate. Glass and other substrates that cannot withstand high-temperature processing (e.g., plastics) are required for use in many TFT applications, for example, in displays.
Sequential lateral solidification (SLS) is a particular type of excimer laser crystallization process that can produce previously unavailable large-grained and grain-boundary-location-controlled microstructures in thin silicon films. The technique is well documented; see Sposili and Im, Applied Physics Letters, 69, 2864 (1996); Sposili and Im, Applied Physics A, A67, 273 (1998); Im, Sposili et al., Applied Physics Letters, 70, 3434 (1997); Sposili, Crowder et al., Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 452, 953 (1997); and Im, Crowder et al., Physica Status Solidi A, 166, 603 (1998). Films having these microstructures are superior to the types of random-microstructure polycrystalline silicon produced by other excimer laser crystallization processes (and by non-excimer-laser-based crystallization processes as well) in that the TFTs exhibit a combination of superior electronic performance (e.g., higher carrier mobility) and a high level of device-to-device uniformity. The availability of high-performance TFT devices enables numerous applications, such as integrated active-matrix liquid-crystal displays (IAMLCDs), where the driver circuits and other electronics are integrated directly onto the substrate along with the pixel-controlling transistors, and active-matrix organic light-emitting displays (AMOLEDs), among others.
SLS requires that with each irradiation the silicon film be completely melted in and only in a micron-sized spatially controlled region or regions, and that the film be translated with sub-micron precision in between irradiations such that the lateral crystallization induced by each irradiation overlaps with that produced previously. Various schemes have been proposed for conducting the SLS process, and different approaches exist for effecting the requisite spatial tailoring of the beam. Projection irradiation is a very flexible method, wherein a patterned mask is imaged onto the film in order to define the location and extent of the molten zones. Generally, any projection SLS system would contain the following elements: a pulsed-laser source, typically an excimer laser; an illumination system, including a homogenizer, to provide uniform illumination of the mask; an imaging system to image the mask pattern onto the film, typically at 5:1 or greater reduction, although 1:1 imaging is a possibility; and a high-precision sub-micron sample-translation system.
Such SLS projection systems are similar in many respects to photolithography and ablation systems based on excimer lasers; the basic components listed above are common to all. While the various components and subsystems have the same general purpose for each type of projection system, the requirements of the processes differ and therefore so does the configuration of the subsystems. For example, a system intended for photolithography might require imaging resolution on the order of 1 xcexcm, whereas a resolution of 3-5 xcexcm is usually adequate for SLS. Conversely, SLS has more-stringent requirements than photolithography and ablation in other respects.
An excimer laser projection system designed for SLS requires a high fluence-sufficient to completely melt a silicon film in the exposed region or regions. Spatially homogenous illumination is also essential so that all of the irradiated areas are irradiated at a fluence greater than the complete-melting threshold of the film. If the intensity is too low in particular regions, the film will not melt completely, leading to failure of the process; if the intensity is too high, film damage can occur.
For certain high-throughput configurations of SLS, it would be beneficial to be able to configure the illumination into a high-aspect-ratio form (e.g., a long, narrow rectangle) while maintaining a high degree of spatial uniformity. Techniques describing an internally reflective homogenizer, using a polygonal cross-section, fully internally mirrored chamber to convert collimated light into self-luminous light at an output aperture have been reported in Jain, U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,013 and Farmiga, U.S. Pat. No. 5,828,505. These homogenizer designs offer the additional benefit of preserving numerical aperture (NA) of the illumination, which allows for high optical efficiency. Further, the ability to vary the configuration of the illumination between the high-aspect-ratio shape and some other polygonal shape would also be extremely useful, as it would enable the equipment to be reconfigured between the high-throughput and other variants of the SLS process. For example, a homogenizer with a rectangular cross-section could be constructed wherein one of the sides would be adjustable, enabling one dimension of the rectangle (and thus the aspect ratio) to be varied. An system with such a homogenizer could conveniently be reconfigured to perform different variants of the process as desired. Existing illumination and homogenization schemes that have been applied to SLS cannot provide the requisite level of spatial uniformity in a high-aspect-ratio shape, and are generally limited to providing square or near-square illumination.
The beam area over which a sufficiently high fluence can be maintained is defined primarily by the energy output of the excimer laser source, but for a given laser, fluence can be optimized by a highly efficient optical system, especially one incorporating an energy-recycling scheme. Large-field homogeneous illumination is a prerequisite for a large-working-area beam, which is necessary in order that the process have a high throughput.
A high-efficiency energy-recycling exposure system has been reported. See Hoffman and Jain, U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,408. This scheme offers the additional feature, by the very nature of the energy-recycling scheme with its multiple reflections of portions of the pulse through the optical system, of extending the effective duration of the excimer laser pulse reaching the substrate. Pulse extension beyond the approximately 30-ns FWHM (full-width half-maximum) typically provided by most commercially available excimer lasers offers two benefits to the SLS process: (1) the longer pulse provides some amount of substrate heating, which delays the onset of nucleation during solidification, allowing for a longer lateral growth distance, and therefore increases the throughput of the process; and (2) the substrate heating reduces the thermal gradients during solidification, which in turn reduces the number of intragrain defects, further improving the quality of the crystallized films.
The energy-recycling scheme requires that the illumination and imaging systems be near-telecentric. Telecentricity provides the additional benefits of more-uniform illumination and more-uniform imaging over the entire respective fields compared with non-telecentric optical systems.
Furthermore, given the ability to produce high-aspect-ratio illumination, or more generally, arbitrarily shaped illumination, one could consider imaging the illumination directly without having to use a mask. Such direct imaging of the illumination would significantly increase the efficiency of the imaging system because all of the illumination would be used to irradiate the film; none of the beam energy would be blocked by the mask.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the field for a projection-irradiation-based SLS excimer laser crystallization system incorporating all of the elements and features listed above, with special emphasis on the use of the novel configurable illumination system.
The invention is a system for materials processing with projection irradiation using a pulsed laser source. The material, commonly referred to as the substrate, is made available at a work station for processing by a patterned laser beam. The system typically includes mechanisms for positioning and translating large-area substrates. The positioning may be static, but generally includes a schedule of scanning and stepping that is coordinated with the irradiation in a manner consistent with the requirements of the particular process being conducted. During the scanning motion, the system at the same time provides controlled laser pulses, modifying the laser radiation in an illumination subsystem, and projecting the patterned, modified laser radiation along an optical path to a carefully controlled area on the surface of the substrate.
The output of the laser pulse is controlled in energy and repetition rate, and supplied to the illumination system, which attenuates the beam energy as necessary, reshapes and homogenizes the beam, and provides uniform self-luminous illumination in the desired shape. The homogenizer is an optical tunnel with fully mirrored walls and a polygonal cross-section. Many configurations are available, depending on the desired shape of the illumination. The homogenizer can be constructed so as to be reconfigurable; for example, a rectangular cross-section with one moveable side so that the aspect ratio of the illumination can be adjusted. The internally mirrored surfaces of the homogenizer provide multiple reflections; the mixing of the rays and the resulting randomization of the beam within the homogenizer converts the incident beam into spatially homogenized, self-luminous illumination at the output aperture. The energy-recycling subsystem recovers energy reflected off of the mask that otherwise would have been lost and reintroduces it into the illumination. The re-reflected portion of the beam passes along the optical path two additional times, and depending upon the length of the optical path, is delayed approximately 3.3 ns per meter of beam travel. When all of the secondary, tertiary, and higher-order re-reflected pulses are superimposed on the original pulse, the resulting 5-10-ns delay per re-reflection extends the laser pulse duration by 15-30%. Otherwise-wasted laser power is conserved, and there is an opportunity to control pulse duration quite effectively. The entire optical path up to the mask, with the illumination subsystem including the energy-efficient recycling homogenizer, forms an optical pulse stretcher.
In the case where the output of the homogenizer is imaged directly without employing a patterned mask to define the beam features, a pulse-extender plate (PEP), consisting of an essentially transparent but partially reflective material such as fused silica, can be used to reflect some of the beam energy back into the energy recycler in order to extend the pulse duration. In either case (using a mask or a PEP), the exact amount of temporal extension can be controlled by adjusting the optical length of the pulse stretcher and by engineering the reflectivity of the mask or PEP, for example through the use of partially reflective dielectric coatings.
The imaging system projects the image of the mask, or in the case of the maskless system, of the illumination itself onto the substrate. A significant portion of the patterned beam energy is absorbed by the substrate and effects a physical change, usually through a thermal mechanism as a result of localized intense heating. However, other modes of interaction between the beam and the substrate are possible, depending on the specific substrate material and the wavelength of the laser radiation.
The localized intense heat is useful in many materials-processing operations, including those involving localized melting and resolidification, such as excimer laser annealing (ELA) in general and SLS in particular, and dopant activation, as well as those involving localized ablation and removal of material.
The object of the invention is to provide a high-fluence, shaped, spatially homogenized, duration-controlled, and carefully imaged radiation beam at the chosen area or areas of the substrate, which can be translated in an extremely precise and controllable manner in coordination with the irradiation, in order to accomplish the desired physical change.
A feature of the invention is the use of a novel optical system, including an illumination subsystem to produce a self-luminous beam of selected cross-section, spatially uniform intensity, and selected numerical aperture, as well as a high-efficiency energy-recycling exposure system, which controls the duration of radiation pulses and conserves energy.
An advantage of the invention is that the desired physical changes to the substrate can be controlled and the processing can be optimized (e.g., for high throughput) by full control of the applied irradiation; by controlling fluence, beam shape, homogenization, pulse duration, image pattern, and translation schedule of the substrate with respect to the beam.
The invention is a system for conducting the sequential lateral solidification (SLS) process on substrates, including large-area substrates, containing a thin surface layer of material to be crystallized, typically but not limited to amorphous silicon (a-Si).
The purpose is to create desirable microstructures in the film, such as large-grained, grain-boundary-location-controlled polycrystals and large single-crystal islands at selected locations on the substrate.
It is the object of the invention to provide a novel optical system including: (1) an illumination system to produce a self-luminous beam of selected cross-section, spatially uniform intensity, and selected numerical aperture; (2) a high-efficiency energy-recycling exposure system to control the pulse duration and to make efficient use of the beam energy; (3) telecentricity of both illumination and imaging systems for improved uniformity of illumination and imaging over large fields; and (4) high-resolution imaging of features onto the film.
Another object of the invention is to provide a practical system for conducting SLS on large substrates using the novel optical system in conjunction with a high-precision, large-travel translation system.
Another object of the invention is to provide a practical system for pulsed-laser electronic activation of dopants either concurrently with SLS processing for pre-doped films, or as a separate processing step for films doped after being crystallized.
A feature of the invention is the use of a novel illumination system to produce a self-luminous light beam of selected cross-section, spatially uniform intensity, and selected numerical aperture.
Another feature of the invention is the use of a high-efficiency energy-recycling exposure system, which controls the duration of radiation pulses and conserves energy.
An advantage of the invention is the ability to configure the homogenous illumination into various shapes, including a high-aspect-ratio polygon, which is well-suited for certain high-throughput variants of the SLS process.
Another advantage of the invention is the ability to reconfigure the shape of the illumination so that different variants of the SLS process can be conducted on different areas of the substrate, so as to optimize the microstructure and throughput as appropriate for the desired application.
Another advantage of the invention is the ability to adjust the pulse duration so as to (1) increase the lateral growth distance and in turn the throughput of the process, as well as (2) reduce the number of intragrain defects forming during solidification and in so doing improve the quality of the crystallized films.
Another advantage of the invention is that the same tool may be used for both SLS and post-doping annealing (dopant activation).
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following written description, claims, abstract, and the annexed drawings.

High-throughput materials processing system


A method of controlling a base station system is provided. The method comprises generating and transmitting a control signal arranged to cause a radio equipment controller to control a first radio equipment from a plurality of radio equipment at a first time; and generating and transmitting a control signal arranged to cause the radio equipment controller to control a second radio equipment from the plurality of radio equipment instead of the first radio equipment at a later time; wherein each of the plurality of radio equipment is coupled to a respective antenna having a respective coverage area. Also provided is a controller and a computer program product configured to control a base station system.

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional base station arrangement for a plurality of antenna sites 10. A base station 20 is provided at each antenna site 10. Each base station 20 comprises radio equipment 25 and a radio equipment controller 26. Typically, the radio equipment controllers 26 perform baseband signal generation and/or processing and the radio equipment 25 perform analogue and radio frequency functions such as filtering, modulation, frequency conversion and amplification.
A problem with this arrangement however is that it is difficult to establish X2 connections between adjacent base stations 20. X2 connections are logical or even physical connections which enable power and traffic information to be correlated between adjacent base stations 20, reducing interference and increasing data throughput (bit spectral efficiency).
More recently, a centralised base station system as illustrated in FIG. 2 has become popular. Instead of locating both the radio equipment 25 and the radio equipment controllers 26 at the respective antenna sites 10, only the radio equipment 25 is located at the antenna sites 10. The radio equipment controllers 26 are located remote from the antenna sites 10 at a common site, which is sometimes referred to as a base station hub or baseband hotel 30. The base station hub 30 is connected to each of the radio equipment 25 by a transport infrastructure 40 which may support the communication of, for example, common public radio interface (CPRI) signals between the radio equipment controller 26/radio equipment 25 pairs. The base station hub 30 further has a network interface (not shown) for communication with a core network to transmit and receive mobile traffic.
This arrangement has the advantage that the exchange of information between base stations 20 (X2 connections) is more straightforward. Furthermore, the base station hub 30 may be located in a convenient, low cost location, for example in the basement of a building or an out of town industrial site, which may make it easier to secure the radio equipment controllers 26 and to access the radio equipment controllers 26 to perform maintenance.

Method of controlling a base station system


The catalytic hydrogenation of HBA and/or HMPA is improved by either or both of (1) increasing the temperature in the hydrogenation zone from about 50 to 70° C. at the inlet to above 80° C. at the outlet and (2) raising the pH of the hydrogenation feed to 4.5–6.0 before hydrogenation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the fixed bed catalytic hydrogenation of 4-hydroxybutyraldehyde to 1,4-butanediol and/or to the fixed bed catalytic hydrogenation of 2-methyl 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde to 2-methyl 1,3-propandiol.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A commercial route to 1,4-butanediol (BDO) comprises the carbonylation of allyl alcohol to 4-hydroxybutyraldehyde (HBA) and the hydrogenation of HBA to BDO. Patents which are illustrative of this technology include U.S. Pat. No. 6,225,509 and the patents cited therein. Generally, in the allyl alcohol carbonylation some 2-methyl 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (HMPA) is formed and this can subsequently be hydrogenated to 2-methyl 1,3 propanediol (MPD).
Problems are encountered in each of the hydrogenation steps especially where fixed bed hydrogenation procedures are used. The fixed bed catalyst tends to deactivate and physically deteriorate with time and as a result slurry hydrogenation procedures have been the norm. For economic reasons the development of successful fixed catalyst bed procedures would be distinctly advantageous.


Provided are a light emitting device, a method of manufacturing the light emitting device, a light emitting device package, and a lighting system. The light emitting device comprises a light emitting structure layer including a first conductive type semiconductor layer, a second conductive type semiconductor layer, an active layer between the first conductive type semiconductor layer and the second conductive type layer. At least one lateral surface of the light emitting structure layer has cleavage planes of an A-plane and an M-plane.

The present disclosure relates to a light emitting device, a method of manufacturing the light emitting device, a light emitting device package, and a lighting system.
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are being used as light emitting devices.
Such an LED is a semiconductor light emitting device that converts current into light.
A wavelength of light emitted from the LED is varied according to a semiconductor material used for manufacturing the LED. This is done because a wavelength of the emitted light depends on a band-gap of semiconductor material. The respective band-gaps represent an energy difference between a valence band electrons and conduction band electrons.
As luminance of LEDs is increased, the LEDs are being used as light sources for displays, vehicles, and illuminations. Also, LEDs emitting highly efficient white light may be realized by using a fluorescent substance or combining LEDs having various colors.

Light emitting device, method of manufacturing light emitting device, light emitting device package, and lighting system