A plasma CVD method for forming a film of a metal such as Ti on a substrate using a mixed gas including a metal-halogen compound and hydrogen with which the surface morphology of the metal film obtained is good, there is no corrosion of a conducting material layer or the like below the metal film and residual halogen in the film is low, and a semiconductor device having a metal film formed by this method. The plasma CVD method comprises employing prescribed plasma CVD conditions such that there are more activated hydrogen species present in the plasma than are consumed in the reduction of the metal-halogen compound and surplus activated hydrogen species uniformly terminate the substrate surface so that precursors produced by dissociation of the metal-halogen compound can freely migrate over the substrate and the metal film formed has a uniform thickness and good surface morphology.

This invention relates to a plasma CVD method used in the manufacture of a semiconductor device and to a semiconductor device having a metal film formed by this method, and particularly to a plasma CVD method with which a metal film formed has a smooth surface morphology and the amount of residual halogen element contained in the metal is small and a highly reliable semiconductor device having a metal film formed by this method.
As design rules of semiconductor devices such as LSI devices are established to cover less dimensions reduced from half micron to quarter micron or lower levels and multilayer interconnection structures come to be used in large numbers, aspect ratios of connection holes for connecting interconnection layers together have also been becoming larger. For example, in a semiconductor device based on 0.18 .mu.m rule, because with respect to a connection hole opening diameter of 0.2 .mu.m the thickness of an interlayer insulating film is about 1.0 .mu.m, the aspect ratio reaches 5. To achieve a highly reliable multilayer interconnection structure using connection holes of such small size and high aspect ratio, methods are coming to be employed wherein a metal film of Ti or the like for an ohmic contact and a TiN film or the like as a barrier metal for preventing diffusion of interconnection material are formed thinly and conformally inside the connection hole and then upper layer interconnections and contact plugs are formed by high-temperature sputtering of an Al-based metal or CVD of W.
Normally, Ti metal films and TiN films have been formed by sputtering or reactive sputtering with bulk Ti metal as the target material. Among such methods, collimated sputtering, wherein the component of perpendicularly incident sputtered particles is increased, disclosed for example in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-140359, and long range sputtering, wherein a long target distance is used, have been receiving particular attention. It has been confirmed that with these sputtering methods it is possible to obtain reduced contact resistance and improved barrier characteristics compared with conventional sputtering methods. However, with these sputtering methods, because the component of sputtered particles perpendicularly incident on the substrate is increased, parts where the film thickness is extremely thin are inevitably formed around the shoulders of small connection holes having large aspect ratios and around the edges of the bottoms of connection holes. In this case, when for example blanket CVD of W is carried out in a subsequent step, the process gas WF.sub.6 permeates through the thin parts of the film and problems such as erosion of the base material layer, abnormal growth of W or the Ti metal film or TiN film flaking off occur.
To solve problems of step coverage not solved by these sputtering methods also including collimation and the like, methods of forming conformal Ti metal films and TiN films by CVD methods utilizing chemical reactions taking place at the substrate surface are being expected.
CVD methods for forming Ti-based material layers proposed so far can be generally classified into two types: methods using inorganic metal-halogen compounds such as TiCl.sub.4, reported for example in Proceedings of the 44th Symposium on Semiconductor & Integrated Circuit Technology p.31 (1993), and methods using organic metal compounds such as TDMAT and TDEAT, reported for example in Proc. 11th Int. IEEE VMIC, p.440 (1994).
With the latter methods using organic metal source gases, in many cases a Ti metal film is formed by sputtering and then a TiN film is formed by MOCVD.
The former type of method using an inorganic metal-halogen compound source gas has the merit that it is possible to consecutively form a Ti metal film by H.sub.2 reduction and a TiN film by adding N.sub.2 or the like to this process gas inside the same CVD reactor.
The reaction reducing the metal-halogen compound TiCl.sub.4 using H.sub.2 molecules is the endothermic reaction given by the following formula (1), and thermodynamically is difficult to sustain (AG is standard heat of formation). EQU TiCl.sub.4 +2H.sub.2 .fwdarw.Ti+4HCl .DELTA.G=393.3 kJ/mol (1)
For this reason, formation of Ti metal films by plasma CVD wherein H.sub.2 is dissociated in a plasma and reduction by H atoms and activated H species is used has been receiving attention. This reaction is the exothermic reaction shown by the following formula (2). EQU TiCl.sub.4 +4H.fwdarw.Ti+4HCl .DELTA.G-478.6 kJ/mol (2)
With this formation of a Ti metal film by plasma CVD, the reaction proceeds easily and a film can be formed at a relatively low temperature. In particular, plasma CVD reactors having a high density plasma source such as ECR-CVD reactors, inductively coupled plasma CVD reactors and helicon wave plasma CVD reactors are advantageous in film formation rate and uniformity.
However, even when plasma CVD is carried out using one of these high-density plasma CVD reactors, depending on the film-forming conditions the Ti metal film does not grow uniformly on the substrate and granular Ti metal grows nonuniformly.
This problem will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B.
These figures are schematic sectional views showing a substrate under processing having a connection hole 3 formed in an interlayer insulating film 2 on a semiconductor substrate 1 made of silicon or the like, and illustrate a problem arising when a Ti metal film 4 is formed on this by plasma CVD. That is, when the reduction of TiCl.sub.4 by H atoms and activated H species is not carried out well, as shown in FIG. 1A the surface morphology of the Ti metal film 4 obtained is deteriorated by grains of nonuniformly grown Ti metal.
When a TiN film 6 is then formed on this, because as shown in FIG. 1B the TiN film 6 grows with the same surface shape as the Ti metal film 4 below it, this film also is granular, and at parts where adjacent TiN grains make contact with each other the film cannot grow any further. In particular, a large gap 7 sometimes forms at the corner of the bottom of the connection hole 3.
When in a subsequent step a layer of a refractory metal such as W is formed by CVD with WF.sub.6 or the like as a process gas on a substrate on which is formed this kind of gap 7, the WF.sub.6 passes through the gap 7 and erodes the semiconductor substrate 1 below and destroys shallow junctions (not shown). Also, when the connection hole 3 is filled in by an Al-based metal, the Al-based metal passes through the gap 7 and reacts with the semiconductor substrate 1 made of silicon or the like to form alloy spikes. In either case, serious defects such as increased leak current at the interlayer connection result.
Also, when the reduction of the TiCl.sub.4 by H atoms and activated H species is incomplete, precursors TiCl.sub.x (where x is an integer below 4) and chlorine atoms are taken into the Ti metal film being formed, and residual chlorine in the Ti metal film increases. As a result, an Al-based metal layer or the like formed in a later step is corroded and there is a possibility of this leading to increased contact resistance and, in extreme cases, disconnection.

Plasma CVD method for forming a semiconductor device having metal film formed thereby


Provided are a method and a system for initializing an RF module through non-volatile control, including: storing, by a non-volatile storage array, configuration information for initializing the RF module, and backing up the configuration information when receiving a power-down instruction (S1); and reading, by an RF module initialization accelerator, the configuration information from the non-volatile storage array when receiving a power-up instruction, and transmitting the read configuration information to the RF module, thereby initializing the RF module (S2). With the technical solution given in the present invention, the initialization of an RF module becomes much faster, and the power consumption of a wireless communication terminal can be reduced. In addition, the initialization of various RF modules can be supported, and meanwhile the hardware resources can be saved, thereby enhancing the extensibility of the system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of a wireless communication technology, and more particularly, to a system for initializing an RF module through non-volatile control and a method of initializing an RF module through non-volatile control.
2. Description of Related Art
With the emergence of Mobile Internet and Internet of Things, wireless communication has become an important channel for acquiring and transmitting information in our daily life. One or more RF transceivers (more generally referred to as RF modules herein), like the RF front-ends for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, 3G and LTE, are necessarily integrated in a wireless communication terminal such as in a mobile device or an Internet of Things node. In order to enable a wireless communication terminal to provide high quality of service (QoS) under different channel conditions, its RF module usually requires to operate with relatively high power accounting for a large proportion of the total power consumption of a terminal. On the other hand, it is a trend that wireless communication terminals need to be smaller and cheaper, and thus their energy storage capacity becomes constrained. Some terminals adopt the energy harvesting scheme like solar energy and vibration energy to overcome the energy limitation problem. In this case, however, due to the fact that the energy generated from an energy harvester is easily subject to the change of environments, the terminals are expected to be of high power efficiency and preferably be able to remain operational under insufficient power supply or even under frequent occurrences of power interruption. For saving energy, in practice, the power hungry RF module need to be shut down frequently and waken up at certain time only when necessary. Specifically, the wake-up of an RF module needs an initialization process, which restores its configuration information and the data buffer before moving to normal transmission and reception operations.
In a conventional wireless communication terminal, the RF module initialization process is performed by a software scheme running on a processor, and in this method the processor itself requires to be initialized prior to RF module's initialization process. This conventional method leads to a large time overhead with increased power consumption, and is thus unfavorable or even not workable when an RF module needs to be frequently turned on and off, particularly when a terminal relies on the power supply from energy harvesting.

Method and system for initializing RF module through non-volatile control


Semiconductor nanoparticles of the present invention are particles each having a core-shell structure that includes a core and a shell surrounding the core. The core includes (AgIn)xZn2(1-x)S2 (0.4≦x≦0.95 holds). The shell includes ZnS or ZnO, and the semiconductor nanoparticles each have at least one hydrophilic functional group on a surface of the shell. As the hydrophilic functional group, for example, a carboxyl group or a sulfo group may be mentioned. Since having a low toxicity and a high emission quantum yield, the semiconductor nanoparticles as described above may be used for a fluorescent probe for biological labeling.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor nanoparticles and a fluorescent probe for biological labeling.
2. Description of the Related Art
A cell imaging technique is an important technique to investigate cell kinetics. Heretofore, cell imaging using various types of dyes has been developed, and in recent years, cell imaging using quantum dots which simultaneously have a high emission quantum yield, a high absorption coefficient, a wide absorption region, and a high durability has attracted attention. However, in imaging using quantum dots, particles containing cadmium (Cd), which may have some toxicity, are used in many cases, and hence development of high-brightness quantum dots using an alternative element having a low toxicity has been desired. In the circumstances as described above, for example, PTL 1 and NPLs 1, 2 have disclosed water-soluble semiconductor nanoparticles in which sulfo groups (—SO3H) are introduced in semiconductor nanoparticles formed of a ZnS—AgInS2 solid solution (ZAIS). Since nanoparticles become water soluble when sulfo groups are introduced therein and are hence likely to be incorporated into cells, the nanoparticles are expected to be used as quantum dots for cell imaging.

Semiconductor nanoparticles and fluorescent probe for biological labeling

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION NAGOYA UNIVERSITY


Disclosed herein are embodiments of apparatuses and kits for making craft image tiles to customize jewelry or other accessories. One embodiment of an apparatus for making craft image tiles comprises a base having a top surface and a bottom surface opposite the top surface with a cavity there between; a cutting mechanism movably positioned within the cavity and comprising a cutting blade configured to cut through a sheet of images; and a handle extending from the cutting mechanism and accessible outside of the base, configured to move the cutting blade along an axis substantially perpendicular to the top surface of the base in response to a mechanical input at a handle input end. The top surface includes an aperture defined therein, and the aperture is sized to receive the cutting blade.

A popular craft project involves making jewelry and accessories such as bracelets, necklaces, and buttons. Furthermore, it has become desirable and fashionable to customize these same crafts with different symbols, images or photos. A device that makes it easy and safe to cut image tiles for use in jewelry and crafts would allow a person of any skill level to produce craft products with custom designs and images.

Device and kit for making images for jewelry and accessories


Positional and elevation data obtained from a camera unit is correlated with coordinates in an entire image display portion, used as a GUI having positional information to select a specified image with a mouse. Which frame this corresponds to in the entire image is calculated, and further, the position within the clicked frame is calculated. The calculated positional information is converted into positional information and elevation data of the frame. The camera unit is controlled with the positional information and elevation data from the camera unit, and an image of a range indicated by a specified image display frame superimposed on the display portion is taken, and stored and/or displayed. This allows confirmation an image of a range to be photographed beforehand, and the user can tell the relation between the range capable of acquiring images and the photography range at a glance, so desired portions can be continuously monitored.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a monitoring system and method, program, and recording medium, applied to surveillance cameras and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, monitoring systems have been used to monitor situations over wide ranges. Examples of monitoring systems are used to monitor marine and river areas, off-limit areas, observation of animal behaviors, and so forth. Such monitoring systems take images over a wide range, and accordingly video cameras with an extremely great number of pixels have been used. This has resulted in increased costs of the system.
An alternative arrangement has been proposed, wherein the photography range of the camera is shifted in order while taking still images, and a great number of still images are linked so as to generate an image of a range to be monitored. In this case, the linked image generated by linking a great number of still images can be formed as an extremely high resolution image. Accordingly, in the event of enlarging a part of the linked image, the resolution of the enlarged image itself is high, so clear images can be obtained for enlarged images as well.
An extremely wide range of motion is required for the cameras, such as 180° or 360°, due to the need to have a wide range of monitoring. The direction of photography of the camera is switched over this wide range, still images are obtained in each direction of photography, and a panorama-like linked image is formed.
The wider the range of photography is, the greater the number of still images making up the wide-range still image, meaning that the time required for obtaining the image becomes longer, resulting in the problem of longer cycles for obtaining a linked image. However, the area regarding which monitoring is desired is actually often much more restricted.
Accordingly, the present assignee has proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-130761 a system wherein areas in a wide range are cropped per field angle, images of the cropped field angles are acquired with normal image-taking devices, and the acquired images are combined to obtain a highly-fine and wide-range image.
However, even this system depended on moving the camera to take live pictures and confirming the taken pictures for determining the area which is actually to be monitored. Also, there was no way therein to notify the user at a glance regarding the relation between the range over which images can be taken in and the photography range.
Moreover, even areas to be monitored in further detail are taken as multiple images, so a certain amount of time is required to photograph those portions again, and accordingly, such portions cannot be monitored at time spans shorter than the certain amount of time.

Camera surveillance system and method for displaying multiple zoom levels of an image on different portions of a display


The present disclosure provides, among other things, methods for the identification of sulfated glycans in a mixture of glycans.

Sulfation is one of the most common modifications found on carbohydrate moieties of glycoproteins, and can play an important role in the biological function of a glycoprotein. For example, sulfated glycans are known to be involved in several biological recognition events such as lymphocyte homing and removal of pituitary hormones from circulation. Phosphorylation is another common modification on carbohydrates that can significantly affect the biological function of a glycoprotein. However, phosphate and sulfate groups have essentially the same mass (80 Da). As a result, it is often difficult to differentiate between sulfated and phosphorylated species. There is a need, therefore, for techniques that can detect sulfated and/or phosphorylated glycan species, and a particular need for techniques that can distinguish between the two.


A hard disk drive (HDD) having a spindle motor, at least one data storage disk, a disk clamp fastened to the spindle motor and fixing the disk to the spindle motor, and at least one disk spacer mounted on the spindle motor to support the disk. The disk spacer includes a ring-shaped disk spacer body fitted around an outer circumference of the spindle motor with at least one surface contacting the disk, a first groove on the surface of the spacer body contacting the disk, a second groove on the surface of the spacer body contacting the disk to extend along both sides of the first groove, and a damping member between the spacer body and the disk to reduce vibrations of the disk, seated in the first groove in a normal state and compressed by the disk, a portion of which is deformed and accommodated in the second groove.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a hard disk drive, and more particularly, to a hard disk drive having a disk spacer supporting information storage disks and a spindle motor including the disk spacer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hard disk drives (HDDs), which may store information for computers, read and/or write data inform/to a disk using a read/write head. In HDDs, the read/write head may operate by being moved to a desired position while flying at a predetermined height above a surface of the disk.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional HDD, with FIG. 2 illustrating a spindle motor, disks, a spacer, and a clamp coupled to one another in a HDD, such as the conventional HDD of FIG. 1.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a spindle motor 30 may rotate disks 21 and 22, which are data-storage recording media, and an actuator 40 may move a read/write head over any of the disks 21 and 22 for data reproduction and/or recording from a desired portion of the disks 21 and 22. As illustrated, disks 21 and 22 may further be installed on a base member 11 of the HDD.
While the two disks 21 and 22 may be mounted on the spindle motor 30, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a single disk, or even additional disks may be mounted on the spindle motor 30. When the plurality of disks 21 and 22 are mounted on the spindle motor 30, a ring-shaped disk spacer 50 may be used to maintain a distance between the disks 21 and 22. The disk spacer 50 can be fitted around an outer circumference of a hub 32 of the spindle motor 30, to be interposed between the disks 21 and 22. A clamp 55 may be used to firmly fix the disks 21 and 22 to the spindle motor 30, with the clamp 55 being coupled to an upper portion of the spindle motor 30 using clamp fastening screws 56.
The actuator 40 may include a swing arm 42 rotatably coupled to a pivot shaft 41 installed on the base member 11, a suspension 43 installed at one end of the swing arm 42 and elastically biasing a slider 44, on which the read/write head may be mounted toward surfaces of the disks 21 and 22, and a voice coil motor (VCM) 45 to rotate the swing arm 42. The VCM 45 may be controlled by a servo control system, and rotate the swing arm 42 in a direction according to Fleming's Left Hand Rule, due to an interaction between current input to a VCM coil and a magnetic field formed by magnets. That is, if the HDD is turned on and the disks 21 and 22 begin to rotate, the VCM 45 may rotate the swing arm 42 in a direction to move the read/write head over recording surfaces of the disks 21 and 22. In contrast, if the HDD is turned off and the disks 21 and 22 stop rotating, the VCM 45 may rotate the swing arm 42 in an opposite direction to remove the read/write head from over the surfaces of the disks 21 and 22.
A cover member 12 may be joined to the base member 11, using a plurality of cover fastening screws 19. Here, a gasket 14 may also be interposed between the base member 11 and the cover member 12 to seal the HDD. The joined base member 11 and cover member 12 surround and protect the disks 21 and 22, the spindle motor 30, the actuator 40, etc., for example.
In this conventional HDD, the rotating disks 21 and 22 may flutter due to structural defects of the spindle motor 30, deflection of the disks 21 and 22 during an assembly process, and turbulent airflow inside the HDD. In particular, non-negligible airflow may be generated around the rapidly rotating disks 21 and 22. The airflow may cause the disks 21 and 22 to vibrate. Once such vibrations of the disks 21 and 22 occur, track mis-registration (TMR) may be caused, thereby increasing position error signals (PESs) and degrading data reproduction and recording performance of the HDD. Particularly, as the data recording densities of disks 21 and 22 have recently been rapidly rising, disk vibration problems have become even worse.
In an attempt to solve these problems, a thin plate-shaped disk damper 60 may be inserted between the disks 21 and 22. If the disk damper 60 is installed between the disks 21 and 22, there remains a narrow space between the disk damper 60 and each of the disks 21 and 22, and thus the disk damper 60 may deaden the vibrations of the disks 21 and 22 due to a damping effect of compressed air between the disks 21 and 22.
However, if an abrupt external impact is applied to the HDD having the disk damper 60 between the disks 21 and 22, the disks 21 and 22 may contact the disk damper 60, thereby damaging the data recording surfaces of the disks 21 and 22. Also, if three or more disks are implemented in the HDD, there is a little room in the HDD interior, and thus, such a disk damper is difficult to install in the HDD.

Hard disk drive with disk spacer and spindle motor assembly


A self-propelled stump cutting apparatus which also functions as a tow-behind type, resultant of a telescoping tongue hitch. The apparatus is narrowed in width, while in work mode with tow wheels suspended above ground by removing the detachable tow wheel assemblies. Self-propulsion is accomplished by the employment of a unique, retractable, hydraulically motivated tractor axle assembly. This assembly is located on a hinged sub-frame attached to the apparatus main frame. The tractor axle assembly is forcibly positioned and locked by way of a mechanical assembly which is motivated by the vertical movement of the hydraulically maneuvered cutting wheel boom. A major additional feature is the novel direct coupling of the cutting wheel driving hydraulic motor to the cutting wheel axle shaft. This is accomplished by the employment of a compact, self-aligning internal shaft coupling which eliminates commonly used costly and inefficient belt drive systems.

This invention generally pertains to motorized tree stump cutting or grinding devices. Most of these devices are either towed or trailered behind a standard commercial vehicle. Most towed-behind devices are positioned for work by the tow vehicle. Such an arrangement performs well for easy access tree stumps but is not practical in more difficult, tight access applications. The trailer-mounted devices are commonly self-propelled and more compact for tight maneuvering. Their compactness and general high center of gravity make them unstable for high speed towing, hence trailering is a must.
These two general types of stump cutters almost all feature a rotating cutting wheel mounted on a boom which is swept from side to side, and up and down by either manual or hydraulic enhanced force. Typically, the cutting wheel-boom assembly is attached to an elongated main frame with a gasoline or diesel engine providing the necessary power.
It becomes apparent that both of these types of stump cutters have inherent advantages and disadvantages. Hence, it follows that a hybrid device that incorporates said advantages and eliminates said disadvantages would prove to be optimal and therefore superior.
As to the general rules or types cited there are two notable exceptions. First, the variable width, self-propelled stump cutter U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,183 issued to D. Eilertson on Sep. 1, 1987. Due to a high center of gravity this device requires a trailer. Width varies from narrow for tight maneuvering to wider to stabilize the device for the stump cutting function. The second is the variable width device U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,859 issued to J. Minton Jr. and J. Barr on Mar. 1, 1994. This device requires no trailer and is capable of variable width. The method utilized to vary width does not remove the device's weight from the tow wheels during transition. It relies on hydro-mechanical force to accomplish transition. This practice is less than optimal when durability, weight and cost consideration are made. Although these devices display advantages they both are less than optimal overall and are lacking several other advanced features.
As a result, it is concluded that the most desirable stump cutting device would be a hybrid of the two most common types available. Again, those are the tow-behind with wide track and extendable tongue and the self-propelled narrow track type. The hybrid must be variable width and self-propelled. Other advantages featured would include a fixed level mounted engine, enclosed machinery housing and ride-on capability to mention just a few.

Self-propelled/tow-behind, variable width stump cutting machine


A method for generating power from acceleration of a device is provided. The method including: applying a force to a piezoelectric member due to the acceleration; and sustaining a strain in the piezoelectric member resulting from the applied force so as to increase a time of power output from the piezoelectric member. The device can be a munition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to piezoelectric generators and, more particularly, to piezoelectric generators for munitions fuzing.
2. Prior Art
All existing and future smart and guided gun-fired munitions and mortars that are equipped with electronics for fuzing or other similar purposes require electric power for their operation. The amount of power required for proper operation of certain components in gun-fired munitions, for example for the operation of certain fuzing electronics, is small enough to be provided by harvesting the electric charge generated directly from piezoelectric elements due to the firing acceleration induced straining. The advantage of using piezoelectric elements that can generate electric energy is that it eliminates the need for a primary battery and its related safety and shelf life problems. In general, such piezoelectric generators that harvest mechanical energy during the firing acceleration provide a very high degree of safety in munitions since they provide electrical energy that could operate onboard electronics only post firing. The use of reserve batteries for such very low power requirements is not cost effective and requires the allocation of valuable space and may face safety issues.
Current applications of piezoelectric elements of various designs and configurations such as stacks of piezoelectric ceramic, film layers, etc., which are loaded (strained) due to the firing acceleration in the axial direction, in bending, etc., and which may be equipped with appropriate inertial components to increase the generated loads (axial, bending, torsional, etc.), or are equipped with motion amplifying mechanisms to amplify the applied stains, have a common shortcoming that reduces their effectiveness as electrical energy generators and prevents efficient collection and storage of the generated charges. This shortcoming stems from the fact that during firing, the piezoelectric element is subjected to a very high level of acceleration induced impact type of forces during a very short period of time, in many cases of the order of one-tenth of a millisecond. As a result, the window for extraction and storage of the generated electrical charge is equally small, making efficient harvesting of the generated charge very difficult. The harvested charge is generally intended to be stored in a storage device such as a capacitor or used directly or conditioned to power a certain load.
A need therefore exists for new methods and devices that allow the aforementioned charges generated by piezoelectric elements due to the firing acceleration or other similar impact forces to be harvested over significantly longer periods of time, thereby allowing the generated charges to be harvested with significantly higher efficiency.
In addition, a need exists for new methods and devices that allow efficient harvesting of the aforementioned generated charges.

Piezoelectric generators for munitions fuzing and the like


Devices and systems for tissue engagement and methods of using the same. In at least one embodiment of a device of the present disclosure, the device comprises an elongated body having a proximal end, a distal end, and at least one lumen extending from the proximal end to the distal end; an engagement portion at the distal end of the elongated body, the engagement portion configured to engage a tissue adjacent thereto when the engagement portion contacts the tissue while suction is applied through the device; and at least one electrode present along the engagement portion and configured to contact the tissue when the engagement portion contacts the tissue and to obtain bioimpedance data from the tissue while suction is applied through the device.

Suctional engagement of tissues using a device, such as during an interventional procedure, is complex and requires small devices to accomplish the same. However, several devices currently used by medical practitioners either do not provide enough suctional engagement to perform a necessary procedure, or are too large to perform such a procedure. Effective devices and systems for use with suction to effectively engage tissues would be well received in the marketplace.
During various medical procedures, injection of a substance into a tissue of interest occurs, and it is oftentimes critical that the substance be injected only into said tissue and not otherwise into the body, such as within the bloodstream, as said migrated substance could form an embolus and cause a clot, for example. When such a procedure is performed using a suction engagement catheter, for example, knowledge of actual suction engagement is important.
In view of the same, devices and systems configured to identify and ensure suction engagement to a tissue of interest, and methods of using the same, would be well received in the marketplace.


Methods, systems, and computer program products are described herein for updating big data tables using snapshot isolation. The tables may store data (e.g., as data objects) collected from different users. The tables are stored in a first data store. The data's metadata is stored in a second data store. The metadata comprises version numbers for the objects that correspond to a consistent version thereof. When an update process for the table is initiated, a coordinator locks the metadata, and. the objects are updated. If the update to the objects is successful, the coordinator commits the updates and obtains the new version numbers of the objects. If all the commits are successful, the coordinator atomically updates the metadata with the new version numbers and releases the lock. However, if a commit to an object is unsuccessful, a subsequent process rolls back the committed objects to the version numbers specified by the metadata.

The term "big data" is often used to describe large volumes (e.g., petabytes or exabytes) of data. Big data typically comprises a collection of demographic, psychographic, behavioral, and transactional data that companies collect with respect to their users. Such data may be utilized to better market goods and/or services. In certain instances, a user may be able to view the data that has been collected for him and modify (e.g., update or delete) certain data. However, updating such data can be very complex given the amount of data collected and the number of processes that may be actively accessing such data.

Techniques for updating big data tables using snapshot isolation


A display unit for media such as books, audio and video cassettes, etc. includes a rotating tower-type array of shelves and a supporting framework which is mountable to a rigid, vertically oriented panel, such as the end panel of a bookcase. The rotatable tower is mounted between the free ends of a pair of horizontal support arms which are fixedly supported at their other ends by a vertical column and a cross-arm which extends across and is fixedly attached at its mid-point to the upper end of the vertical column. A pair of U-shaped members are mounted to opposite ends of the cross-arm and are rotatable with respect thereto about the horizontal, longitudinal axis of the cross-arm. The unit is mounted to the panel by the U-shaped members passing around the side edges of the panel so that one of the legs of each member contacts the rear side of the panel while the remainder of the unit rests against the front side.

The present invention relates to apparatus for storing and displaying items such as books, audio or video cassettes, compact disc holders, and the like. More specifically, the invention relates to open-sided display racks which may be releasably mounted upon and supported by a vertically oriented, rigid panel, such as the end panel of a bookshelf.
An object of the invention is to provide a compact unit capable of supporting a large number of books, or other such items, relative to the physical size and volume of the unit with means for mounting and supporting the item in a space-saving manner.
A further object of the invention is to provide a display unit mounted for rotation about a vertical axis which may conveniently be supported above floor level by a vertically oriented, flat, rigid panel without the aid of tools or separate fasteners.
Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.


A connecting device for a pipe comprises a coupling body and a clamping collar. The clamping collar is divided into an axially inner function section and an axially outer actuation section, with a seal positioned between facing front sides of the axially inner function section and the axially outer actuation section. The seal is for sealing against an inner wall of the coupling body and against an outer wall surface of a pipe received within the clamping collar, when the clamping collar is within the coupling body.

The invention relates to a connecting device for a pipe or like fluid conduit, with a coupling body and a clamping collar which can be set into a substantially cylindrical recess of the coupling body in an axially inner starting position and into which, for example after such setting into the recess, one end of the pipe to be connected can be slid, for example, until its front-side abuts a stop of the coupling body. The clamping collar comprises at its inner end at least one radially displaceable arresting tongue, which, when the pipe, and therewith the clamping collar, is slid back in a direction of a recess inlet, for example under pressure building up in the pipe coupling, up into an axially outer arresting position, can be pressed radially inwardly and with its inner side into engagement with an outer wall surface of the pipe through cooperation of an outer side of the arresting tongue with a first slope, radially slanting in the direction of the recess inlet, of an inner wall surface of the coupling body. In this way a plug connection between the pipe or the like fluid conduit can be established and detached simply and rapidly.
In FIG. 1 is depicted in section such a commercially available connecting device in section. In order to produce tightness between connecting devices, between the outer wall surface of the pipe and the inner wall surface of the coupling body an O-ring seal is provided in the recess of the coupling body at the front side of the inner end of the clamping collar. To detach the plug connection, the clamping collar can be slid for example with the aid of an outer flange, from the axially outer arresting position, depicted in FIG. 1, further into the recess of the coupling body up into its axially inner starting position, whereby arresting tongues of the clamping collar spread out of their radially inwardly pressed position due to cooperation with the sealing ring and, optionally, their own reset force and can release again a pipe end. It has been found that, on the one hand, into gaps between the pipe end and clamping collar, as well as between the clamping collar and coupling body, moisture and dirt can penetrate from outside, which makes detaching the plug connection difficult and, on the other hand, when producing and detaching the plug connection scratches and like damage are generated in an outer wall surface of the pipe end, whereby leaks occur under fluid pressure obtained in the connecting device. Based on recognition that these problems occur in practice, an apparent solution was to additionally seal, on the one hand, the pipe end against the clamping collar and, on the other hand, the clamping collar against the coupling body adjacent to the recess inlet, as has also been proposed in EP 1 143 185 A1, with aid of two O-ring seals. Of these two O-ring seals, one is provided between the clamping collar and an inner wall surface of the coupling body, and the other one is provided between the clamping collar and an outer wall surface of the pipe.
However, one problem is still a reliable spreading open of the arresting tongues when the clamping collar is slid in from the arresting position depicted in FIG. 1, since, on the one hand, compliance of a sealing ring at a front side of the clamping collar after ageing and, on the other hand, in absence of sufficient resilient elasticity, a reset force of the resilient tongues do not ensure an adequate spreading out force.


Supporting side for a hose-winding device. The side has a plurality of parallel ribs and, perpendicularly to them, successions of slots alternated with successions of stiffening elements formed by sections of wall alternated inward and outward from the hose-winding device and provided with stiffening ribs. In the side there are seats for the introduction of ends of a handle element and of a base element. In it there are also a snap-on coupling of a hub of a hose-winding drum and a snap-on coupling for a shaft supporting a pair of wheels.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a supporting side for a hose-winding drum for a device for winding flexible hose.
II. Related Art and Other Considerations
Devices are known for winding flexible hose wherein a rotating drum destined to receive the flexible hose is supported by a tubular metal structure formed by a base part (possibly provided with wheels) and by a top part (acting as a gripping and operating element).
The two tubular structure parts are substantially conformed in a U-shape and have suitably located bends. The two tubular structure parts are joined together and to the rotation pivot of the hose-winding drum at a pair of couplings, generally of plastic material, located at the two sides of the drum. Each of such couplings receives one end of each of the two parts of tubular structure and, perpendicularly, the drum's rotation hub, thus defining a single structure for supporting the drum.
Couplings for supporting the hub in plastic material are currently known. Such couplings have been formed by two equal side-by-side elements, each having a closed hole seat (for receiving the end of a respective part of the tubular structure) and an open perpendicular half-seat co-operating with the corresponding half-seat of the other element (for receiving the drum's rotation hub).
Couplings for supporting the hub are also constituted by a single element with an elongated shape. The element has ends respective aligned closed hole seats for receiving the respective ends of parts of a supporting tubular structure that can be connected together and through which a perpendicular hole is drilled for receiving a rotation hub.
These latter couplings are of extremely simple construction. They may be assembled easily and quickly for connecting together tubular structures and the support of a rotation hub, such as that of the rotating drum of a hose-winding cart.
The aforementioned couplings do, however, require the handle element, in addition to the bends necessary for forming the U, to also have a pair of bends such as to allow it (1) to be inserted in the coupling in a direction substantially perpendicular to the ground, and then (2) to extend transversally to it and either upward or downward with an optimum inclination so as to allow an easy pushing or grasping action of the hose-winding device and its stable positioning on the ground, respectively.
An object of the present invention is to provide a supporting side for a hose-winding drum for a device for winding flexible hose. The supporting side of the present invention executes the same function as the aforementioned couplings and is shaped so as to receive (on one side) a tubular base element and (on the other side) a tubular handle element, both in the shape of a U but with no other additional bends.
Another object is to provide a side with the minimum use of material and thus extremely light, but all the same suitable for resisting the various deflection and torsion forces.

Supporting side for a hose-winding drum for a device for winding flexible hose


A catheter is insertable into a vessel within a mammalian body. The catheter includes a tubular body, at least one channel extending along the tubular body, and a central lumen. The tubular body includes an exterior surface, a first end and a second end, and defines a length between the first end and the second end. The channel passes between a first opening and a second opening and includes a slot in the tubular body between the channel and the exterior surface of the tubular body such that a tubular member can be passed between the channel and the exterior surface. The slot extends from the first opening to the second opening and includes a pair of edges. The central lumen extends along the tubular body at least for a portion of the length of the tubular body. The catheter can be used as a rapid exchange catheter, for stent deployment, for drug delivery or therapeutic infusion with or without electroporation, to provide localized heat, to provide ultrasonic visualization and ablation, and to examine for vulnerable plaque. The catheter may have multiple balloons.

During catheter-based procedures, the physician often visualizes the area being treated under fluoroscopy and visualizes the catheter and/or treatment area using radiopaque materials. One method of visualizing is to fabricate the catheter from a polymer that has been compounded with any of the radiopaque materials that are known in the art, such as barium sulfate, bismuth trioxide, bismuth subcarbonate, tantalum and/or other known combination of radiopaque additives. Another known method is to put one or more marker bands around the outer diameter of the catheter at various positions at the distal end of the catheter. The marker bands can be spaced at known distances along the length of the catheter such that a fluoroscopic procedure can be used to determine distances of, for example, a lesion. Contrast dyes also are used to visualize the treated area by injecting a contrast dye through the catheter while the fluoroscope is being operated. The physician then can see the vessel in which the catheter is positioned, as well as any lesion past which the contrast dye flows.
In the procedure, the physician may use a guiding device, such as a guide wire, to controllably reach the lesion or area to be treated. Once the guide wire is in position, the physician may need to pass one or more catheters, tubular devices, and/or medical devices along the guide wire to the lesion or treatment area The physician may pull the catheter or tubular device back along the guide wire and finally off of the guide wire. A difficulty of this, however, is that the guide wire must be very long (i.e., longer than the catheter) in order to pull the catheter off the guide wire without needing to first or also pull the guide wire out of the patient. A known solution to this problem is the use of a rapid exchange configuration in which the distal end of the catheter has a pair of opening into a lumen and through which the guide wire may be passed by inserting the proximal end of the guide wire through the distal most opening and then passing the proximal end of the guide wire out of the proximal opening of the lumen. For example, such a configuration is described by Yock (U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,233), which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
One common application of rapid exchange and marker catheters is during coronary angioplasty, which refers to the use of an inflatable balloon to increase the blood flow through a stenosis (i.e., a partially blocked section of a blood vessel feeding the heart). A typical coronary angioplasty consists of three steps. First, a physician inserts a guiding catheter into a patient's blood vessel, typically through the femoral artery at the top of the patient's leg. The guiding catheter is advanced toward the heart through the patient's blood vessel, stopping short of the coronary arteries, and is then fixed in place. Next, the physician inserts a guide wire into the guiding catheter until the distal end of the guide wire exits the guiding catheter and enters the coronary artery. The physician then positions the guide wire across the stenosis to be treated in the coronary artery, and the guide wire is fixed in place. Finally, the physician advances a balloon catheter along the guide wire until the balloon exits the guiding catheter and is positioned across the stenosis. The physician then inflates the balloon to treat the stenosis, deflates the balloon, and removes the balloon catheter without disturbing the placement of either the guide wire or the guiding catheter.
Physicians frequently need to exchange balloon catheters during a single coronary angioplasty procedure. For example, if a stenosis blocks most of the blood flow through a vessel, the physician may first need to use a small balloon to increase the size of the opening through the stenosis, and then use a larger balloon to further increase the opening. Another example of a catheter exchange is when a physician uses a first balloon catheter to open a lumen and a second catheter to deploy a stent

Rapid exchange catheter with stent deployment, therapeutic infusion, and lesion sampling features


The present invention is directed to a collar for a multi-color light source that is able to convey not only color but also spatial information to a user to permit the colorblind user to distinguish between the different settings of the light source.

In 1998, Section 508 of the amended Rehabilitation Act (29 USC 794d) required Federal agencies to make electronic and information technology accessible to individuals with disabilities. The law applies to all Federal agencies that develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology. Since inaccessible technology interferes with a disabled individual's ability to obtain and use information quickly and easily, it is necessary to eliminate barriers in technology posed to individuals with disabilities. For example, when colors are the sole method for indicating the status of a device's elements or controls, colorblind people may find the device difficult to use. Accordingly, devices must provide another method of status indication, such as text labels or shape-coding, combined with the use of color.
A wide variety of electronic devices, such as business telephones, have traditionally used single-color Light Emitting Diodes or LEDs to convey status information. For example, an illuminated green LED might indicate that the corresponding line is available, while an illuminated red LED, associated with the same line, might indicate that the line is busy. Although color is used to convey information, this has not been a problem for colorblind users because the two LEDs are readily discernible to be in different locations. Illustratively, for the colorblind user, the line is available when the LED on the left is illuminated, and is busy when the LED on the right is illuminated.
A bi-color LED is composed of a pair of differently colored LEDs within the same housing. In a typical configuration, when a DC current flows in one direction through the bi-color LED, a first LED of a first color (but not a second LED of a different second color) is illuminated to provide the first color and, when the DC current flows in the opposing direction, the second but not the first LED is illuminated to provide the second color. Bi-color LEDs are often preferred in place of separate multiple single-color LEDs for a variety of reasons; these include a significant reduction in the cost of associated printed circuit boards, and an ability to miniaturize the display and user interface of the associated device. A problem, of course, is that the co-location of different-color emitters within the same LED housing makes it impossible for colorblind users to interpret the information that is being conveyed. Accordingly, such devices are not in compliance with federal procurement requirements.
An inexpensive space-saving solution, that would allow colorblind people to discern the status of bi-color LEDs, would be valuable and beneficial.

Pigmented collar for bi-color light emitting diodes


An approach is provided in which an information handling system captures a set of performance metrics corresponding to a traffic flow through a set of microservices included in the service mesh. Next, the information handling system identifies one or more modifications to the traffic flow based on analyzing the set of performance metrics against a set of application requirements corresponding to the set of microservices. In turn, the information handling system adjusts a traffic routing policy of the service mesh based on the identified one or more modifications.

Microservices architectures involve designing applications as a suite of independently deployable, small, modular services, which are typically referred to as "microservices." Each microservice executes a unique process and communicates through a well-defined, lightweight mechanism to serve a business goal using communication protocols. The microservices architecture has become a preferred way of developing software systems, particularly those that operate in cloud-based environments.
Microservices may be deployed on a wide variety of cloud environments provided by different service providers. When an application is developed as a collection of multiple granular and reusable microservices, the deployment creates a "service mesh" with multiple connections between the consumers, microservices, and service providers. A service mesh is a network of microservices developed from applications and the interactions between the microservices.
The service mesh usually employs a service mesh traffic manager that monitors and manages the mesh of microservices. The service mesh traffic manager secures communications between microservices, monitors traffic, enforces policies, and enforces requirements such as discovery, load balancing, failure recovery, metrics, and monitoring. A challenge found is that the service mesh traffic manager has difficulty managing the service mesh as the service mesh increases in size and complexity, resulting in a non-optimized traffic flow through the service mesh.

International Business Machines Corporation


In an embodiment, a cell assembly for use in a high-pressure cubic press comprises a substantially tubular heating element including a proximal end region having a proximal mouth, a distal end region having a distal mouth spaced from the proximal mouth, and a passageway extending between the proximal mouth and the distal mouth configured to receive at least partially receive at least one can assembly therein. The at least one can assembly may hold a plurality of diamond particles positioned adjacent to a substrate. A pressure transmitting medium extends about at least the substantially tubular heating element. A proximal electrical contact electrically contacts the substantially tubular heating element at the proximal end region thereof and does not extend over the proximal mouth thereof. A distal electrical contact electrically contacts the substantially tubular heating element at the distal end region thereof and does not extend over the distal mouth thereof. A gasket medium defines a receiving space that receives at least the substantially tubular heating element and the pressure transmitting medium.

Wear-resistant, polycrystalline diamond compacts ("PDCs") are utilized in a variety of mechanical applications. For example, PDCs are used in drilling tools (e.g., cutting elements, gage trimmers, etc.), machining equipment, bearing apparatuses, wire-drawing machinery, and in other mechanical apparatuses.
PDCs have found particular utility as superabrasive cutting elements in rotary drill bits, such as roller cone drill bits and fixed cutter drill bits. A PDC cutting element typically includes a superabrasive polycrystalline diamond layer commonly known as a polycrystalline diamond table. The polycrystalline diamond table is formed and bonded to a substrate using a high-pressure/high-temperature ("HPHT") process. The PDC cutting element may be brazed directly into a preformed pocket, socket, or other receptacle formed in a bit body. The substrate may often be brazed or otherwise joined to an attachment member, such as a cylindrical backing. A rotary drill bit typically includes a number of PDC cutting elements affixed to the bit body. It is also known that a stud carrying the PDC may be used as a PDC cutting element when mounted to a bit body of a rotary drill bit by press-fitting, brazing, or otherwise securing the stud into a receptacle formed in the bit body.
Conventional PDCs are normally fabricated by placing a layer of diamond particles adjacent to a surface of a cemented-carbide substrate and into a can assembly. The can assembly including the cemented-carbide substrate and layer of diamond particles therein may be surrounded by various different pressure transmitting media (e.g., salt liners), positioned in a graphite tube having graphite end caps disposed at respective ends of the graphite tube that forms a heater assembly, and finally embedded in a cube-shaped gasket medium (e.g., pyrophyllite). In an HPHT process used to form a PDC, anvils of an ultra-high pressure cubic press apply pressure to the cube-shaped gasket medium and the contents therein, while the cemented-carbide substrate and layer of diamond particles are controllably heated to a selected temperature at which sintering of the diamond particles is effected by passing a current through the graphite tube and end caps.

Cell assembly for use in a high-pressure cubic press


A membrane humidifier is disclosed. The membrane humidifier may include: a housing in which a hollow fiber membrane bundle is mounted, the hollow fiber membrane bundle being formed by integrating a plurality of hollow fiber membranes; a potting portion fixing an end portion of the hollow fiber membrane bundle to the housing and coupled to an end portion of the housing so as to hermetically seal the housing; and a sealing member disposed between the housing and the potting portion and hermetically sealing the housing.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a membrane humidifier. More particularly, the present invention relates to a membrane humidifier having a sealing member interposed between a housing and a potting portion fixing an end portion of a hollow fiber membrane bundle to the housing.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A membrane humidifier may use a hollow fiber membrane, and includes a housing and a hollow fiber membrane module mounted in the housing. Operation of the humidifier using the hollow fiber membrane may be affected by external environment. Particularly, the humidifier applied to a fuel cell system for a vehicle should be operated stably in a low-temperature region and a high-temperature region.
A conventional humidifier further includes a potting portion which integrates end portions of hollow fiber membranes and fixing the end portions of the hollow fiber membranes to the housing. Since heat strain of the potting portion, however, is larger than that of the housing, the potting portion may be separated from the housing or the housing may be broken in a low-temperature or a high-temperature environment. In this case, gas in the housing may leak.


An organic thin film transistor and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The organic thin film transistor comprises: a substrate; a gate electrode layer (21) and a source/drain electrode layer (24), formed on the substrate; an organic semiconductor layer (25), formed between source and drain electrodes (24) of the source/drain electrode layer; and an organic insulating layer (23), formed between the gate electrode layer (21) and the organic semiconductor layer (25) and made from an organic polymer material.

An organic thin film transistor (OTFT) is a semiconductor device produced by replacing a conventional inorganic material with an organic material. Compared to a transistor made from an inorganic material, OTFT has more and newer film forming technologies, so that the production process is simple, diversity and low cost, and the manufactured transistor is more flexible.
Silicon oxide is a very important insulating material in silicon-based semiconductor devices and its preparation process is mature, and thus, in an existing configuration of the organic thin film transistor illustrated in FIG. 1, silicon oxide is usually used as an insulating layer 12 on a gate electrode layer 11, afterwards, a source/drain electrode layer 13 is fabricated on the insulating layer 12, and an organic semiconductor material is printed on the source/drain electrode layer 13 to form an organic semiconductor layer 14.
As regards existing processes for fabricating organic thin film transistors by inkjet printing, the majority of them are to print an organic semiconductor ink material on a silicon oxide substrate directly. As the crystallization property of the organic semiconductor material is different between a surface of silicon oxide and a surface of metal electrode, it leads to a discontinuity of an organic semiconductor thin film on the boundary of a channel. Thus, the need of printing a continual organic semiconductor thin film across the channel cannot be satisfied, and eventually, continuity of the organic semiconductor thin film will be destroyed, and the crystal configuration of the organic semiconductor thin film will be uncontrollable. Furthermore, from the point of view of device performance, in case that the organic semiconductor material is directly printed on the silicon oxide substrate, an obvious hysteresis phenomenon presents in its transmission characteristic.

Method of manufacturing organic thin film transistor having organic polymer insulating layer


A helm apparatus for a marine craft or other vehicle having a steered member such as a rudder includes a mechanically rotatable steering device and a sensor which senses angular movement of the steering device when the craft is steered. A communication link to the rudder enables the helm to monitor the rudder position. A bi-directional stop mechanism is actuated when the helm determines that the rudder position is beyond starboard or port hard-over thresholds, indicating that the rudder has reached a limit of travel. The helm can cause the stop mechanism to fully engage the steering device to stop further rotation of the steering device in a first rotational direction, corresponding to rotational movement towards the limit of travel.

This invention relates to steering systems and, in particular, to steer-by-wire steering systems for marine craft or other vehicles.
Conventional marine steering systems couple one or more helms to one or more rudders utilizing mechanical or hydraulic means. In smaller marine craft, cables conventionally have been used to operatively connect a helm to the rudder. Alternatively the helm has been provided with a manual hydraulic pump operated by rotation of the steering wheel. Hydraulic lines connect the helm pump to a hydraulic actuator connected to the rudder. Some marine steering systems provide a power assist via an engine driven hydraulic pump, similar to the hydraulic power steering systems found in automobiles. In those systems a cable helm or a hydraulic helm mechanically controls the valve of a hydraulic assist cylinder.
It has been recognized that so-called steer-by-wire steering systems potentially offer significant advantages for marine applications. Such systems may yield reduced costs, potentially more reliable operation, more responsive steering, greater tailored steering comfort, and simplified installation. Smart helms allow an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to tailor steering feel and response to craft type and operator demographics. Steer-by-wire steering systems are also better adapted for modern marine craft fitted with CAN buses or similar communications buses and may make use of electrical information from speed, load and navigation, autopilot or anti-theft devices for example.
Various attempts have been made to provide a commercially viable steer-by-wire steering system for marine craft. An example is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,771 to Buckley et al. which utilizes a CAN bus for a plurality of helms. Another is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,424 to Bird et al. A further example is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,634 to Ford et al.
However these earlier systems have not been completely successful in replacing more conventional hydraulic steering systems in smaller marine craft for example. Accordingly there is a need for an improved steer-by-wire steering system particularly adapted for smaller marine craft and also potentially useful for other steering applications such as tractors, forklifts and automobiles.


Methods and compositions that include a method comprising providing a treatment fluid that comprises an aqueous base fluid, a biocide, a biocide enhancer, a friction reducer, and a compatibility aid, and introducing the treatment fluid into a subterranean formation. A composition provided includes a treatment fluid comprising an aqueous base fluid, a biocide, a biocide enhancer, a friction reducer, and a compatibility aid.

The present invention relates to treatment fluids that are suitable for use in subterranean operations. Among their many benefits, the treatment fluids provide compatible biocide and friction reducing treating effects in a subterranean treatment fluid in a subterranean operation such as a drilling, completion, or stimulation operation. Associated methods are also disclosed.
When treatment fluids utilized in drilling or stimulating oil or gas wells contain an undesirable bioburden, those fluids when introduced into a subterranean formation can undesirably contaminate the subterranean formation. As used herein, the term "bioburden" refers to the bacteria that exist as members of a biofilm, a meta-community consisting of microbial cells (algal, fungal or bacterial) and the extracellular biopolymers the cells produce in a water system. An example of what might be considered an undesirable bioburden may be the presence of bacterial slime which plugs permeability flow paths, impairing the production of oil and gas from subterranean formations. Also, bacterial action or the bi-products of their activity (e.g., hydrogen sulfide production), which may corrode production or transport piping, may be considered an undesirable bioburden. As used herein, the term "treatment fluid" refers to any fluid that may be used in a subterranean application in conjunction with a desired function and/or for a desired purpose. The term "treatment fluid" does not imply any particular action by the fluid or any component thereof.
Anaerobic bacteria and particularly sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB), present in the fluid can lead to a variety of undesirable outcomes if introduced into the subterranean formation. For instance, once in the formation, if the bacteria produce sludge or slime, they can cause a reduction in the porosity of the formation, which in turn is thought to reduce the production of oil and/or gas therefrom. Additionally, sulfate reducing bacteria produce hydrogen sulfide, which, even in small quantities, causes many problems. For instance, the presence of hydrogen sulfide in produced oil and gas can cause excessive corrosion in metal tubular goods and surface equipment, damage to treating chemicals lowering their effectiveness, a lower oil selling price, and a necessity to remove hydrogen sulfide from gas prior to sale.
When a formation that has been fractured becomes overly contaminated with bacteria, e.g., by the introduction of bacteria through the fracturing fluid used during the fracturing treatment, or through other fluids such as drilling fluids, workover fluids, and kill fluids, the presence of the bacteria can be particularly problematic. In some instances, the bacteria can be long distances from the well bore as a result of having been carried into fractures in the formation by the fracturing fluid. Combating the bacteria in such formations often proves to be difficult. For instance, oftentimes the bactericide cannot reach the bacteria in these fractures. Thus, the bactericide cannot reach the bacteria. Additionally, the proppant materials in the previously formed fractures may be disturbed, thereby reducing the permeability of the formation.
In order to effectively treat water against bacterial contamination, a fast acting biocide is needed. This may be even more important for on-the-fly treatments, where biocides have a very short contact time with the water before other treating chemicals are added and the fluids are pumped down hole. To get an effective fast kill of bacteria, in some instances it is believed to be helpful to include a biocide enhancer to aid the biocide treatments or work synergistically with the biocide. Specific classes of chemicals which accomplish this may be quaternary surfactants. "19N™," a cationic surfactant commercially available from Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., Duncan, Okla., is an example of a biocide enhancer that may be suitable. When used in combination with biocides such as sodium hypochlorite or glutaraldehyde, in some instances, bacterial problems may be treated in a little as 5 minutes. The term "fast kill" as used herein refers to kill time of 5 minutes or less.
Although quaternary surfactants can be useful when use in conjunction with biocides, some quaternary surfactants may have a fundamental incompatibility with anionic friction reducers, which are also useful in subterranean operations. Although the exact theory is unknown, it is believed that this fundamental incompatibility may be due to the formal charges present on both molecules that may cause the quaternary surfactant and the friction reducer to react and form a precipitant. Additionally, some biocides (such as oxidizers) may degrade the friction reducer. This is viewed as disadvantageous because if the friction reducer degrades or settles out of the solution, the fluid may require a great deal of pressure during pumping, which can lead to safety concerns and inefficient treatments.

Treatment fluids having biocide and friction reducing properties and associated methods


Benzo(e)perimidine-4-carboxamide derivatives of general structural formula I ##STR1## (where R.sub.a, R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3, R.sup.4, R.sup.5, and R.sup.6 are as defined in the specification) have activity for receptors of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF). The compounds are useful in treating stress-related diseases, cardiovascular, neurological and psychiatric disorders including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, anorexia nervosa, superanuclear palsy, irritable bowel syndrome, gastrointestinal diseases, immune suppression, inflammatory disorders, drug and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, drug addiction, Alzheimer's disease or fertility disorders.

CRF is a 41-amino acid linear peptide isolated from ovine hypothalmia. CRF plays a crucial role in integrating the body's overall response to stress. Although the existence of CRF was postulated more than thirty years ago (G. W. Harris, Physiol. Rev. 28:139), its purification and sequencing was reported in 1981 (W. Vale et al., Science, 213, 1394 (1981); J. Spiess et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., U.S.A., 78, 6517 (1981)). Shortly thereafter the sequences of human and rat CRF were determined and these were found to be the same, but differed from ovine CRF (oCRF) in 7 of the 41 amino acid residues (J. Rivier et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., U.S.A., 80, 4851 (1983)); Furutani et al. Nature, 301, 537 (1983). CRF produces profound alterations in behavioral and autonomic nervous system functions (M. R. Brown and L. A. Fisher, Fed. Proc., 44, 243 (1985); G. F. Koob, F. E. Bloom, Fed. Proc., 44, 259 (1985)). Upon direct administration into the brain, CRF initiates behavioral, physiological and endocrine responses that are essentially identical to those observed when animals are exposed to stressful environment. When given, for example, by intracerebroventricular (icv) injection, CRF induces behavioral activation (R. E. Sutton et al. Nature 297, 331 (1982)), it produces a long-lasting activation of the electroencephalogram (C. L. Ehlers, et al. Brain Res. 278, 332 (1983)), stimulates the sympathoadrenomodullary pathway (M. R. Brown et al. Endocrinology 110, 928 (1982)), increases heart rate, raises blood pressure and increases oxygen consumption (L. A. Fisher et al. Endocrinology 1 10, 2222 (1982)), alters gastrointestinal activity (M. R. Brown et al. Life Sciences 30, 207 (1982), suppresses food intake (C. L. Williams et al. Am. J Physiol, 253, G582 (1987) and sexual behavior (A. S. Levine et al. Neuropharmacology, 22, 337 (1983)), and affects immune function (D. J. S. Sirinathsinghji et al. Nature, 305, 232 (1983); M. Irwin et al. Am. J. Physiol. 225, R744 (1988).
The actions of CRF in the peripheral and central nervous system are media ted through multiple binding sites. These CRF binding sites are heterogeneous with respect to sequence, pharmacology, and tissue distribution. Three CRF receptors, CRF.sub.1, CRF.sub.2.alpha. and CRF.sub.2.beta., which encode 411-, 415-, and 431-amino acid proteins respectively, have been reported to date. The reported CRF receptors comprise seven putative membrane-spanning domains characteristic of G.sub.s -coupled receptors. All three CRF receptors transduce a signal which involves stimulation of cAMP production.
A few classes of non-peptide CRF receptor antagonists have been reported in the past few years. Derivatives of 4-substituted thio-5-oxo-3-pyrazolines have been disclosed as CRF antagonists in U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,133. A weakly potent class of CRF antagonists has been reported in European patent application EP 0576350A1 (1993). Series of patent applications (WO 94/13643, WO 94/136344, WO 94/13661 and WO 94/13677) claiming non-peptide compounds as CRF antagonists have been reported by Pfizer and Co., Inc. The duPont Merck pharmaceutical company has recently disclosed a class of CRF antagonists, 1N-alkyl-N-arylpyrimidines and their derivatives in international patent application WO 95/10506.

Benzoperimidine-carboxylic acids and derivatives thereof


A consumer electronics device comprises an interrogator and a tag is associated with an accessory for the wireless communications device. The tag stores an identifier that identifies hidden multimedia content stored in memory of the wireless communications device. When the consumer electronics device and the accessory are in close proximity to each other, the interrogator activates the tag for the identifier. A content manager disposed in the consumer electronics device unlocks the hidden multimedia content based on the received identifier.

The present invention relates generally to wireless communications devices, and more particularly to wireless communications devices having hidden multimedia content stored in memory.
Wireless communications devices come in many different models. Each model is typically configured to render a variety of multimedia content to a user, and is able to mate with a wide array of accessories. For example, many devices come preprogrammed from the manufacturer with polyphonic ring tones, images, or video, and are compatible with various covers, headsets, and other peripheral devices. Further, many manufacturers and/or third party vendors also offer additional multimedia content and accessory devices that users may purchase after the initial purchase of the wireless communications device. While such variety is beneficial, it is often difficult for any particular manufacturer to differentiate its own products from its competitors' products. Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method that will help manufacturers differentiate their products in the marketplace.

System and method to unlock hidden multimedia content


An intervertebral spacer for therapeutic treatment of a patient includes at least one link sized and dimensioned to fit within an intervertebral space in the patient, and is configured to maintain a separation of two adjacent vertebrae for a period of time. A rigid guiding object, which may be a tool or a successive link, is insertable into the patient, to guide other links into the patient using an MIS approach. A pivot is connected between successive links, or between a guide tool and a link, configured to limit a relative range of angular orientation between the link and the guiding tool, or successive links. Multiple links are so joined to form a chain pushable by the last link, and pullable by the first link, to form a chain which may be formed into a curved configuration corresponding to the patient's intervertebral space.

Bones and bony structures are susceptible to a variety of weaknesses that can affect their ability to provide support and structure. Weaknesses in bony structures have numerous potential causes, including degenerative diseases, tumors, fractures, and dislocations. Advances in medicine and engineering have provided doctors with a plurality of devices and techniques for alleviating or curing these weaknesses.
In some cases, the spinal column requires additional support in order to address such weaknesses. One technique for providing support is to insert a spacer between adjacent vertebrae. Preparation of the intervertebral disc space includes maneuvering a cutting tool within a small space. The foregoing and other diseases may benefit from the removal or shaping of body tissue through a minimal incision, for example in a laparoscopic procedure, where the tool must be sufficiently small to pass through a small opening in the body. Once access to the intervertebral space is attained a spacer is inserted into the intervertebral space.


A system for automatically forming chunks and spears at high speed from unpeeled fruit items is provided. The fruit is sliced into unpeeled wedges. The unpeeled wedges are conveyed into a plurality of staggered transverse chunking blades, wherein the flesh, but not the peel, is cut sequentially from the center of each wedge outwardly, flattening each wedge. A peel removal knife is located to sever the peel of each wedge from the center outwardly after the transverse chunk cutting blades have cut the flesh. Spears may be formed by deleting some of the transverse chunking blades.

The present invention pertains to a fruit chunking and spear forming machine that is designed to automatically produce chunks and/or spears of fruit from fresh, unpeeled whole fruit. The invention applies to the production of melon, cantaloupe and pineapple chunks and/or spears, but the same technology can be applied to other types of fruit. As used herein, the word "spears" means an elongated piece of fruit; the cross-section can be rectangular or a variety of shapes.
The worldwide demand for fruit chunks and spears continues to rise, even as the cost of fresh fruit increases. Fruit chunks and spears are being sold in an increasing array of outlets such as restaurants, markets and fast food establishments. There is an increasing demand for fruit processing equipment that is efficient, reliable and cost effective. The prior art teaches the use of either manual techniques or the requirement for multiple machines to produce chunks and/or spears. Providing a single machine capable of chunking and/or forming spears from a variety of fresh fruits would help meet the burgeoning demand for these products.
The current methods of producing fruit chunks and/or spears from whole fresh fruit include hand cutting, mechanized peeling between centers and mechanized scooping. The present invention improves upon hand cutting by increasing throughput and reducing repetitive motion injuries. It improves upon prior art mechanized peeling by improving the quality of the finished product and it improves upon mechanized scooping by improving yield.
The prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,469 which teaches a system of peeling, slicing and chunking pineapples. The peeling is performed separately by a different machine. As described below, it would be advantageous to provide a system that could peel, core, sever seed cells, slice and chunk a wide variety of fruit with a single machine. The present invention does all these steps with a single machine, and with a minimum amount of waste. The present invention is not limited to the processing of pineapples. The invention described below includes rind or peel removal, core and seed cell removal and cutting into chunks and/or spears, all automated within one machine.


A cooling system for an electronic device including a heat generating component within a case, wherein the heat generating component is installed on a bottom plate of the case, the bottom plate has a ventilating hole for air passage formed therein, and a foot portion installed outer surface of the case for maintaining a prescribed vertically opened space below the lower surface of the case.

The present invention relates to a cooling system for electronic devices such as a note-type personal computer, a desk top-type computer or the like.
In general, various cooling systems have been introduced to cool heat generated from heat generating components such as a CUP or the like in electronic devices.
FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional cooling system for electronic devices. As shown in FIG. 5, the conventional cooling system for electronic devices includes a heat pipe 52 thermally connected to a heat generating component 51 such as a CPU or the like installed within a case 50, and a heat sink having pin-type fin 53 which is thermally connected to the heat pipe 52. A fan 56 is attached to the heat sink 54 in the vicinity of outlet port 55 of the case 50.
According to the conventional cooling system for electronic devices, the heat generated from the heat generating component 51 is transferred through the heat pipe 52 to the heat sink 54, and then, exhaled through the outlet port 55 by means of the rotation of the fan 56.
The present invention relates to a cooling system for an electronic device in which a highly cooling effect can be obtained even if the space within the case is small. One embodiment of a cooling system for an electronic device of the present invention comprises a cooling system for an electronic device including a heat generating component within a case, wherein said heat generating component is installed on a bottom plate of said case, said bottom plate is made of a heat transfer material with a ventilating hole for air passage formed therein, and a foot portion installed outer surface of said case for maintaining a prescribed vertically opened space below the lower surface of the case.


The present apparatus and method provides for real-time automated, non-invasive infrared thermography information of an animal to be used for both thermal and behavioral measurement, thereby providing an earlier and more accurate predictor of onset of disease, growth states, or reproductive states in that animal. More specifically, the present system and method provide for the use of thermal images (taken, for example, at a water station) to obtain both temperature and behavioral information about one or more animals at a time, and to utilize that information to determine the health, growth, or reproductive state of the animal. The combination of thermal biometric data, such as radio frequency identification infrared thermography, and behavioral biometric information, such as behavioral fidgets can be used to detect early-onset of these biological steady and non-steady states in animals.

Livestock often undergo significant exposure to transport and handling, co-mingling, auction and some time off feed and water. Collectively, these events can impede the immune system and can result in a significant incidence of disease. Such events can have considerable economic impact, for example, on the agricultural industry both with respect to health treatment costs and animal performance. Recent research has resulted in an increased understanding of the importance of animal management factors, such as transport and ante-mortem handling, in influencing both animal welfare and the food quality arising from such animals. It is known that disease and stress can have a dramatic, negative impact on animal welfare parameters and performance as well as meat quality and yield and hence the economics of the animal industries.
As would be known to a person of skill in the art, a number of diseases, such as Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) type 1 and 2, Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR), Corona Virus, Bovine Para-Influenza (PI3) and Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV), can impact livestock populations. One such disease complex, known as bovine respiratory disease (BRD), refers to a host of complex diseases, and is generally used to refer to an animal displaying an undifferentiated fever and/or other clinical signs (e.g. respiratory distress, lethargy, and loss of appetite).
The presence of BRD in intensively raised calves has caused a dependence on antibiotic treatments (including mass treatments), which, in turn, has led to a concern for the promotion of antibiotic resistant microbes. Indeed, the ability to treat BRD in cattle is becoming more difficult due to the emergence of resistant microbes (for e.g., pneumonia), or new zoontic diseases in multiple sourced, co-mingled cattle. Furthermore, recent reports have shown substantial contamination of carcass and meat products with antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria such as E. coli.
The effectiveness of treating livestock diseases, such as BRD, can depend upon the ability to detect, diagnose and treat affected animals early. The ability to achieve early detection will depend upon the information available and on the reliability of that information. For instance, when used alone, traditional clinical signs of disease provide poor diagnostic results because clinical symptoms often occur late into the course of the illness. Further, many diagnostic techniques, such as the use of acute phase proteins or hematology assessment, require the capture and invasive, in vivo collection of biological samples, which result in the significant cost of analysis and time. The requirement of the capture (and therefore restraint) of the animal in order to collect a biological sample causes stress, and the process itself is therefore introducing inaccuracies into the data collected.
Recent research has focused on alternative approaches to non-invasively determine the early identification and onset of disease in cattle. One such approach is infrared thermography, which can be used as a means of detecting the dissipation of heat in animals. Thermography operates on the principle that infrared radiation can be utilized to observe radiated heat loss and to provide an early indicator of fever because up to ˜60% of the heat loss from an animal can occur in infrared ranges. The technology has been demonstrated to be effective in non-invasive identification of transport and other environmental stressors that can alter an animal's heat loss.
Another approach to non-invasive disease analysis is the commonly used "pen-checking" approach, wherein the animal caregiver observes the animal on a daily basis to detect any abnormal behavioural patterns, or clinical signs of illness (e.g. decrease in eating due to loss of appetite; see Table 1 for further examples of behavioural benchmarks). Although non-invasive, pen-checking is highly inaccurate particularly during the early stages of disease onset and leads to false-positive and false-negative results because it depends upon the skill and observations of the caregiver. Further, it is known that animals often do not display overt signs of illness (that would be detectable to a caregiver) until later in the progression of the disease, resulting in an increased risk of infection of healthy animals in a population, particularly where the animals share a source of food and water.
TABLE 1PRIOR ARTCommonly-used clinical scores used in the bovine respiratory disease (BRD)early disease detectionClinical Score Assessment012345Disposition,MovingSlightlyModerateHangingProstrate,DeathLethargyarounddepressedlethargyback fromRecumbentandwell withappearance,andthe rest ofor abnormalBehaviournormalHolds headdepression,the herd,posture,posture,slightlyHolds headRecumbentNotContent,lower thanlow, Droopyorinterested inNonormal, Mildears, Slowabnormalsurroundings,signs ofanorexiato rise,posture,WeaknesslethargyStiffLargelymovements,depressedAnorecticRespiratoryNormalVery fineFine crackleMediumCourseMarkedInsultbreathcrackleand/orcracklecracklesrespiratorysoundsand/ormoderateand/orand/ordistressmoderatenasalmoderatesevereand/or lungcoughdischargeto severedischargeconsolidationandviscouswithmoderatenasalrespiratorycoughdischargedistress andwith coughobtundedlung soundsDigestiveNoMild orModerateModerateSevereSevereInsultinsult,slightdiarrheato severediarrhea, anddiarrhea andNormaldiarrheawith 10%diarrhealess thannot eating,eatingwith slightdehydrationwith 10% or10% ofnot drinkinganddehydrationandless of feednormal feedanddrinkingand reducedreducedintake andintakedehydratedeatingfeed intakemore than10%dehydration
It is also known that the identification of non-disease states in animals is important to the agricultural industry as well as to zoo and wildlife biology settings. There are many biological events in an animal's life that influence a plethora of biometric measurements and characteristics expressed. Some of these events are normal biological functions an animal will display such as when they adapt to a changing environmental temperature, a changing growth period or a changing endocrine event including puberty or estrus. Other events are less common and will include the onset of a disease state. In either disease or non-disease states the animal will be considered to be in a biologically important, non-steady state during these periods. These biologically important states may have, for example, agriculturally important consequences and implications.
Growth efficiency in animals is often defined as the gain in a particular tissue type such as muscle or milk compared to the input of resources such as feed and water. In addition to disease states, growth efficiency is an important attribute in animal agriculture as competition for limited resources increases. However, measuring growth efficiency has always been a challenge. One of the more accurate methods to monitor growth efficiency is to use indirect calorimetry which measures exactly the amount of oxygen and energy used by an animal for a given increase in gain of a specific tissue while noting that the metabolism will also give off heat (Kleiber, M. 1961. The fire of life—an introduction to animal energetics. John Wiley & Sons, Inc). Alternatively, growth efficiency can be monitored by measuring the actual feed consumed by an animal and the growth that resulted or measuring the so called gain to feed ratio (Kleiber, M. 1961. The fire of life—an introduction to animal energetics. John Wiley & Sons, Inc).
A more recent approach to monitoring growth efficiency has been to monitor the so called residual feed intake (RFI) which fundamentally is a comparison of the measured feed to gain against a known estimate for feed to gain based on scientifically accepted formulas (Basarab et al. 2003, 2007 see below). However, this later method, while reasonably accurate, requires a lengthy seventy days or more feed monitoring period which is both expensive and impractical.
It is also known that the identification of reproductive states in animals is important to biology in general and to the agricultural industry specifically. For example, reproductive states such as onset of puberty and estrus are important to identify for the purposes of reproductive efficiency, and therefore agricultural efficiency. It is known in the art that the onset of puberty and estrus are characterised by behavioural estrus which includes an increased restlessness of the animal.
There is therefore a need for non-invasive, early and accurate means of identifying biologically important states in animals. Furthermore, there is a need for a non-invasive detection means that are capable of identifying diseased animals, even in populations where there is a low prevalence of the disease.

Apparatus and method for using infrared thermography and behaviour information for identification of biologically important states in animals


Various techniques for managing heat and backwards-incompatible updates in cloud-based networks are described. In an example method, a virtualized resource, is identified. At least one first host may include an updated version of an element and at least one second host may include a previous version of the element. The updated version may be incompatible with the previous version. A first desirability index corresponding to the at least one first host may be less than a second desirability index corresponding to the at least one second host. The virtualized resource may be live-migrated from the source host to a target host among the at least one first host.

Cloud-based networks can provide on-demand computing resources for use by multiple users. A cloud-based network can include multiple physical servers, which may include processors and memory that can be shared by different virtualized resources associated with different users. In some examples, the physical servers can be part of a large-scale fleet. The cloud-based network can dynamically allocate computing resources of a given server to a given virtualized resource.

Controlling placement of virtualized resources based on desirability index for host pools