A technique for consistently simulating at two different complexities of simulation is described. This technique is particularly relevant to simulation of a creature-like autonomous agent (biological or artificial or hybrid). The model, in the particular case a model of the creature, comprises at least two portions. The first portion contains functions used in both of the different complexities of simulation. The second portion comprises two alternative versions, a first version for use in one complexity of simulation, and a second version for use in the other complexity of simulation.

As will be indicated later, although the present invention has broader application, it arose in connection with the simulation of creatures. This area of art will now be discussed.
One of the problems with studying life sciences is that changes in ecosystems and the evolution of life forms takes place over long periods of time. Consequently, life processes have been simulated in a variety of formats, thus allowing the study of the interaction of creatures and the emerging population patterns.
An animat is an artificial creature which exhibits an active and purposeful behavior in an environment which presents it with problems—obstacles, navigation, hazards, goals. Animats are often inspired by biological organisms, which are observed to solve complex problems in real physical environments. Indeed, animats may be designed to be as close as possible to the original biological organisms, so as to model the potential behavior and/or evolution of such organisms.
It will be understood that use of the word "animat" is intended to mean not only artificial creatures that are directly inspired by real biological creatures, but also imaginary animals and other autonomous agents such as real or imagined robots or "cyborgs" (part animal, part machine).
In order to make such simulations as accurate as possible, it is desirable to lavish as much computational resource on each artificial creature as is available. The method of simulating an animat depends on the available computational resources. If a significant amount of processing power is available, it is possible to perform a high-fidelity simulation (Hi-Fi Sim). Such a high-fidelity simulation will include the use of computationally expensive techniques for behavior selection, sensing and interaction with the environment and other animats, e.g. use of a form of 3D rigid-body physics simulation to model the environment and the various parts of the body of the animat; use of ray-tracing computer graphics to synthesize visual sensory input; the simulation of the transmission, absorption, and reflection of sound waves, etc.
If only a relatively small amount of computational power is available, then a relatively low-fidelity simulation (Lo-Fi Sim) would be utilized to ensure that the simulation progresses at a reasonable rate. Such a Lo-Fi Sim will use computationally less expensive techniques, such as only using a two dimensional (2D) model of the environment, and employing a simplified model of the body of the animat e.g. treating it as a point mass with redetermined locomotion characteristics (speed, rate of turn etc).
It is desirable that any predetermined type of animat will function in a consistent manner regardless of the level of simulation.

Simulation at two different levels of complexity

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A door trim panel for a door frame of a motor vehicle. The door trim panel includes a main body portion adapted to be removably secured to the door frame and a bolster removably secured to the main body portion. The bolster covers an access opening defined in the main body portion. Fastened to the bolster is an armrest that includes a plurality of spaced-apart nibs or projections positioned to contact an integral support surface of the bolster to thereby support the armrest. In certain embodiments of the invention, the bolster may be integral with the main body portion.

Vehicle door constructions typically feature a metal door frame with a sheet metal outer panel or skin that defines the door's exterior and an inner sheet metal panel secured to the door frame. Various door components, including window regulator rails, audio speakers, latches, and the like, are fastened in openings defined in the inner sheet metal panel. Covering the inner door panel is a removable trim panel that provides an aesthetically pleasing facade viewed by occupants seated in the passenger cabin of the motor vehicle. Typically disposed between the inner sheet metal panel and trim panel is a water and/or sound barrier that closes the various openings and prevents water infiltrating the interior of the door from wetting the interior surface of the trim panel. A wire harness communicates electrical connections between mechanisms attached to the vehicle door and controls on the trim panel. The latch is connected by a cable to an inner release handle accessible to the vehicle occupant.
Door trim panels have previously been constructed as assemblies in which the individual components are assembled together and attached to a panel by several different conventional processes including adhesives, heat staking, sonic welding, fasteners, etc. Such assemblies may include a nibbed armrest sub-assembly consisting of an injection molded skin that is assembled with a substrate. The nibbed armrest and substrate sub-assembly is then directly attached to the trim panel or attached to a removable bolster covering an access opening in the trim panel. While such conventional assemblies may provide a desired appearance and functionality, the use of such conventional assemblies introduce their own drawbacks. For instance, the use of a separate substrate to reinforce and support the nibbed armrest introduces a separate component in the assembly and also increases cost.
What is needed therefore is a door trim panel construction that addresses these and other deficiencies of conventional door trim panel constructions.

Vehicle trim panel with integral nibbed armrest


A method for dividing a pattern according to the present invention is used in a charged particle beam projecting apparatus, in which: a plurality of block patterns into which a projected pattern to be projected on a substrate is divided are respectively formed in a plurality of regions of a mask; the plurality of regions of the mask are successively irradiated with a charged particle beam so that the block patterns are successively projected on the substrate; and as a result the projected pattern is formed on the substrate. The method includes a step of dividing the projected pattern into the block patterns by parting lines which are plotted in accordance with profiles of pattern elements that constitute the projected pattern when the block patterns are determined.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mask used in a charged particle beam projecting apparatus adapted to project respective patterns of a plurality of regions, formed in a mask, on a substrate by means of a charged particle beam, so as to project a desired pattern on the substrate. This invention is also concerned with a method for dividing the pattern to be projected on the substrate.
2. Description of Related Art
A known lithography apparatus for forming an integrated circuit pattern on a semiconductor wafer comprises a charged particle beam projecting apparatus wherein a mask having a certain pattern formed therein is irradiated with a charged particle beam, such as an electron beam, and a portion of the pattern in the irradiated range of the mask is projected in a reduced ratio on the wafer by means of a projecting lens. In this type of projecting apparatus, the entire area of the mask cannot be simultaneously irradiated with the charged particle beam, and therefore the field of view of an optical system is divided into a multiplicity of small regions, so as to project a pattern image that is also divided into small sections. Such an apparatus is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,151.
FIGS. 5A and 5B are perspective views schematically showing the relationship between a pattern of a mask 1 to be projected, and a pattern projected on a wafer 2. The appearance of the wafer 2 as a whole is shown in FIG. 5A, and a "Va" region of this wafer 2 is shown in enlargement in FIG. 5B. As shown in FIG. 5B, the mask 1 has a plurality of rectangular small regions 1a, and a boundary region 1b that provides partition in a grid form for defining these small regions 1a. In each of the small regions 1a of the mask 1, there is formed a section of a pattern (which will be described later) to be projected on a region 2a of the wafer 2 that corresponds to one chip (one piece of semiconductor). The boundary region 1b is formed uniformly of a material that interrupts or largely scatters the charged particles of the incident beam. The charged particle beam is formed into a cross sectional shape (rectangular shape) similar to that of the small region 1a, and is directed at one of the small regions 1a of the mask 1 by means of a deflector for selecting the field of view (not shown). The charged particle beam BM that has passed the small region 1a passes a crossover CO on an optical axis AX by means of a projecting lens (not shown), and is incident upon a unit region 2b within a chip region 2a of the wafer 2. In this manner, the image of the pattern formed in the small region 1a of the mask 1 is projected in a reduced ratio on the unit region 2b of the wafer 2.
FIG. 6A shows a part of a pattern 3 to be projected on the wafer 2, and FIG. 6B shows a part of a mask pattern formed in some of the small regions 1a of the mask 1. The pattern 3 consists of pattern elements P11, P12 . . . , and is divided by parting lines d1 indicated by dashed lines into a plurality of block patterns 3aa, 3ab . . . which are to be projected on the wafer 2. On the other hand, small regions 1aa, 1ab . . . of the mask 1 are identical with the small regions 1a shown in FIG. 5B. The pattern elements included in the block pattern 3aa are formed in the small region 1aa of the mask 1, and the pattern elements included in the block pattern 3ab are formed in the small region 1ab. Conventionally, the pattern 3 is routinely divided into the rectangular block patterns 3aa, 3ab . . . , as shown in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, irrespective of the shape of the pattern elements P11, P12 . . . of the pattern 3.
With the pattern 3 routinely divided into the block patterns as described above, some of the pattern elements intersect the parting lines such that each of these intersecting pattern elements extends over two block patterns. For example, the pattern element P22 intersects the parting line d1 of the projected pattern 3, and is thus included in both of the block patterns 3aa and 3ab, as shown in FIG. 6A, so that the element P22 is split into two pattern elements P22a, P22b that are respectively formed in the small regions 1aa and 1ab of the mask 1, as shown in FIG. 6B. Since the pattern element P22 is projected onto the wafer 2 by respectively projecting the pattern elements P22a, P22b, a connecting portion on the wafer 2 between these pattern elements P22a, P22b inevitably suffers from connection error. If the pattern element P22 corresponds to a drain layer of a MOS transistor, for example, such connection error occurring in the wafer 2 may result in changes in characteristics of the MOS transistor and reduced yield of the device.
Further, when the block patterns 3aa, 3ab are formed in the small regions 1aa, 1ab of the mask, the area having z width where the block patterns 3aa, 3ab can not be formed is needed between the small regions 1aa, 1ab to ensure the physical strength of the mask 1. If the size of a semiconductor device is assumed as 18.times.36 mm.sup.2 and a size of the area corresponding to one of the small regions of the mask is assumed as 0.25.times.0.25 mm.sup.2, a problem arises that the size of the mask becomes bigger so that longitudinal length increases by (72.times.z) and lateral length increases by (144.times.z).

Mask used in charged particle beam projecting apparatus and method for dividing pattern


A storage device may include a plurality of memory devices, and a controller. The controller may be configured to perform garbage collection to reclaim one or more blocks included in a particular memory device of the plurality of memory devices by at least: removing the particular memory device from the set of write-eligible memory devices; reading data from the one or more blocks included in the particular memory device; and returning the particular memory device to the set of write-eligible memory devices.

Memory devices used in computers or other electronics devices may be non-volatile memory or volatile memory. The main difference between non-volatile memory and volatile memory is that non-volatile memory may continue to store data without requiring a persistent power supply. As a result, non-volatile memory devices have developed into a popular type of memory for a wide range of electronic applications. For instance, non-volatile memory devices, including flash memory devices, are commonly incorporated into solid-state storage devices, such as solid-state drives (SSDs). In some examples, a controller of a memory device may perform one or more operations to manage data stored by the memory device. For instance, where a block of flash memory stores valid data and invalid (stale) data, a controller may perform garbage collection (GC) to remove the invalid data by reading the valid data from the block, erasing the entire block, and writing the valid data back to the flash memory.


A payment chat bot can access a first chat text provided in a chat session by a merchant chat bot. The chat session is hosted by a chat service for communication between a plurality of chat application instances, where the payment and merchant chat bots simulate chat application instances. The method includes determining, based on the first chat text, whether to couple a payment session between a payment server and a merchant server for processing a payment transaction initiated from a chat application instance via the chat session. The method includes, in response to a determination to couple the payment session, coupling the payment session between the payment server and the merchant server.

Embodiments of the inventive subject matter generally relate to the field of communication systems and, more particularly, to communicating in chat sessions using chat bots.
Chat sessions facilitate communication between chat applications in a communication system. A user of a chat application can communicate, over a communication network, with a user of another chat application by transmitting communication to, and receiving communication from, the chat session. A chat bot can simulate a chat application to communicate with other chat applications using the chat session. The user can also have an account at a financial institution. However, the user cannot easily access his or her financial accounts from the chat session, such as to initiate and process transactions with merchant servers. For example, the user may not be able to easily conduct a transaction with a merchant from the chat session. If access to own financial account is tedious and overly complicated, that may discourage the user from using the chat session.

Chat session communication for transactions between chat bot applications


Single-ply throughdried tissue sheets, particularly suitable as bath tissue, are produced with at least three layers. One or both of the outer layers suitably contain predominantly softwood fibers and a chemical bonding agent. One or more of the inner layers suitably contains a chemical debonder. The resulting tissues have a high level of durability and softness.

In the tissue business, product design has traditionally been an exercise in balancing softness against tensile strength. In order to induce a softness sensation when touched by the user, conventional tissue makers have tended to adopt a layered sheet structure having weakened outer layers. Chemical softening agents and/or different fiber types are often incorporated into the outer layers to further enhance the softness perception. Consequently, the mechanical integrity of the tissue is primarily provided by a relatively strong center layer. This practice produces a tissue with a superior surface feel that is often described as fuzzy, velvety, silky, flannelly and/or lotiony. Unfortunately, this practice also leads to a substantial increase in surface lint and slough. In addition, increasing the softness by this method negatively impacts the strength of the tissue. A weak tissue exhibiting surface lint and slough during use and/or which easily tears or which has low poke-through resistance will be perceived as less durable. To counter this perception, the traditional approach has been to increase the sheet tensile strength. Unfortunately, this practice increases the stiffness of the sheet by also increasing the bending resistance. A stiff tissue will be perceived as tough and harsh, which is particularly undesirable for a bath tissue.
In order to obtain a tissue having low stiffness with high strength, many tissue makers will produce a tissue product having two or three plies. In such multi-ply tissues, the amount of fiber on a per-ply basis is reduced as compared to that of a single-ply tissue having a similar or slightly lower basis weight. In general, a tissue sheet having a lower basis weight will bend more easily than a tissue with a higher basis weight with the same thickness, resulting in greater conformability in the user's hand. Consequently, a multi-ply tissue is generally seen as being-more conformable and having greater softness, while also being perceived as more durable.
Therefore there is a need for a softer, more durable single-ply tissue sheet especially useful for single-ply tissue products.


Various embodiments are directed to a diverter apparatus and method of using the same. In various embodiments, the diverter apparatus is configured to selectively direct an exemplary object traveling along a conveyor travel path to one of a plurality of adjacent conveyor locations. In various embodiments, the diverter apparatus may comprise a diverter conveyor surface, a cam follower, and a cam comprising a rotational range of motion about a cam shaft axis, the cam being physically engaged with the cam follower. Various embodiments are directed to a diverter apparatus configured to utilize a plurality of forces generated by the rotational motion of the cam to facilitate the transition of the directional configuration of the diverter conveyor surface from the first directional configuration to the second directional configuration, and, subsequently, from the second directional configuration back to the first directional configuration, again using the rotational motion of the cam.

Industrial manufacturing and packaging applications may use conveyor systems to facilitate the transportation of objects to a desired delivery location within, for example, a factory or a warehouse. In particular, a diverter apparatus may be used within a conveyor system to divert the travel path of an object traveling along a conveyor system. Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, Applicant has solved problems relating to conveyor apparatuses by developing solutions embodied in the present disclosure, which are described in detail below.

Diverter apparatus and method of using the same


The present invention is for a tow hitch insert assembly that allows for natural dangling and swinging motion of an elongated member from a trailer hitch. The elongated member can be of a variety of shapes and in one version is a replica of testicles. The elongated member is coupled to an insert tube main body by a rod that extends through the tow hitch insert assembly. Surrounding the rod are springs on each side, sandwiching the elongated member, which allows for oscillation of the elongated member within the tow hitch insert assembly. In another version, the elongated member is secured via a slotted plate, and the elongated member has a spheroid top wider than the slot of the slotted plate, which permits the elongated member to slide and rotate within the tow hitch insert assembly.

Tow hitch inserts and covers are well known in the art. Many individuals use the tow hitch not for its intended purpose of attaching a load, but instead, use the hitch, insert and cover to attach a humorous article to entertain individuals driving behind the vehicle.
One such humorous article is that of replica bull testicles to make it appear that the vehicle has testicles dangling from the rear of the car body. However, merely attaching replica bull testicles or other ornamental structures to the hitch does not show the lifelike sway of a natural body part, and often are not secured well to the trailer hitch. Previously, in order to give the natural bouncing and dangling appearance of replica body parts, the consumer has had to attach articles using unsecured means, such as a wire that would thread through the top of article and connect to the vehicle by twisting the wire. However, thieves could easily cut or untwist the wire that connected articles to the vehicle.
There are many types of trailer hitch cover assemblies. U.S. Pat. No. 6,945,551 to Blake describes a trailer hitch cover assembly for a hitch receiver including a main body operatively connected to a hitch tube, and adapted to allow insertion of a hitch into the hitch tube. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,780,546 and 3,410,580 to Longenecker describe types of locks that lock the insert cover to the trailer hitch assembly. A removable trailer hitch security system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,889,062 to Albisa. Another trailer hitch and lock assembly is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,181 to Lee. Novelty items have also been placed on the rear of vehicles, such as "Golf Nuts" that dangle from the rear of a vehicle, as described in U.S. Patent Application No. 20100015367A1 to Mitchell. However, while many of the references above attempt to solve some needs of a user, they do not provide for a secure system that enables one to attach an elongated member, such as replica bull testicles, to be both secure and have the natural appearance of bouncing and dangling from the rear of a vehicle.


The invention provides a process for the preparation of polyurethane microspheres, which comprises of preparing a solution of diol or polyol having a molecular weight in the range of 200-2000, crosslinker and a catalyst selected from amino or organometallic compounds, dispersing, this solution in dilute solution of stabilizer which consists of a block copolymer having the general formula A!.sub.n -B!.sub.m where A and B are chemically and compositionally dissimilar segments and n and m segments are in between 30-115 and 10-60 units respectively, such that the sum of n and m does not exceed 175 units, in an aliphatic hydrocarbon, adding an isocyanate dropwise to this dispersion agitating the mixture at high speed of 100-1200 revolutions per minute, a temperature between 30.degree. to 55.degree. C. to permit the formation of polyurethane microspheres, separating these microspheres by filtration, washing with lower aliphatic hydrocarbon and drying the microspheres under vacuun.

Conventionally, polyurethane in powder form is prepared by the process of mechanical grinding of solid polyurethane (JP-02-124978). This process generates heat which needs to be removed by external cooling using liquid nitrogen at cryogenic temperatures. So this method does not yield polyurethane powder in controlled particle size and shape.
Polyurethane powder lacquers are prepared by first blocking polyisocyanates with a suitable blocking agents such as--caprolactam (DE 4,134,032) or 2,5-diketopiperazines (DE 4,204,995). The blocked polyisocyanates are then mixed with a prepolymer containing hydroxyl groups and other components such as pigment and fillers, homogenized at 80.degree.-120.degree. C. in an extruder. After cooling, the extrudate is broken and ground mechanically to yield powder polyurethane. JP 03-181526 disclose a method for preparation of polyurethane microparticles which involves dissolving polyurethane resin in amino alcohol at 130.degree.-150.degree. C. followed by cooling, filtering and drying under vacuum.
JP 04-248875 teaches a method for the preparation of polyurethane powder by reacting a resin having hydroxyl and/or amino group with blocked isocyanates in a suitable solvent at elevated temperature. Thereafter the solvent is removed by lowering the pressure. The powder is filtered and dried.
Spherical polyurethane particles are prepared by dispersion polymerization using water and/or alcohol as dispersing medium (JP 04-161416). Polyisocynate, polyol and other additives/reagents are first dissolved in organic solvent which is dispersed in water in presence of a stabilizer such as poly(ethyleneoxide- propyleneoxide) block copolymer, gelatin, poly(vinylalcohol), methyl cellulose or sodium alkyl sulfate.
In another variant of this process disclosed in JP 04-76016, urethane prepolymer along with a protective colloid such ethylene oxide propylene oxide block copolymer is dispersed in water containing a surfactant such a sodium salt of polyacrylic acid. Addition of bridging agent such a polyamine and stirring the mixture at room temperature yields polyurethlaiie powder. This technique has been employed in the preparation of polyurethane micocapsules containing oil soluble agent such as pesticide DDVP (Choi K. V. and Min K. S. Polymer (Korea), 14(4), 1990, pp 392-400), fenitrothion (Fuyama G.et. al., J. Pesticide Sci. 9, 1984, pp 511-516) and a non steroidal antiinflammatory agent diclofenac (Siva Readdy P. V. et. al., Macromolecular Reports, A32 (suppls 5&6)., 1995, pp 789-799). The principal drawback of these methods is that one obtains polydisperse particle sizes in the range of 50 to 500 microns.
Japanese Patents Nos. 04-255755,03-31359 and 04-202331 describe the use of a stabilizer derived from polycaprolactone polybutadiene and isophorone diisocynate for the dispersion polymerization of a polyol with a polyurethane prepolymer in n-heptane as the medium. The process was reported to give polyurethane powder without any agglomeration.
The prior art describes other stabilizers derived from poly(butylene adipate), maleic anhydride and lauryl methacrylate (JP 02-38453) and an addition product of alkoxy polyethylene-polypropylene glycol and polyisocyanates (JP 01-165617). Both these stabilizers can be used for the dispersion polymerization of polyurethane in a non aqueous medium. In these prior art processes, the proportion of stabilizer used is very high (10-30 wt % of total quantity of polyurethane forming reactants). This produces polydisperse particles having size range between 1-1000 microns. Furthermore, the reactions are carried out at elevated temperatures i.e. between 100.degree.-200.degree. C.
Particle forming polymerization processes are well known for vinyl monomers in the prior art, whereas particle forming polycondensation. (addition) processes are far less developed (Dispersion Polymerization in Organic medium, Ed. Barret K. E. J., John Wiley & Sons, 1975). Particle forming polycondensation processes in non-aqueous medium is even less rare. A stable dispersion of droplets or particles result when the attractive potential between two particles is less than repulsive potential. As repulsive potential is directly proportional to the dielectric constant of dispersion medium, stable disperaion can not be easily achieved in a medium of very low dielectric constant such as aliphatic hydrocarbons.

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research


A door positioning device for use in a ground surface having an elongated platform with an upper surface and a lower surface. The platform also includes a first end portion and a second end portion. At least one wheel is located at the second end portion of the platform while a brake mechanism is located at the first end portion. A brake is provided with an actuator at the first end portion and a cable and cam mechanism for activating and deactivating the brake member contacting the wheel of the second end portion of the platform. As support is also employed for aiding in the securement of the door on the upper surface of the platform prior to and during movement of the door to a desired position.

The present invention relates to a novel and useful door positioning device which may be employed to transport support, and place doors into door frames for mounting the same in a permanent manner.
In the past, doors being positioned for installation in an edifice had been transported manually by multiple persons who simply carried the door or move it on a hand truck or dolly. Although these prior art methods are successful in transporting the door to the vicinity of a door frame, the fitting of a door into a door frame or opening according to close tolerances requires shimming and supporting the door by more than one person. Of course, once the door is fitted to a door opening around all of its edges, the door jamb and hinges must be fitted by the use of a mechanical jig or vice.
In the past, several apparatuses have been proposed to transport doors. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,741 shows a door vice on a relatively short base which is moveable on wheels. Presumptively, multiple vices of the same construction may be used to move a door along a surface.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,746,141 and 5,288,090 describe wheeled dollies which include vertical and horizontal surfaces for contacting and supporting adjacent edges of a door during transportation.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,278,244 and 6,264,184 describe door carriers in which the door being transported is held in a vertical position in vice-like slots on a wheeled dolly. The adjustment of the position of the door may be altered manually or through gearing mechanism.
A door positioning device which is capable of transporting a door into position in a door frame with a high degree of control would be a notable advance in the building arts.


An oscillation tuning circuit is provided and includes a first circuit. The first circuit receives an input data stream with a known time interval, producing a first output signal having a first period, determines a first error signal representing a difference between the known time interval and a measured duration of the known time interval, determines a reference error signal according to a predetermined multiple of the first period, and adjusts the first period according to the first error signal and the reference error signal, wherein the known time interval is associated with a period between a first occurrence of and a second occurrence of a predetermined bit pattern in the input data stream.

An oscillation adjusting circuit may effectively be applied to a data transmission system, e.g. a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, a micro control unit (MCU), or a communication system, with bit-rate or clock synchronization and utilizes exact data clock synchronization control to ensure the correctness and the stability during the data packet transmission. Taking the full speed specification of the USB version 1.1 as an example on condition that the external crystal oscillator is not used, a mechanism of an internal circuit loop of the oscillation adjusting circuit is utilized to automatically detect and calibrate the oscillation frequency of the receiver device, so that the internal clock of the receiver can be synchronized with the reference data stream of the host.
The advantages utilizing the oscillation adjusting circuit are as follows. (1) The system may still be made to stably transmit data on condition that a highly exact external device (e.g. crystal oscillator) is not used. (2) The number of the pins of the integrated circuit may be saved, and the occupation space, on the layout surface of the system board, of the external device (e.g. crystal oscillator) may also be saved, so that the cost may be effectively reduced.
In the aspect of the circuit design, a conventional oscillation adjusting circuit adopts the architecture of the phase-locked loop (PLL) and/or the phase-delayed loop (DLL). Taking the data transmission specification of the USB as an example, the disadvantages of the architecture are as follows. (1) The conventional PLL or DLL requires a longer and sequential input reference clock to reach the lock. (2) It requires a lengthy locking time. (3) It requires an exact frequency-lock circuit configuration, or the error of the clock is easily formed. Based on the above reasons, the PLL or DLL is not very suitable for the transmission system of the USB.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,670,852 discloses the prior art illustrating an oscillation adjusting circuit including a first circuit and a second circuit. The first circuit is configured to generate an output signal oscillating at a first frequency in response to a first control signal. The second circuit is configured to receive a calibration signal oscillating at a second frequency and generate the first control signal in response to a counter value when in a first mode and a stored value when in a second mode, wherein, while in the first mode, the counter value is adjusted in response to a difference between the first frequency and the second frequency.
The U.S. Pat. No. 7,093,151 discloses the prior art illustrating an oscillation adjusting circuit including a first circuit. The first circuit is configured to receive an input data stream, generate an output having a first frequency and adjust the first frequency in response to a measured duration of a known time interval associated with a period between a first occurrence of a predefined bit pattern and a second occurrence of the predefined bit pattern in the input data stream. This prior art requires a large lock-up table to memorize, adjust, and calibrate the internal frequency of the first circuit.
In order that the oscillation adjusting circuit does not use the external crystal and the lock-up table for reducing the chip area, saving the component cost, and providing good selectivity on the wide frequency domain of the communication transmission, a more effective oscillation adjusting circuit is required.

Oscillation adjusting circuit and method


A corrosion-resistant coated strap is formed from an elongated metal strap base element having a width and a thickness and defining first and second sides and a pair of edge regions. A coating is applied and cured onto the base element. The coating has a substantially consistent thickness at the first and second sides and at about the edge regions. A method for making the coated strap includes providing a metal strap and conveying the strap through a coating apparatus. A powder is electrostatically applied on the first side of the strap, which covers the first side and the opposing edges. The powder is applied on the second side of the strap, covering the second side and the opposing edges. The powder is melted to form a flowable material and is cured on the strap. The coating method is carried out in an in-line strap manufacturing process.

Strapping material is well known in the art. Such material is used for packaging, i.e. strapping goods, for example, to a pallet for transportation, storage and the like. Strapping materials, because they are used in such large quantities and are discarded after a single use, must be manufactured from relatively common materials in efficient, low-cost processes.
As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, often goods that are stored and or transported strapped to a base, such as a pallet, may be subjected to relatively severe environmental conditions. This is particularly true when the goods are transported overseas, such as by cargo ship. To this end, the severe environmental conditions may include exposure to saltwater and saltwater-laden air.
In addition, goods may be stored, in albeit less severe conditions, for prolonged periods of time. To this end, while the strapping may not be subjected to the severe conditions of saltwater-laden air, they may nevertheless be subjected to relatively high humidity environments.
It has been found that common steel strapping can corrode rapidly. That is, oxidation has been observed to begin almost immediately when the strapping is subjected to relatively high humidity conditions. Oxidation, i.e., rust can also compromise the integrity of the strap. In addition, it has been found that rust can stain or mar the appearance of the "strapped" goods. This is particularly problematic with appearance sensitive products. Coatings have been used to prevent or retard corrosion of the strapping. One type of corrosion inhibiting coating is a water based coating much like a paint. Although these coatings work to an extent, it has been found that the process of coating the strapping material results in inconsistent coating or coverage and as such localized areas of corrosion can be readily observed. In addition, it has been found that with painted strapping, regardless of the coating thickness, corrosion of the strapping may nevertheless occur under prolonged or lengthy exposure conditions. It will be recognized by those skilled in the at that various qualities of liquid coatings are available, and that their corrosion resistance characteristics will vary. Nevertheless, there are drawbacks and limits to their performance characteristics.
Conventional wisdom provides that powder coatings be cured at temperatures of about 350° F. to about 450° F. for about 5 minutes to about 10 minutes. This precludes powder coatings for strap in that typical manufacturing lines speeds (about 180 to about 220 feet per minute) would require a curing oven hundreds of feet in length.
In addition, in the manufacture of steel strapping, the side edges of the strap are sharp and can create a personal hazard. Typically, the strap is conveyed around or over V-type pulleys which can abrasively remove the strap material at the edges resulting in sharp edges. Moreover, the protective function of a coating can be compromised by abrasive removal of the coating at the edges.
It has also been found that strap often requires an additional or subsequent application of an agent, such as wax, to increase the "slip" value of the finished material. A slip value is the force necessary to tension the strap when used in a strapping machine, when the strap is secured at one end and pulled or tensioned at an opposing end around a load. Slip values of less than about 15 Newton-meters are required for reliable tensioning of the strap. The use and operation of such a strapping machine is more fully disclosed in Bobren, U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,874, which patent is incorporated herein by reference.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a coating for strapping material that provides an effective barrier against corrosion. Desirably, such a coating is applied in a cost effective and efficient process that is compatible with existing metal strap manufacturing processes which require high manufacturing speeds (i.e., line speeds). Most desirably, such coating is applied resulting in a substantially uniform thickness of coating on the strapping material and, if desired, an over-coating of the strapping edges.

Powder coated strap and method for making same


A memristor matrix comprising a crossbar array, a multiplexer and a noise control circuit. The noise control circuit may comprise a threshold comparator and a threshold feedback circuit to receive a first threshold and a second threshold and output a threshold signal based, in part, on an output of the threshold comparator.

Certain mathematical problems are difficult to solve computationally when the scale of the problem is increased. For example, a class of mathematical problems called non-deterministic polynomial (NP)-hard often require thousands to millions of years of computational processing time on current technology to come to a deterministic best answer to a problem that is of a commercially useful scale. Heuristic algorithms can determine solutions to NP-hard problems in a more reasonable amount of time (seconds to minutes), but the determined solutions are not guaranteed to be the ideal solution to the problem.
One such heuristic algorithm is a Hopfield neural network (HNN). Neurons in the HNN are interconnected in a complete undirected graph topology. Symmetric connections between the neurons are weighted, and the output value of a certain neuron i is fed back into other neurons of the HNN, including neuron j. For example, if the output of neuron i is +1 and the weight of connection i,j is +0.5, neuron j receives +0.5 as an input from connection i,j. As the network updates, outputs of each neuron are calculated based on comparison between a sum of inputs to the respective neuron and a threshold value.
With each update cycle of the HNN, the network has an energy, which is a value corresponding to the ideality of the solution of the mathematical problem as represented by the current state of the HNN. A HNN in a high-energy state is less ideally solved than a HNN in a low-energy state. The HNN transits across its energy landscape, reducing the energy until the network finds a minimum of the energy landscape. However, energy landscapes are not usually simple functions, such as a linear "vee" functions. Often, the complex functions of the energy landscape include local minima where the HNN may converge without further intervention.
Certain examples have features that are in addition to or in lieu of the features illustrated in the above-referenced figures. Certain labels may be omitted from certain figures for the sake of clarity.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP


Provided is a method for fabricating a memory device, including the following steps. A plurality of semiconductor fin structures is formed on a substrate. Each semiconductor fin structure includes a first doped region and a body region on which the first doped region is disposed, and a trench is disposed between adjacent two semiconductor fin structures. A second doped region is formed in the substrate under the body regions of the semiconductor fin structures and the trenches. A plurality of first contacts are formed on the substrate. A plurality of second contacts are formed on the substrate. Each second contact is electrically connected with the corresponding first doped region.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a fabricating method of a semiconductor device and more particularly relates to a fabricating method of a memory device.
2. Description of Related Art
A non-volatile memory can repeatedly perform operations of data writing, reading, and erasing, and is advantageous in that the data stored therein does not disappear even if the power supply is shut down. For this reason, the non-volatile memory has been used as the memory device for various electronic products.
However, due to the decreasing sizes of semiconductor devices, the short channel effect of the traditional horizontal memory device becomes worse. This effect will lead to the deterioration of the second bit effect and program disturbance in the memory device. In order to improve this problem, vertical memory devices have been developed and introduced in the recent years, wherein the channel length remains unchanged while the size is reduced, so as to prevent the short channel effect.
In the vertical memory device, as the elements are stacked on each other to form the structure, the fabrication is more complicated compared with the horizontal memory device. Therefore, how to simplify the fabricating processes of the vertical memory device remains an issue that needs to be overcome.


Embodiments for servicing a system including a fuel cell and at least one sensor. In one embodiment, the at least one sensor is implemented for generating information indicative of operation of the system. The information is communicated to a tool operatively connected with the system. The information is evaluated to determine if the system is operating as intended. Based on the information, a recommendation for returning the system to intended operation is determined. The recommendation is performed. The first three steps are repeated until the system is operating as intended.

Embodiments described below relate generally to fuel cell service, repair and diagnostics methods and apparatus. Specifically, the embodiments relate to service, maintenance, repair and diagnostic methods and apparatus for diagnosing hydrogen fuel cells and to tools for performing such functions.
As fuel cells become used more widely, for instance in vehicles, household appliances and the like, it is desirable to provide methods and apparatus for servicing and diagnosing the fuel cell. In this manner, it is possible to increase performance of the fuel cell and associated user satisfaction.


Various embodiments sort data. In one embodiment, a matrix D including a set of data values is received. A matrix Q is received, and includes a set of columns and a set of rows. The matrix Q further includes a sorting of each column of the matrix D. Each of these rows corresponds to a sorting. Each of a set of values in each of the set of columns in the matrix Q identifies a row in the matrix D. At least one sub-matrix D′ of the matrix D is identified. A set of columns of the sub-matrix D′ is restricted to one or more columns of the matrix D. A processor sorts the sub-matrix D′ by rows based on the sorting of the set of columns of the matrix D as given in the matrix Q, and based on the set of data values in the matrix D.

The present invention generally relates to the field of data sorting, and more particularly relates to efficiently sorting large dimensional data.
Lexicographical sorting of databases (including restricted databases) is a fundamental problem with many applications. One important application is to quickly counting occurrences of a specific query in a large database consisting of m records and n attributes. That is, if the database, or restricted database, is lexicographically sorted then the occurrences of specific entries can be quickly tallied. For example, suppose a database holds the weather (rain or no-rain), traffic (light or heavy), and air quality (good or bad) for every day of the year for a given city. An example query is to count the number of days it was raining and where the air quality was bad. If the database was not sorted, a naive approach would be to examine each entry of the database (restricted to weather and air quality) and count the occurrences of the query (rain and bad). Typically, the database is repeatedly queried and this naive approach is not sufficient, especially where the database is queried over a subset of the total features, i.e. a restriction of the database.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Efficient sorting of large dimensional data

International Business Machines Corporation


A shielding device for preventing an antenna signal from interference is disclosed. The shielding device includes a grounding component and a shielding plate. The shielding plate is made of a conductive material. The shielding plate has a first portion and a second portion. The first portion is grounded through the grounding component. The second portion is placed between an antenna and a display controller, so that the shielding plate can prevent the antenna from being interfered by the frequency component of the display controller.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a shielding device and, in particular, to a shielding device that prevents the antenna signal of a notebook computer from interference.
2. Related Art
Notebook computers have limited volumes. However, there are more and more devices to be integrated into a single notebook computer. The work frequency is also getting higher. Therefore, it is necessary to provide good shielding to prevent interference among devices. Modem notebook computers are already integrated with antennas for wireless communication functions. The antenna is usually integrated in the panel bracket of the display panel. The antenna transmits signals via electromagnetic (EM) waves. However, the panel itself has a liquid crystal display (LCD) driver that generates a video clock with the frequency about 65 MHz. Some high frequency components of the video clock overlap with the frequencies of the antenna operating in the 802.11 b/g band, thus interfering with the antenna signals. Therefore, how to design a shielding device to prevent the antenna of a notebook computer from interference with the video signals is very important.


Surgical observation system for observing, in three dimensions, a surgical site from two directions are provided herein. The surgical observation system may include a first image-acquisition optical system that obtains, from a first observation direction, a pair of optical images, having parallax, of a subject via a pair of apertures disposed side-by-side; and a second image-acquisition optical system that obtains, from a second observation direction in which an angle about an optical axis differs from that of the first observation direction, another pair of optical images, having parallax, of a subject via another pair of apertures disposed side-by-side.

In surgery, surgical observation systems have been proposed in which three-dimensional images are obtained from optical images of a surgical site with an image-acquisition optical system disposed at a desired position above the surgical site in a patient, and the obtained three-dimensional images are supplied to a lead surgeon (hereinafter simply referred to as "surgeon") and an assistant, who is an assistant surgeon (hereinafter simply referred to as "assistant"), via monitors. In particular, in neurosurgery, because the surgeon and the assistant are located so as to form an angle of 90° with respect to the patient, the observation directions from the surgeon and the assistant to the surgical site differ by 90°. Therefore, with the surgical observation system, the surgeon and the assistant are respectively provided with three-dimensional images of the surgical site as viewed from the direction of each person (see Patent Literature 1).
Since the surgeon and the assistant perform the operation on the patient while observing the three-dimensional images of the surgical site displayed on the monitors, the housing that accommodates the image-acquisition optical system must be as compact as possible so as not to hinder the surgical procedure or viewing of the monitors by the surgeon and assistant during the surgery.
In the case where the observation directions of the surgeon and the assistant differ, as described above, to provide three-dimensional images as viewed from the direction of each person, it is necessary to obtain three-dimensional images of the surgical site from two different directions. Thus, in the surgical observation system, two image-acquisition optical systems having a pair of apertures disposed side-by-side are made to intersect each other, and two image-acquisition optical systems formed of a total of four apertures must be accommodated in the housing, which makes the housing large. A large housing hinders the surgical procedure or viewing of the monitors by the surgeon and the assistant during surgery.


A downhole power generation includes a power generation module for providing power to a load. A turbine is driven by flow of a downhole fluid to rotate. A generator is coupled with the turbine for converting rotational energy from the turbine to electrical energy, and an AC-DC rectifier is coupled with the generator for converting an alternating voltage from the generator to a direct voltage. A power conversion circuit couples the AC-DC rectifier with the load. The power conversion circuit is configured for providing a first power to the load when the load is in a working mode and providing a second power to the load when the load is in a non-working mode. The second power is less than the first power. A downhole power generation method is also disclosed.

This disclosure relates generally to power generation systems, and more particularly to a downhole power generation system and a downhole power generation method.
Downhole drilling or sensing systems are used in oil and gas exploration and production wells. Some downhole sensors for fracturing monitoring and long-term production surveillance, downhole data communication module and other downhole loads are often applied to the downhole drilling or sensing systems for performing their respective functions. These downhole loads require power to operate. It is well known in the art to use a turbine to convert mechanical power from a downhole fluid, for example production fluid, into rotational energy to drive an electrical generator. Then, the electrical generator can generate electrical energy and power can be thus provided to these downhole loads.
During working of the downhole loads, the downhole loads may require a high power. While when the downhole loads are in a non-working condition, for example in a standby state, the downhole loads may only require a low power. In order to ensure operation of the downhole load, usually, a conventional downhole power generation device always designed according to the high power rating and therefore may have poorer efficiency when the downhole power generation device delivers a low power in the non-working condition. It would no doubt increase power loss.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide improvements on power generation to solve at least one of problems above-mentioned.

Downhole power generation system and method


An information providing method and an electronic apparatus thereof are provided. According to the information providing method of the electronic apparatus, when a video call is made, a user making the video call is identified, at least one piece of information-of-interest of the identified user is acquired based on user's usage information on social network services (SNSs), and the at least one piece of information-of-interest is displayed on a video call screen.

1. Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the exemplary embodiments relate to an information providing method and an electronic apparatus thereof, and more particularly, to an information providing method which provides users making a video call with information-of-interest while the video call is in progress, and an electronic apparatus using the information providing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the development of communication technologies, many large electronic apparatuses such as televisions (TVs), as well as mobile communication devices such as mobile phones, provide a video call function.
However, in related art apparatuses or services that provide a video call function, when the users have completed the subject matter associated with the video call, the users have no option but to hang up the video call, since the apparatuses or services provide no additional functions other than the video call function.
Accordingly, a method of acquiring information-of-interest between users making a video call to provide a video call with abundant conversational material is needed.

Method of providing information-of-users' interest when video call is made, and electronic apparatus thereof


Synthetic speech is generated by production of a digital waveform from a text in phonemes. A linked database is used which comprises an extended text in phonemes and its equivalent in the form of a digital waveform. The two portions of the database are linked by a parameter which establishes equivalent points in both the phoneme text and the digital waveform. The input text (in phonemes) is analyzed to locate a matching portion in the phoneme portion of the database. This matching utilizes exact equivalence of phonemes where this is possible; otherwise relation between phonemes is utilized. The selection process identifies input phonemes in context whereby improved conversions are obtained. Having analyzed the input exit into matching strings in the input form of the database beginning and ending parameters for the sections are established. The output text is produced by abutting sections of the digital waveform and defined by the beginning and ending parameters.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to synthetic speech and more particularly to a method of synthesising a digital waveform from signals representing phonemes.
2. Related Art
There are many circumstances, e.g. in telephone systems, where it is convenient to use synthesised speech. In some applications the starting point is an electronic representation of conventional typography, e.g. a disk produced by a word Processor. Many stages of processing are needed to produce synthesised speech from such a starting point but, as a preliminary part of the processing, it is usual to convert the conventional text into a phonetic text. In this specification the signals representing such a phonetic text will be called "phonemes". Thus this invention addresses the problem of converting the signals representing phonemes into a digital waveform. It will be appreciated that the digital waveforms are commonplace in audio technology and digital-to-analogue converters and loud speakers are well known devices which enable digital waveforms to be converted into acoustic waveforms.
Many processes for converting phonemes into digital waveforms have been proposed and it is conventional to do this by means of a linked database comprising a large number of entries, each having an access portion defined in phonemes and an output portion containing the digital waveform corresponding to the access phonemes. Clearly all the phonemes should be represented in the access portions but it is also known to incorporate strings of phonemes in addition. However, existing systems only take into account the phoneme strings contained in the access portions and do not further take into account the context of the strings.

Synthesizing speech by converting phonemes to digital waveforms

British Telecommunications public limited company


A content-addressable memory (CAM) comprises a first CAM cell and a second CAM cell. The first CAM cell stores a first data bit, and compares the first data bit with a first search bit to determine if they are matched. The second CAM cell stores a second data bit, and compares the second data bit with a second search bit to determine if they are matched. The first CAM cell comprises a first logic circuit, the second CAM cell comprises a second logic circuit, and the first logic circuit and the second logic circuit form a static CMOS logic circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a content-addressable memory (CAM), more particularly to a CAM that does not require precharging and has a low power consumption.
2. Description of the Related Art
A CAM comprises a plurality of CAM cells arranged in an array. Content stored in each row of the array is compared with search data to determine if there is a match, and a plurality of matching bits corresponding respectively to the rows are generated in accordance with the results of such a comparison.
Depending on the number of states that can be stored by the CAM cells, a CAM is classified as a binary CAM or a ternary CAM.
In the case of the binary CAM, each CAM cell comprises a data memory cell and a comparison circuit. The data memory cell stores a data bit and a complementary data bit to represent one of either a "0" or "1" state.
In the case of the ternary CAM, each CAM cell comprises a data memory cell, a mask memory cell, and a comparison circuit. The data memory cell stores a data bit and a complementary data bit, and the mask memory cell stores a mask bit and a complementary mask bit. Each of the bits of the data memory cell and the mask memory cell may represent a "0," "1," or "don't care" state.
For both the binary CAM and the ternary CAM, precharging is required at each comparison cycle with respect to an input terminal of a search bit, an input terminal of a complementary search bit, and an output terminal of a matching bit. As a result, overall efficiency is reduced and power consumption is increased.


An apparatus, system and method for detecting ink errors in optical disk printing are provided. The apparatus, system and method include a sensor mount structure and a plurality of optical sensors mounted on the mount structure and in registration with a print table. A controller selectively activates the optical sensors in accordance with a relative motion between the optical sensors and the printing station such that the optical sensors each scan an assigned region of the print table to detect ink outside of an area where an object to be printed is placed.

Optical disks are often inked for identification, advertising or other purposes. During the inking process, an optical disk, such as a compact disk (CD) or digital video disk (DVD) are passed through a printing machine. The disk is attached to a carrier to protect and secure the disk. Then, the carrier and disk are put through one or more inking steps. Each step can include a different color ink. Most printing machines include a screen tear-off sensor that is a device that detects ink, usually, white ink, on the disk carrier of the printing machine.
A tear in a screen used for printing (i.e., a screen tear-off) or other inking errors may cause ink to fall on a print table, the carrier or collect too much ink in one area of the disk. That is, a screen tear-off, for example, will cause the print table to be stained with ink. In conventional machines, such as offset printing machines, a sensor is installed which is intended to detect white base screen tear-off printing errors. The operation of this sensor is based in the change of height that would occur in the machine print table caused by the white ink falling off of a printing screen at the time of a screen tear-off. More specifically, such a sensor is blocked by ink on the print table, looking at it side-to-side.
Referring to FIG. 1, a high level block diagram of a cross-section of a relevant portion of a screen offset printing machine 10 is illustratively depicted. Machine 10 includes a housing 12. Housing 12 incorporates a screen tear-off sensor 14, which receives light 18, preferably laser light or LED light, from a source 16. During printing, white ink 22 is applied to a surface of an optical disk 24.
Currently, offset printing machines come with a sensor similar to sensor 14, which is intended to detect white base screen tear-offs. The purpose of this sensor 14 is to detect a change in the height that would occur on a machine print table 20 caused by white ink falling off a screen 11 in housing 12 at the time of a screen tear-off (e.g., the sensor 14 is blocked by ink on the print table 20, from a side position). However, not all screen tear-off ink errors cause a change of height large enough and long enough for the sensor to detect, thus causing the screen tear-off to be unnoticed by the machine control.
Such unnoticed ink errors can cause offset head rollers used in the printing process to become dirty with ink. The offset head rollers need to be cleaned immediately to avoid further print defects that would affect product quality caused by the staining of subsequent disks with ink from the offset head rollers. Disks with such ink defects due to the failure to detect the ink errors in printing immediately, need to be scrapped. Even further, and each occurrence typically causes more than an hour of machine downtime. Although printing machines automatically stop when the disks reach the end of the printing machine due to an included print scanner inspection in the printing process, by the time a first disk having an ink error is detected by the print scanner inspection, many subsequent discs already have ink defects.
Furthermore, in such prior art printing systems including ink error sensors, such as the screen offset printing machine of FIG. 1, the sensors 14 require accurate calibration, which can be a sensitive and lengthy process, and even if properly aligned, many screen tear-off ink errors will not be noticed by the sensor.
Therefore, a need exists for a system and method, which provides improved detection of screen tear-off conditions and other ink errors on at least a printing table of disk printing systems.

Optical sensor apparatus and method for sensing ink errors in optical disk manufacturing


A sequencing data analysis method, a device and a computer-readable medium for microsatellite instability. The present invention can use NGS sequencing results to determine whether the microsatellite instability is present. The sequencing data analysis method can significantly improve detection sensitivity without reducing specificity, and can quickly and automatically evaluate a stable or unstable status of each MSI locus with high throughput, high sensitivity, and high specificity. By combining the statuses for all MSI loci in each sample, the samples can be comprehensively evaluated as MSS, MSI-L, or MSI-H.

Microsatellite instability (MSI) is a molecular phenotype that is characterized by the presence of insertion or deletion mutations in repeats of microsatellite loci in the human genome, resulting in alleles that do not exist in the standard human genome. These insertions or deletions are not corrected by the DNA mismatch repair mechanism (MMR) due to a number of reasons. The MSI phenomenon was first discovered in 1993 by Aaltonen et al. in hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC, also known as Lynch syndrome). The common mechanism for Lynch syndrome is the presence of germline inactivation or truncation mutations in genes such as MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS2, or EPCAM. Subsequently, researchers found sporadic MSI phenomena in lung cancer, digestive tract cancer, endometrial cancer, and ovarian cancer. Unlike Lynch syndrome, the cause of the sporadic MSI phenomena is mostly abnormal epigenetic modification (hypermethylation) of MLH1 gene promoter sequence, which leads to the inactivation of MLH1 gene. The incidence rates of MSI phenomenon are significantly different among various cancers. About 15% of patients with colorectal cancer show MSI tumors, while those with early-onset colorectal cancer reach 30%, and the incidence rate of MSI tumors in HNPCC is even higher than 90%.
Clinical studies have shown that stage II/HI colorectal cancer patients with high-frequency MSI (MSI-H) have a good prognosis but cannot benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy with fluorouracils (e.g. 5-FU); while cancer patients with low-frequency MSI (MSI-L) have similar symptoms as microsatellite stable (MSS) cancer patients, and the prognosis for both is worse than that of MSI-H patients. Therefore, MSI detection was officially listed as the primary detection item in the International Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines for Colorectal Cancer Screening in 2011, which stated that the following populations should receive MSI detection:                Patients under 50 years of age who are diagnosed with colorectal cancer;        Patients with synchronous or metachronous HNPCC-like tumors, regardless of age;        Patients who have one or more first-degree relatives diagnosed with HNPCC tumors, and at least one of these relatives are less than 50 years old;        Patients who have two or more first-degree or second-degree relatives diagnosed with HNPCC-like tumors, regardless of age.Recent studies have shown that MSI detection also plays an important guiding role in tumor immunotherapy. A number of studies have shown that colorectal patients with MSI-H display better prognosis after receiving PD-1 antibody therapy compared to patients with MSI-L or MSS. This has also been verified in other cancer types. In May 2017, the US FDA granted accelerated approval of the immunotherapeutic drug Perbrolizumab (Keytruda) for solid-tumor patients with MSI-H or DNA mismatch repair defects, who have inoperable or advanced metastases and have progressed after previous treatment. This is the first FDA-approved therapy that is primary site agnostic, herein supporting that accurately defining MSI status is of great value and guiding significance for clinical diagnosis and treatment plan development.
The common MSI detection commonly uses the following three technologies:
1. DNA mismatch repair defect detection: it directly detects gene mutations in related genes responsible for MSI phenomenon, mainly the DNA mismatch repair system (MMR) genes, or detects the level of proteins expressed by these genes via immunohistochemistry.
2. PCR detection (MSI-PCR): using specific primers, the microsatellite locus is amplified by PCR or multiplex fluorescent PCR. The amplified product is subjected to gel electrophoresis or Sanger fragment size analysis to determine whether its product fragment has a change in the migration compared with the normal control, thereby determining the MSI status.
3. NGS detection: the loci indicating the MSI status are enriched by multiplex PCR or liquid phase hybridization capture. Massively parallel sequencing combined with bioinformatics analysis is used to simultaneously evaluate the insertion/deletion mutation status of multiple MSI loci. Among these three types of techniques, traditional methods for detecting DNA mismatch repair genes, such as Sanger sequencing, have high cost but low throughput, and cannot accurately identify the inactivation of gene products caused by epigenetic abnormalities. The immunohistochemical method has shortcomings such as high requirements on sample quality, complicated operation procedures, low throughput, and over-reliance on the subjective view of the pathologists. MSI detection based on PCR technology can directly assess the instability of microsatellite loci, but it is restricted by its complicated operation, long time consumption, low throughput, poor sensitivity, and low reproducibility. Although multiplex PCR detection improves testing throughput, the interaction among several sets of primers is very complex, which limits the number of microsatellite loci that can be assessed in one assay, indirectly increases the difficulty in accurately separating the high-frequency MSI-H and low-frequency MSI-L, and significantly increases the cost and difficulty in exploring additional MSI loci or removing certain MSI loci. Unlike the first two types of technologies, despite of its high total cost, NGS permits simultaneous assessment of other genetic features along with MSI evaluation. NGS technology has the advantage of high throughput, high precision, and high sensitivity, which indirectly reduces the cost for a single detection. Therefore, it is gradually accepted by more and more users. In the meanwhile, it has been realized that the NGS-based detection methods impose extremely high technical requirements on data analysis. Due to the lack of a consensus over method of analysis or a standardized guideline, effectively, accurately and objectively define the microsatellite stable/unstable status of each locus through bioinformatics algorithms has become one of the prime technical challenges.
Regarding the choice of microsatellite loci for MSI detection, the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) issued the Bethesda guideline in 1997, which recommend five microsatellite loci (BAT-26, BAT-25, D2S123, D5S346, D17S250) that can be used for MSI detection in colorectal cancer. In addition, the guideline classifies and defines the categories of MSI, namely:
1. High frequency MSI (MSI-H): Two or more of the recommended loci show changes in length of the repeat;
2. Low frequency MSI (MSI-L): One of the recommended loci shows the change in length of the repeat;
3. Microsatellite stabilization (MSS): There is no change in the length of the repeat in the recommended loci.
Among the initial five recommended loci proposed by Bethesda guideline, the stability of three loci with dinucleotide repeat units (D2S123, D5S346 and D17S250) was found controversial at the 2002 NCI meeting: the Suraweera research team pointed out that for patients with MSI-H, the detection sensitivity can be improved when the three loci above are replaced by the following three loci with mononucleotide repeat units, NR21, NR22 and NR24. In 2004, the Bacher research group showed that the test sensitivity with the mononucleotide repeat loci was 92%-100%, and the specificity for MSI-H cases was as high as 99.5%-100%. This conclusion was further confirmed by the Rosa M. Xicola group in 2007. In addition to the Bethesda guideline, Promega Biotechnology Co., Ltd. developed its own MSI analysis system, which uses the mononucleotide repeat locus, Mono27, to replace the NR22 proposed by Suraweera et al., and adds two loci with 5 bp repeating units, Penta C and Penta D that are highly diverse in the human population, for sample quality control.
Based on the detection method developed by Bethesda guidelines, since only 5 MSI loci are evaluated, the final result lacks continuity and only shows the strata of 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, 100%, causing high risk of misclassification of MSI-H and MSI-L for samples with values close to the determination threshold. Therefore, increasing the MSI loci can improve the clarity of the test and provide a mathematical and statistical basis for accurate determination of MSI-H and MSI-L. As a result, there is an urgent need to develop a MSI-related-locus-searching method for scientifically and efficiently screening genomic loci that can indicate MSI status.

Sequencing data analysis method, device and computer-readable medium for microsatellite instability

NANJING SHIHE GENE BIOTECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A pointer instrument for a motor vehicle includes a pointer drive for deflecting a carrier body. A pointer which is visible in an indication is provided on the carrier body. An optical waveguide element is arranged on that side of the carrier body which is remote from an observer. Light from at least one light source is introduced into the optical waveguide element which extends along the movement path of the pointer. Light emerging from the optical waveguide element enters into the pointer and/or the carrier body, and the pointer is formed such that it is illuminated by light emerging from the optical waveguide element.

The invention relates to a pointer instrument, in particular for a motor vehicle, having a pointer drive for the deflection of a carrier body which can be rotated about an axis of rotation and on which is provided a pointer which is visible in an indication and is mounted outside the axis of rotation.
In pointer instruments of this type, the pointer is typically illuminated to ensure a problem-free reading even with diminishing light at twilight or at night. The arrangement of the pointer at a carrier body furthermore affords the advantage of being able to configure the carrier body in the form of a ring, for example, and in this way, given corresponding mounting, to keep the central region of the ring free from components of the pointer device. For illuminating the pointer, a luminous means that is carried along with the pointer is usually provided in this case, the luminous means regularly being supplied with the required voltage via a flexible line. Particularly in the case of the design as a ring pointer, use is made here at least in part of the particular advantage of the free central region of the pointer instrument. Since a large region is swept over by the flexible line at least on a side of an indication area—embodied as a dial for example—which is remote from the observer, and the region thus has to be kept free of other components, the advantage of the smaller structural space is partly used up. Furthermore, the structural depth of the carrier body is increased at least in sections on account of the required precautions for the active illumination, so that structural space restrictions in the region of the movement path of the pointer are added as a further disadvantage.
An example of an arrangement as described in the above background is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,663.


A spun laced fabric consisting essentially of polyester fiber and cellulose fiber selected from the group consisting of cotton and rayon and a process of making said.

Cleanroom wipes must produce a low number of particles when they are used, and it is desirable that they have relatively high absorbency rates and capacities. Wipes having all these desired properties have not been available commercially.
Processes for the manufacture of hydroentangled fibrous webs are known in the art: see for example Evans U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,706.

High absorbency cleanroom wipes having low particles


A semiconductor sensor chip such as an acceleration sensor chip and other electronic components such as controlling semiconductor chips are mounted on and connected to conductor patterns formed on a ceramic package. The ceramic package is heated together with a cap to hermetically seal the ceramic package containing the sensor chip and electronic components therein. The conductor pattern formed on the ceramic package is composed of a base film of, i.e., tungsten, an intermediate film of nickel plated on the base film and a thin surface film of gold which is formed on the intermediate film by flash plating. The conductor patterns are also formed at outside portions of the ceramic package. The ceramic package is mounted on a printed board by soldering at portions where the conductor patterns are formed. Though the surface gold film is thin and made at a low cost, it provides an excellent surface of the conductor patterns for securing a good solder wettability and bonding quality.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure for mounting electronic components and a method for assembling and mounting the electronic components, and more particularly to a structure which includes a housing for mounting electronic components therein and is subjected to a heating process after the electronic components are mounted on the housing.
2. Description of Related Art
Units having this kind of structure include the following electronic modules containing a semiconductor sensor and a controlling IC therein, such as an acceleration sensor module for use in an antilock brake system or an air bag system, a semiconductor pressure sensor module used for detecting suction pressure or atmospheric pressure, a high pressure sensor module used in an air conditioning system, and the like all of the models are used in an automobile. A sensor module of this kind is usually packaged in a metal can having connecting pins for mounting it on a substrate. Mounting the can package on the substrate, however, requires some mounting components, and a structure of the canned module itself tends to be complicated. Therefore, a ceramic package structure has been proposed and used to some extent. Semiconductor sensors and other control elements are on the ceramic package and hermetically sealed therein. The following features are required for surface-mounting components on the ceramic package: securing a bonding strength of bonding wires connecting the components, ensuring reliability of electrical and mechanical connections, obtaining sufficient wettability of solder, and secure reliability of soldered portions.
Considering these requirements, the ceramic package, in which, for example, a tungsten (W) film is formed on a ceramic substrate as a thick film conductor, and, on the tungsten thick film, a nickel-boron (Ni--B) film having a thickness of about 1 .mu.m, a nickel-phosphorus (Ni--P) film having a thickness of about 2 .mu.m and a thick gold (Au) film having a thickness of about 1 .mu.m are plated in this order, has been dominantly used hitherto. Here, the Ni--B plating means a Ni plating in which B is used as a catalyst and the Ni--P plating means a Ni plating in which P is used as a catalyst. Though the film structure of this kind is able to secure the bonding strength and the wettability, reliability of soldering on the Au plating is not secured. This is because the Au atoms diffuse into a solder material during a soldering process, creating voids called Kirkendall voids in the Au film. In addition, the plating cost of the thick Au film is high.
Though, in case a chip condenser is mounted on a package, solder or epoxy-type silver (Ag) paste is customarily used, the solder cannot be used in the ceramic package which is subjected to a heat treatment at a temperature higher than 300.degree. C. to seal the package after the chip condenser is mounted. Also, a silicone-type bonding material is customarily used for die-bonding a sensor chip because a bonding material having low stress characteristics is required for this purpose. There is a problem, however, that bonding materials can not be hardened adequately when the silicone-type material is used together with the epoxy-type material at the same time.

Structure for mounting electronic components and method for mounting the same


Transport rail system capable of detecting a weight of a rail vehicle, includes one or more rails, and one or more sensors for measuring a magnetic property. At least one of the sensors is adapted to measure a change of a magnetic property in order to determine a weight bearing on one or more of the rails, the change of the magnetic property being caused by stress exerted on the rail by the weight, and one or more of the sensors are adapted to measure the change of a magnetic property of the rail itself and/or that one or more of the sensors are adapted to measure the change of a magnetic property of a supporting structure of the rail.

In the laid open document DE 11 33 141 an apparatus for determining the weight of railway vehicles is described. This apparatus determines the weight of such vehicles by measuring the pressure exerted by the wheels onto the rails using at least two strain sensors positioned in series along the bottom side of the rail.
Patent specification DE 12 62 628 shows a device for weighing rolling stock. In this invention the weight of a rolling railway wagon is measured on a weighing stretch of rail that can freely move in vertical direction. The vertical displacement is translated into a measurement signal by two pressure sensing means comprising a magnetostrictive core.
In patent application CN 101 36 88 42 A, a track dynamic weighing method is disclosed. It features a weighing method using two weighing points, which have equal distance from two fulcrums on a weighing track. A sensor which adopts a three-pole E-shaped integral iron core measures the force borne by the track exploiting the counter magnetostrictive effect in an amorphous alloy thin film layer attached to the measurement points on the central axis of the lateral side of the rail. This thin layer of amorphous alloy is located between the detector iron core and the rail itself.
In patent specification GB 941,963 improvements in or relating to railway vehicle weighing machines are described. Such a weighing machine comprises at least three strain responsive devices, which detect the bending moments at three different places within the spacing of two sleepers of a rail over which a railway rail vehicle passes.
From the laid open document EP 2 397 830 A2 a torque and force measurement system is known for measuring torque and/or force impact on a corpus. The corpus may for example be a bicycle drive shaft or a wind turbine shaft. A field generator arrangement, which comprises a coil wound around a ferromagnetic flux concentrator, applies a magnetic field to the corpus. The coil may be powered by a DC or an AC signal, for example with a frequency between 200 Hz and 1000 Hz. The corpus modifies the morphological structure due to the torque and/or force impact so as to influence the generated field. This modification can be determined by a magnetic field sensor arrangement which may likewise comprise a coil and a flux concentrator.

Transport rail system with weighing means comprising a sensor for measuring a change of a magnetic property


The invention provides the genomic sequence of GSSP-2, GSSP-2 cDNAs and GSSP-2 polypeptides. Further the invention provides polynucleotides including biallelic markers derived from the GSSP-2 gene and from genomic regions flanking the gene. This invention also provides polynucleotides and methods suitable for genotyping a nucleic acid molecule containing sample for one or more biallelic markers of the invention. Further, the invention provides methods to detect a statistical correlation between a biallelic marker allele and a phenotype and/or between a biallelic marker haplotype and a phenotype. The invention also concerns methods and compositions for killing neoplastic cells or inhibiting neoplastic cell growth. In particular, the present invention concerns cell proliferation arresting/inhibiting and apoptosis/necrosis inducing compositions and methods for the treatment of tumors. The present invention is directed to novel polypeptides and to nucleic acid molecules encoding those polypeptides.

Apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death which occurs through the activation of cell-intrinsic suicide machinery. The biochemical machinery responsible for apoptosis is expressed in most, if not all, cells. Apoptosis is primarily a physiologic process necessary to remove individual cells that are no longer needed or that function abnormally. Apoptosis is a regulated event dependent upon active metabolism and protein synthesis by the dying cell.
The morphological and biochemical characteristics of cells dying by apoptosis differ markedly from those of cells dying by necrosis. During apoptosis, cells decrease in size and round up. The nuclear chromatin undergoes condensation and fragmentation. Cell death is preceded by DNA fragmentation. The DNA of apoptotic cells is nonrandomly degraded by endogenous calcium and magnesium-dependent endonuclease(s) inhibited by zinc ions. This enzyme(s) gives fragments of approx. 200 base pairs (bp) or multiples of 200 bp by cutting the linker DNA running between nucleosomes. Thus DNA appears to be one of the most important targets of the process that leads to cell suicide. The apoptotic cell then breaks apart into many plasma membrane-bound vesicles called "apoptotic bodies," which contain fragments of condensed chromatin and morphologically intact organelles such as mitochondria. Apoptotic cells and bodies are rapidly phagocytosed, thereby protecting surrounding tissues from injury. The rapid and efficient clearance of apoptotic cells makes apoptosis extremely difficult to detect in tissue sections.
In contrast, necrosis is associated with rapid metabolic collapse that leads to cell swelling, early loss of plasma membrane integrity, and ultimate cell rupture. Cytosolic contents leach from the necrotic cell causing injury and inflammation to surrounding tissue.
In contrast to the cell death caused by cell injury, apoptosis is an active process of gene-directed, cellular self-destruction and that it serves a biologically meaningful function. (Kerr, J. F. R and J. Searle. J. Pathol. 107:41, 1971). Apoptosis plays a key role in the human body from the early stages of embryonic development through to the inevitable decline associated with old age. (Wyllie, A. H. Int. Rev. Cytol. 68:251, 1980). The normal function of the immune, gastrointestinal and hematopoietic system relies on the normal function of apoptosis. When the normal function of apoptosis goes awry, the cause or the result can be one of a number of diseases, including: cancer, viral infections, auto-immune disease/allergies, neurodegeneration or cardiovascular diseases. Because of the versatility of apoptosis involved in human diseases, apoptosis is becoming a prominent buzzword in the pharmaceutical research field.
The idea of modulating apoptosis as a means of treating and/or preventing cancer is a relatively new idea (Cope, F. O and Wille, J. Apoptosis: The Molecular Basis of Cell Death. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, p. 61, 1991). Apoptosis modulation is a potential mechanism for controlling the growth of tumor cells without the side effects of many current cancer treatment regimes. In addition to cancer, recent studies show that multiple cytotoxic stimuli well known to cause necrosis can lead to apoptosis instead when cells are exposed to the same noxious agents at lower concentrations.
Malignant tumors (cancers) are the second leading cause of death in the United States, after heart disease (Boring et al., CA Cancel J. Clin., 43:7 (1993)).
Cancer is characterized by the increase in the number of abnormal, or neoplastic, cells derived from a normal tissue which proliferate to form a tumor mass, the invasion of adjacent tissues by these neoplastic tumor cells, and the generation of malignant cells which eventually spread via the blood or lymphatic system to regional lymph nodes and to distant sites (metastasis). In a cancerous state a cell proliferates under conditions in which the normal cells would not grow. Cancer manifests itself in a wide variety of forms, characterized by different degrees of invasiveness and aggressiveness.
Despite recent advances in cancer therapy, there is a great need for new therapeutic agents capable of inhibiting neoplastic cell growth. Accordingly, an objective of the present invention is methods and compositions capable of inhibiting the growth of neoplastic cells, such as cancer cells, by inducing apoptosis and necrosis.

Methods and compositions for inhibiting neoplastic cell growth


Certain embodiments include an apparatus, system, or method for time-gain compensation control of an ultrasound system. A computer-implemented method can include providing a tactile gain control comprising a near, middle, and far gain control. The middle gain control can be configured for two-dimensional range adjustment of depth and gain. The computer-implemented method can also include adjust at least one of the near, middle, or far gain control. In addition, the computer-implemented method can include displaying an ultrasound image based on at least one of the adjusted near, middle, or far gain control.

Non-stationary medical imaging devices, such as ultrasonic diagnostic instruments and related equipment, often referred to as ultrasound imaging systems, or simply as ultrasound systems, provide users with the ability to generate images of internal organs. To generate an image, a transducer of the ultrasound system generates and transmits a signal. The signal can be a sound pulse which propagates through the human body as a sound wave. As the sound waves travel through the body, the waves attenuate and reflect back towards the transducer.
The strength of the reflected sound waves can vary depending on when they are reflected, and the part of the body they travel through. Signals that are reflected after traveling a very short distance from the surface of the body can generally be strong, while signals that are reflected after traveling a long distance from the surface of the body can generally be weak. Due to the varying signal strength, the front end of the ultrasound system that receives the signals can be equipped with amplifiers and controllers for normalizing the received signals. The amplifier, which may be a highly linear low noise amplifier, for example, can be used to amplify weak signals, while the controllers can help to ensure that the strong signals do not distort the other received signals.
Once the sound signals are received at the transducer, the signals can be intelligently summed and scaled to create an image of the internal organs. The image displayed to the user will appear to have variable brightness, with those parts represented by stronger signals appearing brighter, and those parts represented by weaker signals appearing darker. To help compensate for the effect of signal attenuation due to distance traveled through the body, ultrasound systems can include a Time Gain Control (TGC), which may be applied on the front end of the ultrasound system by adjusting analog and/or digital gain as a function of time/depth. TGC may apply variable amplification to the received signals according to the return time of the signals. Adjusting the TGC will help users to achieve the desired brightness of the ultrasound image regardless of depth. The adjustment will allow a displayed ultrasound image to appear uniform in homogenous tissue, even though the signal decreases as depth increases.
Ultrasound systems can include sliders, knobs, and/or up or down button controls that allow users to manually adjust the time gain, which may simply be referred to as gain, of an ultrasound image. Each manual slider can be assigned to a particular depth, and allow users to adjust the time gain at the particular depth. Knobs may also be used for near or far gain control, where near represents a skin line depth and far represents the deepest displayed depth on the image. Such manual sliders, however, only provide for limited gain adjustment, without providing the user any control over the actual gain curve. In addition, the manual sliders allow novice users, for example, to have too much control of the gain, while also requiring frequent adjustment to undo previous adjustments made for prior users or subjects. The use of manual sliders may therefore be time consuming, while also being difficult to clean.

System and method for time-gain compensation control


A semiconductor integrated circuit device comprises several blocks including a word line connected with a memory cell, a row decoder selecting the word line, and a block decoder selecting the block. The block decoder includes a logical address register holding logical block address corresponding to the several blocks and a block status register holding a block status. The block decoder selects a block in which input block address and input block status match with held logical block address and held block status, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device. In particular, the present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device having a non-volatile semiconductor memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a non-volatile semiconductor memory device, for example, a NAND flash memory, reading and writing are carried out in units of pages (e.g., 2 KB) while erasing is carried out in units of blocks (e.g., 128 KB). As described above, the erase unit is larger than the write unit in the NAND flash memory. An overwrite operation in a flash memory will be described below.
An overwrite is carried out with respect to a page included in a logical block "a".
Data of the logical block "a" is held in a physical block (actual memory addresses) "A" in a flash memory space. In order to carry out an overwrite with respect to the flash memory, data stored in the overwrite page must be erased once. Moreover, in a NAND flash memory, data of the entire physical block including the page is erased in addition to the page. For this reason, the following operation is carried out.
A spare block (physical block) "B" is prepared. The spare block B is in an already erased state, and does not correspond to any logical blocks. All pages of the physical block "A" including the page having a write request are copied (in this case, data of the page to be overwritten is updated). Thereafter, the block including the old data is erased. The foregoing operation is carried out, and thereby, the data of the logical block "a" is held in the physical block B, and not the physical block "A".
In order to enable access, the flash memory prepares an address correspondence table (mapping table) of logical blocks and physical blocks. This technique is disclosed in JPN. PAT. APPLN. KOKAI Publications No. 10-124384 and No. 11-110283. More specifically, logical address/physical address conversion is carried out. In the conversion, a logical address/physical address conversion table, that is, a mapping table is used. Conversion means for converting a logical address into a physical address has a function of outputting a physical block address for a logical block address input. For example, if a logical block "a" is input, before the foregoing overwrite operation, a physical address corresponding to the physical block "A" is output. On the other hand, after the overwrite operation, an address corresponding to the physical block B is output. In the manner described above, access is made with respect to memory.
Conventionally, an SRAM is used for the logical address/physical address conversion. However, if an SRAM is used, an SRAM sense amplifier and control circuit for controlling the SRAM are required.
Moreover, a logical address decoder for decoding the logical address is required to access the SRAM. In addition, a physical address decoder for decoding the physical address output from the SRAM is required to access the flash memory. Thus, if the SRAM is integrated with a flash memory chip, an address decoder and address bus are required.