The present invention relates to the treatment or prevention of neurodegenerative polyglutamine diseases by the administration of effective amounts of L-methionine S-sulfoximine, L-ethionine S-sulfoximine, glufosinate and/or branched chain α-keto acids. In particular, the present invention relates to the treatment or prevention of Huntington's disease and other polyglutamine disorders caused by expanded genomic CAG nucleotides.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to the treatment or prevention of neurodegenerative polyglutamine by the administration of effective amounts of L-methionine S-sulfoximine, L-ethionine S-sulfoximine, glufosinate and/or branched chain α-keto acids. In particular, the present invention relates to the treatment of Huntington's disease and other polyglutamine disorders caused by expanded genomic CAG nucleotides.
2. Description of Related Art
There are a number of neurodegenerative polyglutamine diseases, for example Huntington's disease, spinocerebellar ataxia, and spinobulbar muscular atrophy (Kennedy's Disease), which are characterized by expanded genomic CAG sequences resulting in the synthesis and accumulation of polyglutamine tracts in brain proteins of unknown function (e.g. Huntingtin in Huntington's disease and ataxin in spinocerebellar ataxias) that are responsible for the neurologic problem. The CAG codon is translated into glutamine (Q). Proteins with expanded polyglutamine domains aggregate and aggregation is a pathologic hallmark of the polyglutamine repeat diseases (Hackam, A. S. et al. J Cell Biol 141, 1097-1105 (1998); Perez, M. K. et al. J Cell Biol 143, 1457-1470 (1998)). These polyglutamine length-dependent properties may arise from the ability of long polyglutamine domains to adopt unique three-dimensional conformations and serve to confer the disease proteins with a pathologic gain-of-function (Perutz, M. F. Trends Biochem Sci 24, 58-63 (1999); Lansbury, P. T. J. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 96, 3342-3344 (1999)).
All diseases in the CAG repeat family show genetic anticipation, meaning the disease usually appears at an earlier age and increases in severity with each generation. Genetic anticipation is linked to increasing numbers of CAG repeats, which result from expansion of the unstable CAG sequence when reproductive cells divide to form eggs and sperm. In general, neurodegenerative disorders are progressive (i.e., their symptoms are not apparent until months or more commonly years after the disease has begun), and caused by an initial reduction of neuronal function, followed by a complete loss of function upon neuronal death.
Huntington's Disease (HD) is a devastating, degenerative brain disorder for which there is, at present, no effective treatment or cure. HD slowly diminishes the affected individual's ability to walk, think, talk and reason. Eventually, the person with HD becomes totally dependent upon others for his or her care. Huntington's Disease profoundly affects the lives of entire families: emotionally, socially and economically. Early symptoms of Huntington's Disease may affect cognitive ability or mobility and include depression, mood swings, forgetfulness, clumsiness, involuntary twitching and lack of coordination. As the disease progresses, concentration and short-term memory diminish and involuntary movements of the head, trunk and limbs increase. Walking, speaking and swallowing abilities deteriorate. Eventually the person is unable to care for him or herself. Death follows from complications such as choking, infection or heart failure. HD typically begins in mid-life, between the ages of 30 and 45, though onset may occur as early as the age of 2. Children who develop the juvenile form of the disease rarely live to adulthood. HD affects males and females equally and crosses all ethnic and racial boundaries. Each child of a person with HD has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the fatal gene. HD is an autosomal dominant condition and thus everyone who carries the gene will develop the disease.
The Huntington's Disease (HD) gene was mapped to chromosome 4p16.3 in 1983 but eluded identification until 1993. When finally identified, the gene (IT15) was found to contain a CAG repeat within its 5′-end coding sequence (Cell 72:971-983). This CAG repeat is expanded in individuals with HD who may or may not be symptomatic. However, the presence of a CAG repeat expansion is found in virtually all symptomatic HD individuals (N. Engl. J. Med. 330:1401-1406).
Normal HD gene CAG repeats range from 10-29 repeats. Some normal individuals (<1%) have been found with intermediate HD gene CAG repeats of 30-35 repeats. Individuals affected with HD typically have at least one HD gene CAG repeat of 36 repeats or greater. It was also found that in a few rare instances (10 cases) individuals having repeats of 36-39 repeats had remained asymptomatic by standard clinical criteria at advanced age. In one exceptional case, a 95 year old patient had 39 repeats (Rubinsztein et. al., 1996; Am. J. Hum. Genet. 59:16-22). There is a tendency to an earlier age-of-onset of HD symptoms with increasing CAG repeat number. A review of 1,049 people (the majority of whom were symptomatic) has provided a determination of the likelihood of an age-of-onset for a given CAG repeat size for repeats between 39-50 repeats (Brinkman et al., 1997; Am. J. Hum. Genet. 60:1202-1210). The polyglutamine expansion results in the formation of insoluble, high molecular weight protein aggregates similar to those seen in Alzheimer's disease (Scherzinger et al., Cell 90:549-558 [1997]). Postmortem examination of the brains of patients suffering from Huntington's disease revealed that CAG repeat length positively correlates with the degree of DNA fragmentation within the afflicted striatum (Butterworth et al., Neurosci., 87:49-53 [1998]), indicating that neuronal degeneration observed in Huntington's disease may also occur through an apoptotic process.
Spinocerebellar ataxias are a group of autosomal dominantly inherited ataxias with heterogeneous presentation. Characteristic CAG repeat expansions in the coding sequences at several loci have been detected for certain of these disorders.
Kennedy disease is caused by a specific mutation (an expansion of the normally polymorphic CAG trinucleotide repeat) in the first exon of the androgen receptor gene (which encodes polyglutamine tracts) which is located on the X-chromosone. Similar to Huntington's disease, in this disease CAG is also abnormally repeated. The CAG repeat range in the general population is approximately 12 to 32 repeats. In patients with Kennedy disease, the repeats may number as many as 40 to 55 repeats. Symptoms appear when the repeats exceed about 40. A larger number of repeats has been suggested to cause symptoms to begin earlier in life and progress more rapidly.
Currently, physicians may prescribe a number of medications to help control emotional and movement problems associated with polyglutamine disorders caused by expanded genomic CAG nucleotides. Such medications include antipsychotic drugs, such as haloperidol, or other drugs, such as clonazepam, to alleviate choreic movements and also to help control hallucinations, delusions, and violent outbursts; fluoxetine, sertraline, nortriptyline, or other compounds may be prescribed for depression. Tranquilizers can help control anxiety and lithium may be prescribed to combat pathological excitement and severe mood swings. It is important to remember however, that while medicines may help keep these clinical symptoms under control, there is currently no treatment to stop or reverse the course of the disease.
Several models have been developed for the polyglutamine-repeat diseases to model different aspects of disease including mouse, rat, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila, yeast and numerous cell-culture systems (Neuron 35, 819-822; Trends Genet. 18, 202-209; Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2003 May 13; 100 (10): 5950-5955).
Remacemide and Coenzyme Q10 have been tested for the treatment of HD but a large-scale clinical trial that tested the ability of these investigational drugs to slow the progression of Huntington's disease showed that neither drug resulted in any significant improvement for the patients. Remacemide blocks a neurotransmitter in the brain (the NMDA glutamate receptor) which has long been suspected of contributing to the death of brain cells in Huntington's disease. Coenzyme Q10 is a substance that occurs naturally in the body and plays a role in the function of mitochondria, the energy factories of human cells. It is also an anti-oxidant, meaning that it can neutralize potentially injurious oxygen-containing chemicals called free radicals, which may play a role in the nerve cell death that occurs in Huntington's disease. After one year of treatment, the disease seemed to progress more slowly in patients treated with Coenzyme Q10, however, the investigators concluded that overall the results were inconclusive as to whether there is real benefit from this drug (Neurology, Aug. 14, 2001; 57: 397).
An experimental drug called cystamine has been found to alleviate tremors and prolong life in mice with the gene mutation for Huntington's disease (HD). The drug appears to work by increasing the activity of proteins that protect nerve cells, or neurons, from degeneration. The brains of Huntington's patients become clogged with clumps of protein called aggregates. The aggregates are made up of the abnormal huntingtin proteins hooked together. The aggregations are formed by the action of an enzyme called transglutaminase and by the tendency of these proteins to stick together. Cystamine inactivates an enzyme called transglutaminase and thus would theoretically prevent clumps of huntingtin protein (Nature Medicine 8, 143-149, 2002). Surprisingly, cystamine was found to increase the levels of certain neuroprotective proteins.
As discussed above, currently used treatments are primarily directed at symptomatic relief and provide poor long term disease management. Thus, new methods for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, including but not limited to Huntington's disease, spinocerebellar ataxia, and spinobulbar muscular atrophy (Kennedy's Disease) that are effective and convenient, but lack significant side effects are needed.

Treatment of polyglutamine disorders caused by expanding genomic CAG nucleotides


A system for locating a junction box installed within the framework of a structure and behind a wall includes a first magnet mounted on a plate with the plate being removably mounted to a junction box, a spring actively biasing the magnet outwardly from the plate, and a second magnet located outside of the wall used to identify the location of the first magnet, and thereby, the electrical box, behind the wall.

The present invention is directed toward a system for locating a junction box behind a wall and more particularly, toward a system that uses magnets to locate the box.
In building construction, drywall is typically installed on wall studs over junction or electrical boxes. In order to locate the box, measurements relative to the walls, floor or ceiling are taken and are then used to determine where the hole should be cut in order to reach the box. This is a rather inaccurate and time consuming way to locate the box.
Several different methods for locating electrical or outlet boxes have been proposed. One method is by using magnets or ferromagnetic material. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,421 to Crorey discloses a device for locating a junction box behind a wall. The device includes a first magnet positioned within the box and a second magnet positioned on the outer surface of the wall in order to locate the magnet or magnets located within the box. However, when installing sheet material on walls, the sheet material is never precisely parallel with the junction box face until the hole for the box is cut. This causes a separation between the magnet in the box and the inner surface of the sheet material which can be a quarter inch or more. As magnetic attraction decreases exponentially with distance, this small space can result in unsatisfactory attraction on the external magnet.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 6,452,097 to DeWall discloses a system for locating an outlet box behind drywall. A magnet may be positioned within the box via a plate, a wire, or magnet mounting tape. A magnet sensing device is used on the outer surface of the wall in order to locate the box. However, it appears that the magnet must be centrally located within the box in order for the sensing device to locate the magnet. In addition, the same separation between the magnet in the box and the sheet material which appears in Crorey exists in DeWall. Even further, the magnetic tape or magnets on a wire cannot protect the contents of the junction box from damage in the cutting process. Additionally, if the magnet is mounted flush with a plate in the box, it can be difficult to remove as there is no protrusion to grasp after cutting the hole.
Therefore a need exists for a method for locating a junction box in a simple, accurate, and efficient manner.


A displacement detection apparatus, polarization beam splitter, and diffraction grating are provided. A displacement detection apparatus configured to detect a displacement includes a light source, a reflective diffraction grating configured to receive the two polarized beams, two polarization altering elements configured to alter the polarization states of two diffracted beams of the two polarized beams obtained at the diffraction grating, two mirrors configured to reflect the beams whose polarization states have been altered at the two polarization altering elements and to guide the reflected beams to the two polarization altering elements, each of the mirrors corresponding to the polarization altering elements, and a polarization beam splitter provided as a unit with at least the two polarization altering elements, the polarization beam splitter including a polarizing and splitting surface and a transmissive area.

The present application relates to a displacement detection apparatus configured to detect a displacement (movement) of a scale using interference of light and relates to a polarization beam splitter and a diffraction grating installed in the displacement detection apparatus.
Recently, fixed-point detection apparatuses and displacement detection apparatuses using light-emitting diodes and laser devices have high resolution that enables a measurement of displacement smaller than 1 nm. Among such displacement detection apparatuses, the displacement detection apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-144581 includes a movable scale (12) having a first area (12a) for recording position information at predetermined intervals and a second area (12b) for recording position information at predetermined intervals different from that in the first area (12a). A first reading unit (10) reads a signal of diffracted light from the first area (12a) of the scale (12), whereas a second reading unit (11) reads a signal of diffracted light from the second area (12b) (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-144581). By detecting the phases of the readout signals and comparing each two phases with the displacement detection apparatus, an origin signal indicating the origin position used as a reference of the displacement amount. In other words, the above-described fixed-point detection apparatus is capable of detecting an origin position in this way and is used together with the displacement detection apparatus.
In the displacement detection apparatus according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-144581, a position for reading out position information from the first area (12a) and a position for reading out position information from the second area (12b) are aligned on an inner line. Thus, an accurate origin signal can be generated without being affected by Abbe error.
Since, in general, with such a displacement detection apparatus, the optical system becomes complex, there is a problem in that the size of the apparatus increases. Therefore, there is a need for reduction in size. Moreover, since the optical system is complex, it is important to maintain high assembly accuracy of the optical system. When the assembly accuracy is low, distortion may be generated in the optical system and the electric-signal processing system when the displacement detection apparatus continuously used.

Displacement detection apparatus, polarization beam splitter, and diffraction grating


An occlusion clip is disclosed that comprises an occlusion portion having an upper single element occlusion member having proximal and distal upper member ends and a lower single element occlusion member having proximal and distal lower member ends. The lower single element occlusion member and the upper single element occlusion member combine to define an occlusion member plane. The occlusion clip further comprises a spring portion having a torsion spring connecting the proximal upper member end to the proximal lower member end. The torsion spring has a spring height dimension in the occlusion member plane perpendicular to the upper and lower single occlusion members and is adapted to bias the upper and lower single element occlusion members toward a closed position wherein the upper single element occlusion member is in force contact with the lower single element occlusion member.

The present invention relates generally to mechanical devices used in surgical procedures to occlude a vessel or duct, and more particularly, to an instrument that can apply a pre-formed, spring-loaded clip used during surgery to clamp around a vessel or duct, such as cystic duct or cystic artery, and thereby obtain homeostasis or occlusion.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the use of clips for homeostasis or ligation during surgical procedures is well known. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,976,722 and 4,979,950 for example, described prior art clips that are formed of titanium wire. Prior to use, these clips are "U-shaped" with a rectangular cross-section. Application of these prior art clips is normally effected by means of a crushing action produced by a clip applier, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,226. Such crushing action permanently deforms the clips, making them difficult to remove or re-position. Another problem with crush clips is that vessels and tissue often shrink after occlusion owing to the onset of necrosis, for example. Because these type clips have no means for compensating for shrinking tissue, they lose their occlusion properties.
Numerous spring clips have been developed for occluding tissue. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,966,603, 4,274,415, 5,833,700 and 6,350,269 disclose examples of spring clips. One problem with the clips described in the '603, '415, and '700 patents is that the occlusion force exerted by the clips approaches zero as the opposing occlusion members come into contact. Thus, for very thin tissue, the clips supply nearly zero occlusion force.
Other problems are presented by the clip of the '269 patent. For example the clip of the '269 patent is too wide for many intricate procedures and its configuration is difficult to manufacture. In addition, this clip is difficult to remove under laparoscopic conditions.
Some spring clips, such as those clip described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,060, are designed for placement on tissue in the surgical field by hand. Other clips, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,415, are applied using applicators that are suitable for use in open surgery but not for laparoscopic surgery. One applicator that is suitable for use in laparoscopic surgery is the applicator disclosed in the '269 patent. The clip and applicator combination of the '269 patent have several problems, however. For example, the clip has a narrow proximal end and the feed track in the clip holder is relatively wide. This causes the clip stack to kink, which causes excessive friction during clip feed. This can result in the clip pusher slipping over clips and clips jamming. Also, the jaws of the applicator are necessarily wide in order to accommodate the wide distal end of the clip. This does not allow adjacent clips to be placed in close proximity as is often required in delicate procedures. Another disadvantage of the '269 system is that surgeons are accustomed to viewing clips as they are being applied. Crush clips, for example, are fully visible before crushing. Viewing of the clip during application in '269 is limited to the view of a small portion of the clip through one of two small windows in the jaws. Yet another problem is that the applicator described in '269 patent uses a sacrificial clip to push the last usable clip onto the jaws for application. The sacrificial clip remains in the applicator, unusable, since there is no reliable means to push it out. Sometimes, the pusher clip is partially fed into the jaws, which causes the jaws to become attached to the tissue with no way to extricate the clip and free the jaws. Finally, resetting the applicator to the initial state so that the applicator is ready to place a second clip is often a problem.
What is needed is a simple-to-manufacture, easy-to-remove, narrow spring clip that maintains a substantial occlusion force to the occlusion members of the clip when they are at or near the closed position so that small vessels and ducts can be adequately occluded.


An object relational map verification system is described. In some embodiments, the object relational map verification system can verify object relational maps and identify counterexamples when an object relational map cannot be verified. The object relational map verification system can verify an object relational map by (1) receiving objects, database schemas, query views, and update views; (2) generating first order logic formulae corresponding to the received objects, database schemas, query views, and update views; and (3) proving theorems indicated by the generated first order logic formulae. When the theorems are proved, the object relational map is verified. In some embodiments, the object relational map verification system can also generate models illustrating counterexamples when the theorem cannot be proved. The counterexamples provide data that the object relational map does not consistently store and then retrieve.

Producing sophisticated software can involve many man-hours of software developers' effort to produce software code. To improve the understandability and maintainability of software code, software developers began using object-oriented programming techniques. Software code that was developed using object-oriented programming techniques generally encapsulated functionality into objects. As an example, when software accesses a database to store or retrieve data, the software may contain a database access object that other objects employ to access the database. Objects generally have attributes and methods. Attributes can store values. Other code in the software, such as other classes, can invoke the methods to manipulate the object's attributes or take various actions.
Objects can define complex data relationships. As an example, an object representing an address book can reference objects corresponding to multiple person objects, with each person object having an associated name, multiple addresses, multiple phone numbers, and so forth. The person object may include a method to return a preferred telephone number. The person object can be referenced as a single value in a variable. In contrast, a database can be defined using a database schema comprising tables and columns that is relational and so different from objects. Data can be stored in rows of each database table. Each row's data can comprise scalars, such as strings, integers, and so forth. No one column of a table contains the equivalent of a person object. Instead, the person object's attributes can be distributed among several columns, such as name, address, phone number, and so forth.
When developing a database access object, developers generally develop code to access the database. As an example, to store and retrieve address book entries, a developer may develop a database object that maps data from a person object's attributes to database column values and vice versa. However, every time the object's structure or the database schema changes, the code may need to be modified to conform to the change. The code would need to determine which tables and columns are needed to satisfy a particular database operation and produce corresponding database queries. This can involve substantial software development and testing effort.
Developers sometimes employ object relational mapping (ORM) techniques to simplify the understandability and maintainability of objects that access databases or, more generally, anytime two objects of different types exchange data. An object relational map identifies the mapping between two object types, such as a database object that accesses a database and the database itself. ORM techniques can be employed whenever transformation of data occurs from one complex type to another. ORM techniques map objects to database schemas to produce database queries automatically so that developers do not need to develop and maintain code for accessing databases. Using such techniques, a developer can map an object's attributes to database columns. ORM techniques produce suitable database access queries when an object accesses a corresponding database. However, developers and testers need to ascertain that the ORM techniques are producing correct database queries. In other words, developers need to know that an object relational map causes data that is stored to be equivalent to data that is retrieved. This is known in the art as a "round-trip" data analysis.

Object relational map verification system


A method includes: receiving, by a session management device, a path switching request used to request to hand over user equipment UE from a source network to a target network; obtaining a target security policy based on the path switching request, and obtaining a second shared key generated based on a first shared key and the target security policy, and sending the second shared key to a target gateway; and sending, by the session management device, the second shared key to the UE; or sending the target security policy to the UE, so that the UE generates the second shared key based on the first shared key and the target security policy, where the second shared key is used to perform end-to-end protection on secure data transmission between the UE and the target gateway.

Future 5th generation (5G) networks are developing toward diversified, broadband, comprehensive, and intelligent networks. With popularity of various user equipments (UE), mobile data traffic explodes. To improve traffic transmission efficiency, an interaction procedure of the 5G network is correspondingly improved. For example, in the 5G technology, when transmitting data in a network, the UE does not need to verify data security between the UE and a radio access network (RAN) device. The RAN is configured to forward data between the UE and a UP-GW. A task of verifying data security is performed by the UE and a user plane gateway (UP-GW) in the network. To be specific, the UE and the UP-GW perform end-to-end protection on secure data transmission.
FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart of a 5G network that is being studied. Network elements for performing the procedure include UE, a RAN, a UP-GW, and the like. The procedure is substantially as follows:
Step 1: The UE transmits data in a network that the UE currently camps on (which may be referred to as a "source network"). The UE and the UP-GW pre-negotiate a shared key to protect secure data transmission.
Step 2: The UE performs a handover from the source network to a new network. In future 5G, the UE may be triggered to be handed over based on information such as current load of the network, a geographical location change of the UE, and a signal strength of the current network. A user plane gateway in the new network may be referred to as a target UP-GW.
Step 3: The UE establishes a new session to the target UP-GW.
Step 4: The UE transmits data in the new network based on the new session, and the UE and the UP-GW protect secure data transmission together.
Step 5: The UE negotiates with the UP-GW in the network before the handover, to release a session in the previous network. It may be understood that steps 4 and 5 may be exchanged or simultaneously performed.
In the foregoing procedure, when the UE establishes a new session to the target UP-GW, a new shared key needs to be generated. Subsequently, the UE and the target UP-GW use the shared key to protect secure data transmission in the new network. How to generate the shared key of the UE in the new network is a problem that a person skilled in the art is currently studying.

Network handover protection method, related device, and system


Provided is a communication relay apparatus configured to relay communication between a plurality of segments of a network by a plurality of communication devices including an indoor unit and an outdoor unit connected to one another via the network, the communication relay apparatus including a relay setting unit configured to set a first mode value corresponding to processing of relaying all frames and a second mode value corresponding to processing of relaying a frame on the basis of a destination address of the frame, and a relay determination unit configured to perform processing of relaying the frame in an operation mode corresponding to a relay mode value set by the relay setting unit.

Communication in an air-conditioning system includes communication for control and communication for operation.
Communication for control is used for controlling, for example, refrigerant. For example, the air-conditioning system adjusts an opening degree of an expansion valve or a rotation frequency of a compressor on the basis of temperature information on refrigerant, which is communicated among communication devices, and other information, to thereby control the temperature of the refrigerant. That is, for example, communication of temperature information on refrigerant is classified into communication for control.
In communication for control, control performance deteriorates due to communication delay. For example, when communication delay occurs in communication of temperature information on refrigerant, control of the temperature of refrigerant has an increased hunting width in proportion to delay time, and as a result, the control performance deteriorates. In short, communication for control is characterized in that communication delay is not allowed.
Meanwhile, communication for operation is used for, for example, an operation of a system controller by a user or display on the system controller. For example, the system controller displays an indoor temperature for the user, and thus performs communication to inquire of an indoor unit about the indoor temperature. That is, for example, communication of indoor temperature, which is performed between the system controller and the indoor unit, is classified into communication for operation.
Communication delay does not cause a problem in communication for operation in many cases. For example, when communication delay occurs in communication of indoor temperature, the indoor temperature is displayed on the system controller after the elapse of the delay time. However, the indoor temperature hardly changes during the delay time, and thus the communication delay does not cause a problem in many cases in communication of indoor temperature. In short, communication for operation is characterized in that communication delay is permitted more compared to communication for control.
A communication device connected to an air-conditioning system can perform communication when a communication port of the air-conditioning system is not occupied. The communication port has a high occupancy when communication traffic is large, and thus a large amount of time is required until the communication port becomes unoccupied. In other words, a communication device connected to the air-conditioning system has a large communication delay when communication traffic is large. Besides, a communication delay is not permitted in communication for control. Consequently, communication traffic in the air-conditioning system is desired to be lowered.
There has been known a method of using a repeater as a method of relaying communication in an air-conditioning system. The repeater also relays communication that is handled in each segment and is not required to be relayed, and as a result, communication traffic increases. Further, the repeater has a function of increasing an attenuated transmission waveform, and thus the repeater can be used to increase a transmission distance. However, communication in an air-conditioning system causes deviation in phase of the transmission waveform by a transmission delay when the transmission distance increases, with the result that each communication device cannot identify a transmission waveform and communication is disabled. Thus, the transmission distance in the air-conditioning system is limited, and the number of repeaters to be cascade-connected is also limited. Further, when the transmission waveform contains noise, the repeater amplifies and relays the noise, and as a result, communication across segments is more likely to have an abnormality due to the noise.
There is known a method of using a bridge as a method of preventing leakage of communication that is handled in each segment. The bridge is configured to manage destination information on communication devices connected to each segment, and to determine whether to allow relay on the basis of the destination information on communication devices, to thereby relay communication across segments and block communication that is handled in each segment. Thus, when a bridge is used, it is possible to reduce communication traffic compared to a case of using a repeater.
Further, the bridge physically blocks communication between segments, and thus the communication delay does not occur across segments. As a result, the transmission distance in an air-conditioning system is limited to each segment, but bridges can be cascade-connected to unlimitedly increase the transmission distance in the air-conditioning system. Further, the bridge relays communication through identification of a transmission waveform, and thus even when the transmission waveform contains noise, the noise can be blocked. Consequently, it is possible to prevent noise from causing a communication abnormality across segments.
A typical bridge determines whether to relay communication on the basis of the destination information on communication devices. Thus, when a typical bridge is introduced to an air-conditioning system, a communication device that utilizes communication addressed to another component may not be able to utilize the communication addressed to another component. In other words, a communication device that performs control in synchronization with communication addressed to another component may not be able to utilize communication that serves to trigger the control, namely, communication that is required for the control.
Specifically, for example, an operator registers in advance specifics of some communication and details of control that is performed at a time of the communication in a general-purpose device controller of Patent Literature 1. Then, the general-purpose device controller monitors the communication registered in advance to perform control corresponding to the communication registered in advance in synchronization with execution of the communication. However, when a typical bridge is introduced to an air-conditioning system of Patent Literature 1, the communication registered in advance may be blocked, and thus the general-purpose device controller may not be able to perform the control registered in advance.
Further, some communication relay apparatus perform relay processing that depends on the magnitude of communication traffic to reduce increase in communication traffic (e.g., refer to Patent Literature 2). A communication relay apparatus of Patent Literature 2 transmits all pieces of data when communication traffic is smaller than a restriction value, and performs data communication that is based on destination address information when communication traffic exceeds the restriction value.

Communication relay apparatus and air-conditioning system


Resource management includes: operating in a first mode, including executing a controller operation in connection with a plurality of local elements, wherein the controller operation is executed by a configurable resource; switching from the first mode to a second mode; and operating in the second mode, including: executing a data processing task in a first portion of the configurable resource; and executing the controller operation in connection with the plurality of local elements, in a second portion of the configurable resource.

Data processing (such as data extraction and identification, data analytics and forecasting, etc.) is an important aspect of modern computing environments. On Internet-based application platforms such as search, e-commerce, finance, medical, security, and many others, vast amounts of data needs to be processed offline as well as online.
Currently, in order to handle the high volume of data, modern computing environments (e.g., cloud-based computing environments) typically employ specialized clusters of hardware and software to perform specific functions. Data is transmitted via a high-speed fabric between different clusters that accomplish specialized tasks. For example, data can be inspected by networking clusters, sent to computing clusters to be processed, and then sent to storage clusters to be stored. As the volume of data increases, a greater amount of data fabric is required, and the infrastructure must be expanded to accommodate the requirement. Further, data latency will often increase as more data is transmitted. Additionally, due to the increase in intermediate data generated by the specialized clusters, the clusters may need to be modified to include additional storage capacity, which adds to the cost. How to efficiently manage the processing of high volume of data without substantially increasing latency is becoming an ever more pressing issue.

High-volume, low-latency data processing in flexibly configured local heterogeneous computing environments


The exposure apparatus includes a purge member that includes a humidifier that humidifies supplied gas; a first regulator that regulates a flow rate of first gas which passes through the humidifier; a second regulator that regulates a flow rate of second gas which does not pass through the humidifier; a variable instrument that varies a humidifying performance of the humidifier; a sensor; and a controller. Here, the controller controls the first and the second regulators to adjust a flow rate ratio of the first gas and the second gas on the basis of the humidity of the humidified gas detected by the sensor and a pre-set target humidity, and controls the variable instrument to keep the flow rate of the first gas constant on the basis of an amount of operation of the first regulator and an amount of pre-set target operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus, a device manufacturing method using the same, and a gas supply device.
2. Description of the Related Art
An exposure apparatus is an apparatus that transfers a pattern of an original (reticle or mask) onto a photosensitive substrate (e.g., wafer, glass plate, or the like, where the surface thereof is coated with a resist layer) via a projection optical system in a lithography process of a manufacturing process for a semiconductor device, a liquid crystal display device, or the like. The exposure apparatus generally includes a chamber that surrounds the entire exposure apparatus. The chamber circulates air to keep it clean while keeping the ambient temperature of the exposure apparatus body constant. The chamber mainly includes an air conditioning machine room that performs air temperature control, a dust collecting filter that filters micro foreign matter to thereby form a uniform flow of clean air, and a booth that isolates the apparatus environment from the outside. In this case, temperature-controlled air is supplied into the booth via the dust collecting filter and the like using an air blower provided inside the air conditioning machine room. The supplied air is again taken into the air conditioning machine room from the return port disposed at the booth to thereby circulate in the chamber. In order to prevent micro foreign matter or harmful gas from entering into the interior of the exposure apparatus through minute clearances of the booth, the chamber is controlled such that outside air, which corresponds to approximately 0.1 of the amount of circulation air, is introduced from an outside-air introduction port provided in the air conditioning machine room to thereby constantly maintain the air pressure in the booth at a positive pressure. However, when the exposure apparatus is operated over a long period of time, the circulation air in the booth comes into contact with the final optical members that configure an illumination optical system, and the projection lenses that respectively configures the top surface and the bottom surface of the projection optical system to thereby make the surfaces of these optical elements cloudy. Consequently, the productivity of the exposure apparatus undesirably decreases due to illumination deterioration of exposure light. Therefore, in a conventional exposure apparatus, the final optical members of the illumination optical system and the projection lenses of the projection optical system are purged by clean inert gas such as nitrogen gas or the like, whereby the occurrence of fogging on these optical elements is suppressed to low level.
In addition, the air in the clean room where the exposure apparatus is installed generally includes minute quantities of chemical pollutants such as basic gas (ammonia, amine, and the like), acidic gas (sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrogen chloride, and the like), and organic gas (siloxane, and the like). These gases are also discharged in minute quantities from the components of the exposure apparatus. Hence, a conventional chamber includes a chemical filter in order to reduce the concentration of the chemicals contained in the air within the booth below a ppb level. The chemical filter is a filter that removes basic gas and acidic gas using an ion exchange reaction or removes organic gas using an activated carbon. For example, the chemical filter having the side of 600 mm and the thickness of 60 mm is employed in a stacked configuration in accordance with the installation environment and the required reduction in the concentration. However, when the amount of circulation of air within the booth increases accompanying the increasing size of exposure apparatuses, a chemical filter with a larger opening, which reduces the face velocity in the plane of the chemical filter, needs to be selected in order to improve the adsorption efficiency. Furthermore, when the amount of air to be taken from the outside of the booth increases, the amount of basic gas, acidic gas, and organic gas to be taken from inside the clean room also increases, resulting in a reduction in lifetime of the chemical filter. Specifically, in order to extend the replacement cycle and reduce the down time of the exposure apparatus, more chemical filters need to be provided, resulting in the increased size of the exposure apparatus.
In contrast, in order to suppress fogging on the optical elements while avoiding increasing the size of the exposure apparatus, there is a method for locally purging each of the optical element portions in contact with air within the booth with humidified air. The flow rate of humidified air is a low flow rate from one per thousands to one per tens of thousands compared to that of circulation air. The method is an energy-saving system compared with the method for removing pollutants from all circulation air to thereby lower the concentration to a required level. As a method using humidified air, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-275054 discloses a semiconductor exposure apparatus that controls the humidification of clean dry air (hereinafter referred to as "CDA") supplied from the production facility to thereby supply the clean dry air via a chemical filter into the apparatus. Examples of the humidifying method to be used in the semiconductor exposure apparatus include a method for adjusting the temperature of a humidifier using a humidity sensor, and a method for controlling the flow rate of CDA to be sent to the humidifier. The semiconductor exposure apparatus ejects humidified air onto the surfaces of the optical elements and lowers the concentration of chemical pollutants contained in the atmosphere near the surfaces thereof for fogging prevention. The aforementioned humidified air is a generic name for gas having a dew-point temperature of 0 degrees Celsius or above, in which most of impurities are removed to the same level as CDA, whereas CDA is very dried air having a dew-point temperature of about −60 degrees Celsius.
However, the semiconductor exposure apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-275054 adjusts the amount of humidification of CDA by changing the temperature of an object or liquid. In this case, the thermal time constant of an object or liquid is relatively high, and consequently a highly-accurate humidity control cannot be performed. On the other hand, unlike the method using heat, in the method for controlling the flow rate of CDA to be sent to the humidifier, the effect of the thermal time constant of an object or liquid is reduced, whereby a highly-accurate humidity control can be performed. However, it is essential that the performance of a humidifying medium be in a predetermined range, and thus, a change in the performance of a humidifying medium cannot be ignored. Here, the performance of a humidifying medium includes, for example, a saturated steam pressure that varies depending on the temperature of CDA. Furthermore, in a vaporizing humidification method, the heat is removed from the surroundings by means of heat of vaporization when liquid is vaporized. Consequently, the temperature of liquid is reduced, and thus the saturated steam pressure is also reduced, resulting in a reduction in the absolute humidity of gas passed through the humidifier. Furthermore, from the viewpoint of the fluctuation of a laser interferometer, it is desirable that humidity be controlled following the humidity inside the space. However, liquid to be supplied to the humidifier may be directly supplied from the place where the humidifier is installed, so that the temperature of liquid may not always be controlled. The same also applies because the temperature fluctuation under the environment where the humidifier is placed also depends on the place where the humidifier is installed.

Exposure apparatus, device manufacturing method using same, and gas supply device


A surface marker resin formulation is provided that includes a linear aromatic polyester or a co-polymer thereof. The resin is dissolved or dispersed in a solvent exclusive of naphtha. An inorganic particulate having an average maximal linear extent of between 10 and 130 microns present from 22 to 41 total weight percent. A process of marking a surface includes two articles being brought into a pre-selected alignment to define a surface. A continuous bead is applied to the surface. The solvent evaporates to a state of dry-to-touch in a time of between less than 60 seconds to mark the surface. The formulation is readily applied from a pen to achieve a controlled bead width. The drying of the formulation by solvent evaporation yields full hardness in 24 hours under standard temperature and pressure as measured at 0% humidity.

Inspection paints are used in myriad applications to visually detect movement or tampering. Such paints are configured to adhere to, and form a breakable marking seal between, adjacent items that may undergo relative movement. For example, inspection paints may be applied to compression fittings, baseplates, studs, nuts, bolts, screws, fasteners, instrument and gauge housings and calibration mechanisms, parts and numerous other assemblies. Once dry, inspection paints become brittle and will crack if disturbed. Thus, when applied to adjacent items, inspection paints may be used to determine whether the two items have undergone relative movement. As a result, such pens are used extensively, in complex assembly and maintenance associated with aircraft, engines, and vehicles.
By way of example, inspection paints may be applied to the lug nuts attaching a vehicle wheel to an axle. Once the lug nuts are applied to the studs and properly torqued, inspection paint may be applied across the stud and the lug nut. Should the lug nut happen to loosen from the stud as a result of vibration or other means, the inspection paint marking will break, signaling that the lug nut has loosened. Similarly, an inspection paint may be applied to screws fastening the sealed chassis of an electronic device, such as a television. If the chassis is opened without authorization, the inspection paint marking will break, indicating a potential warranty tampering situation.
While state-of-the art current surface marker formulations sold under the tradename CROSS CHECK™ have numerous attractive attributes including drying to a hard film, compliance with BOEING® specification BMS8-45, adhesion to many substrates, and resistance to several common cleaning solvents. U.S. Pat. No. 7,820,755 is representative of such formulations. However, there are ever increasing demands that such markers dry ever quicker without compromising other attributes of the CROSS CHECK™ formulations. As a result, existing surface marker formulations likewise need to adjust to the requirements of ever quicker drying.
Thus, there exists a need for a surface marker formulation that dries to a hard film and does so on a time scale compatible with assembly and maintenance work flow at a rate that is accelerated by the filler.

Resin formulation containing cure speeding inorganic particulate and use thereof as a surface marker


In an example of a selective, real-time gas sensing method, a gas sample, potentially including a specific gas molecule to be sensed, is supplied to an interface between a working electrode and an ionic liquid electrolyte. Based on at least one unique electrochemical reaction of the specific gas molecule to be sensed, a driving force is implemented to initiate a series of reactions involving the specific gas molecule. In response to the implementation of the driving force, a signal indicative of the specific gas molecule is monitored for.

Gas monitoring may be desirable for a variety of applications, such as air quality monitoring, environmental health, biomedical diagnostics, occupational health and/or safety, industrial process control, etc. Gases have been detected using optical, solid state, and electrochemical based sensors. Electrochemical sensors require the use of an electrolyte dissolved in water or an organic solvent, which is prone to exhaustion and has a limited applicable potential window. These characteristics can shorten the sensor lifetime, limit the analytes that can be detected, and render continuous gas sampling difficult or impossible.


Contrast Imaging apparatus and methods with Wavefront Coding aspheric optics and post processing increase depth of field and reduce misfocus effects in imaging Phase Objects. The general Interference Contrast imaging system is modified with a special purpose optical element and image processing of the detected image to form the final image. The Wavefront Coding optical element can be fabricated as a separate component, can be constructed as an integral component of the imaging objective, tube lens, beam splitter, polarizer or any combination of such.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus and methods for using Wavefront Coding to improve contrast imaging of objects which are transparent, reflective or vary in thickness or index of refraction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Most imaging systems generate image contrast through variations in reflectance or absorption of the object being viewed. Objects that are transparent or reflective but have variations in index of refraction or thickness can be very difficult to image. These types of transparent or reflective objects can be considered "Phase Objects". Various techniques have been developed to produce high contrast images from essentially transparent objects that have only variations in thickness or index of refraction. These techniques generally modify both the illumination optics and the imaging optics and are different modes of what can be called "Contrast Imaging".
There are a number of different Contrast Imaging techniques that have been developed over the years to image Phase Objects. These techniques can be grouped into three classes that are dependent on the type of modification made to the back focal plane of the imaging objective and the type of illumination method used. The simplest Contrast Imaging techniques modify the back focal plane of the imaging objective with an intensity or amplitude mask. Other techniques modify the back focal plane of the objective with phase masks. Still more techniques, require the use of polarized illumination and polarization-sensitive beam splitters and shearing devices.
Contrast Imaging techniques that require polarizers, beam splitters and beam shearing to image optical phase gradients, we call "Interference Contrast" techniques. These techniques include conventional Differential Interference Contrast (Smith, L. W., Microscopic interferometry, Research (London), 8:385–395, 1955), improvements using Nomarski prisms (Allen, R. D., David, G. B, and Nomarski, G, The Zeiss-Nomarski differential interference equipment for transmitted light microscopy, Z. Wiss. Mikrosk. 69:193–221, 1969), the Dyson interference microscope (Born and Wolf, Principals of Optics, Macmillan, 1964), the Jamin-Lebedeff interferometer microscopes as described by Spencer in 1982 ("Fundamentals of Light Microscopy", Cambridge University Press, London), and Mach-Zehnder type interference microscopes ("Video Microscopy", Inoue and Spring, Plenum Press, New York, 1997). Other related techniques include those that use reduced cost beam splitters and polarizers (U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,707), systems that employ contrast enhancement of the detected images (U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,359), systems that vary the microscope phase settings and combine a multiplicity of images (U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,855), and systems having variable amounts of beam shearing (U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,127).
FIG. 1 (Prior Art) is a block diagram 100, which shows generally how Interference Contrast Imaging techniques are implemented. This block diagram shows imaging of a Phase Object 110 through transmission, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that the elements could just as simply have been arranged to show imaging through reflection.
Illumination source 102 and polarizer 104 act to form linearly polarized light. Beam splitter 106 divides the linearly polarized light into two linearly polarized beams that are orthogonally polarized. Such orthogonal beams can be laterally displaced or sheared relative to each other. Illumination optics 108 act to produce focussed light upon Phase Object 110. A Phase Object is defined here as an object that is transparent or reflective but has variations in thickness and/or index of refraction, and thus can be difficult to image because the majority of the image contrast typically is derived from variations in the reflectance or absorbtion of the object.
Objective lens 112 and tube lens 118 act to produce an image upon detector 120. Beam splitter 114 acts to remove the lateral shear between the two orthogonally polarized beams formed by beam splitter 106. Beam splitter 114 is also generally adjustable. By adjusting this beam splitter a phase difference between the two orthogonal beams can be realized. Analyzer 116 acts to combine the orthogonal beams by converting them to the same linear polarization. Detector 122 can be film, a CCD detector array, a CMOS detector, etc. Traditional imaging, such as bright field imaging, would result if polarizer and analyzer 104 and 116 and beam splitters 106 and 114 were not used.
FIG. 2 (Prior Art) shows a description of the ray path and polarizations through the length of the Interference Contrast imaging system of FIG. 1. The lower diagram of FIG. 2 describes the ray path while the upper diagram describes the polarizations. The illumination light is linearly polarized after polarizer 204. This linear polarization is described as a vertical arrow in the upper diagram directly above polarizer 204. At beam splitter 206 the single beam of light becomes two orthogonally polarized beams of light that are spatially displaced or sheared with respect to each other. This is indicated by the two paths (solid and dotted) in both diagrams. Notice that the two polarization states of the two paths in the top diagram are orthogonally rotated with respect to each other. Beam splitter 214 spatially combines the two polarizations with a possible phase offset or bias. This phase bias is given by the parameter Δ in the upper plot. By laterally adjusting the second beam splitter 214 the value of the phase bias Δ can be changed. A Nomarski type prism is described by the ray path diagram, although a Wollaston type prism could have been used as well. Analyzer 216 acts to convert the orthogonal component beams to linearly polarized light. The angle between the polarizer 204 and analyzer 216 can typically be varied in order to adjust the background intensity. Image plane 218 acts to display or record a time average intensity of the linearly polarized light, the sheared component possibly containing a phase shift. This image plane can be an optical viewing device or a digital detector such as CCD, CMOS, etc.
The interactions of the polarizers, beam splitters, and Phase Objects of the Interference Contrast imaging systems have been studied in great detail. For additional background information see "Confocal differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy: including a theoretical analysis of conventional and confocal DIC imaging", Cogswell and Sheppard, Journal of Microscopy, Vol 165, Pt 1, January 1992, pp 81–101.
In order to understand the relationship between the object, image, and phase shift Δ consider an arbitrary spatially constant object that can be mathematically described as:Obj=a exp(jθ), where j=√{square root over (−1)}where "a" is the amplitude and θ is the object phase. If the two component beams of the system of FIG. 2 have equal amplitude, and if the component beams are subtracted with relative phases +/−Δ/2 then just after analyzer 216 the resulting image amplitude is given by:amp=a exp(j[θ−Δ/2])−a exp(j[θ+Δ/2])=2j a exp(jθ) sin(Δ/2)
The image intensity is the square of the image amplitude. The intensity of this signal is then given by:int0=4a2 sin(Δ/2)2.
The image intensity is independent of the object phase θ. The phase difference or bias between the two orthogonal beams is given by Δ and is adjusted by lateral movement of the beam splitter, be it a Wollaston or a Nomarski type. If instead of a spatially constant object, consider an object whose phase varies by Δφ between two laterally sheared beams. This object phase variation is equivalent to a change in the value of the component beam phases of Δ. If the component beam phases Δ is equal to zero (no relative phase shift) then the resulting image intensity can be shown to have increases in intensity for both positive and negative variations of object phase. If the component beam bias is increased so that the total phase variation is always positive, the change in image intensity then increases monotonically throughout the range Δφ. The actual value of the change in image intensity with object phase change Δφ can be shown to be:Int1=4a2Δφ sin(Δ).
Interference Contrast imaging the phase bias Δ determines the relative strengths with which the phase and amplitude information of the object will be displayed in the image. If the object has amplitude variations these will be imaged according to int0 above. At a phase bias of zero (or multiple of 2 pi ) the image will contain a maximum of phase information but a minimum of amplitude information. At a phase bias of pi the opposite is true, with the image giving a maximum of amplitude information of the object and a minimum of phase information. For intermediate values of phase bias both phase and amplitude are imaged and the typical Interference Contrast bias relief image is produced, as is well known.
Variation of the phase bias can be shown to affect the parameters of image contrast, linearity, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as well. The ratio of contrast from phase and amplitude in Interference Contrast imaging can be shown to be given by:[contrast due to phase/contrast due to amplitude]=2cot(Δ/2)
The overall contrast in the Interference Contrast image is the ratio of the signal strength to the background and can be shown to be given by:overall contrast=2Δφ cot(Δ/2).
The linearity between the image intensity and phase gradients in the object can be described by:L=[(1+sin(Δ))(2/3)]/[2cos(Δ)].
The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), ignoring all sources of noise except shot noise on the background, can be shown to be given bySNR=4a cos(Δ/2).
In Interference Contrast imaging systems the condenser aperture can be opened to improve resolution, although in practice, to maintain contrast, the condenser aperture is usually not increased to full illumination. Imaging is typically then partially coherent. Description of the imaging characteristics for Interference Contrast imaging therefore needs to be expressed in terms of a partially coherent transfer function. The partially coherent transfer function (or transmission cross-coefficient), given as C(m,n;p,q), describes the strength of image contributions from pairs of spatial frequencies components m; p in the x direction and n; q in the y direction (Born and Wolf, Principals of Optics, Macmillan, 1975, p. 526). The intensity of the image in terms of the partially coherent transfer function image can be written as:I(x,y)=ƒƒƒƒT(m,n)T(p,g)*C(m,n;p,q) exp(2 pi j[(m−p)x+(n−q)y])dm dn dp dqwhere the limits of integration are + infinity to − infinity. The term T(m,n) is the spatial frequency content of the object amplitude transmittance t(x,y):T(m,n)=ƒƒt(x,y) exp(2 pi j[mx+ny])dx dywhere again the limits of integration are +infinity to −infinity. ( )* denotes complex conjugate. When the condenser aperture is maximally opened and matched to the back aperture or exit pupil of the objective lens, the partially coherent transfer function reduces to (Intro. to Fourier Optics, Goodman, 1968, pg. 120):C(m,n;p,q)=δ(m−n)δ(p−q)[a cos(ρ)−ρsqrt{(1−ρ2 )}]where ρ=sqrt(m2+p2) and δ(x)=1 if x=0, δ(x)=0 otherwise.
The effective transfer function for the Interference Contrast imaging system can be shown to be given as:C(m,n;p,q)eff=2C(m,n;p,q){cos[2 pi(m−n)Λ]−cos(Δ) cos([2 pi(m+n)Λ]−sin(Δ)sin[2 pi (m+p)Λ]}where Λ is equal to the lateral shear of the beam splitters and C(m,n;p,q) is the partially coherent transfer function of the system without Interference Contrast modifications.
Interference Contrast imaging is one of the most complex forms of imaging in terms of analysis and design. These systems are also widely used and studied. But, there is still a need to improve Interference Contrast Imaging of Phase Objects by increasing the depth of field for imaging thick objects, as well as for controlling focus-related aberrations in order to produce less expensive imaging systems than is currently possible.

Wavefront coding interference contrast imaging systems

The Regents of The University of Colorado


A DRAM according to the invention has noise-eliminating circuits. Each of the circuits has an output side thereof connected to a corresponding word line. At the time of a voltage stress examination, each of the circuits is controlled to be in an on-state thereby transmitting a voltage stress, input an input side thereof, to the word line. At the time of normal operation, the input side of the circuit is connected to an earth node, and each of the circuits is turned on and off in accordance with a signal output from a corresponding one of word line-selecting circuits or with the level of a corresponding one of the word lines.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), and particularly to a DRAM having a stress testing means for applying a voltage stress, e.g., when defect screening is performed in a wafer state (i.e., the DRAM which is not separated from a semiconductor wafer).
2. Description of the Related Art
In a manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, in general, products are sorted into good ones and bad ones by a die-sorting test after a process for producing semiconductor wafers, and thereafter the good ones are accommodated in packages, thereby obtaining their final form. The packaged products are screened. This screening is performed so as to expose latent defectiveness in the products, thereby eliminating defective products and enhancing the reliability of the products. As a method of screening, burn-in is employed in many cases, in which electric-field acceleration and temperature acceleration can be simultaneously performed.
Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application (Kokai) No. 3-35491 (corresponding to U.S. application Ser. No. 544,614) discloses a semiconductor memory suitable in a case where memory cells in a wafer stage are screened using a probe card and a prober before they are subjected to a die-sorting process. Each memory chip region of the semiconductor memory can be effectively screened in a short time.
Further, in many semiconductor memories, a noise-eliminating MOS transistor is connected between the connection node of each word line and an earth node. This transistor is provided for preventing the potential of a non-selected word line from floating in a precharge period or in an active period during normal operation of the memories, thereby preventing the level of the word line from exceeding the threshold voltage of the transfer gate transistor of a memory cell, and hence preventing the data of the memory cells from being lost.
When a voltage stress is applied to all the word lines selected at the time of screening, if the noise-eliminating transistor is on, a pass current will flow to the earth node from a voltage stress power source via the word lines and the noise-eliminating transistor.
Therefore, it is necessary to employ control means for controlling the noise-eliminating transistor, so as to simultaneously apply the voltage stress to all the word lines at the time of the voltage stress examination of a DRAM.
Further if a MOS transistor for the voltage stress examination is provided at the other end of each word line, the required chip area will be increased. Thus, it is desirable to minimize the area of that part of the chip region which is required for performing the voltage stress examination.


An apparatus comprises a brushless motor, driver, incremental displacement sensor, and processor. The motor has a rotor, stator, and electrical terminals accepting a drive signal. The initial phase of the rotor is unknown. The driver is connected to the electrical terminals and produces the drive signal. The displacement sensor is configured to measure a displacement of the rotor and to produce an output signal. The processor has an input receiving the output signal and an output connected to the driver. The processor causes the driver to produce the drive signal according to a predetermined function of time, observes the output signal from the displacement sensor resulting from the drive signal, and performs mathematical computations on the basis of the observed output signal and a model of dynamic behavior of the motor to estimate the initial phase of the rotor.

There is a general trend in industrial applications to move from motors with brushes, such as DC motors, to synchronous motors. For instance, a growing use of synchronous motors has been witnessed in the semiconductor wafer processing industry where they are used for high precision positioning. The trend towards using brushless motors is motivated by their longer lifetime, lower maintenance costs, and improved cleanliness of operation. For example, motor brushes experience wear and tear, which can result in spreading out small dust particles that can be injurious to semiconductor wafers and other work pieces. Synchronous motors therefore make a more reliable solution since they are not subjected to the wear of brushes.
To eliminate mechanical contacts, current commutations are performed electronically for a brushless or synchronous motor. To perform these commutations, a controller driving a synchronous motor ideally has information on the reference or initial phase of the motor. Putting the control currents in exact phase with the motor yields an optimal use of the motor. A lack of knowledge of the reference phase can make it difficult or impossible to avoid heating and to achieve desired precision control. Therefore, the determination of a reference phase is desired for precise synchronous motor control.
To get information on the reference phase, state of the art solutions require additional undesirable hardware to be added to the motor. For example, Hall effect sensors can be used to give a direct measurement of the magnetic field inside the motor. Resolvers may also be used to get a reference position since they provide absolute position or angle measurements. Finally, by measuring current inside the motor, the back electromotive force created by an electrical circuit moving into a magnetic field can lead to a determination of a reference position. No matter how efficient these solutions are, however, they require additional components to determine the reference phase, and these components, especially Hall effect sensors and resolvers, are quite expensive. Furthermore, adding new components means adding wires, connectors, and redesigning communication protocols and new algorithms to process the information from these dedicated components.
Existing solutions with none of the aforementioned hardware additions are based on the periodic magnetic field inside a motor. One such solution injects a constant reference current to one electrical phase of the motor, thereby making it stabilize where the magnetic field is zero, which may not be a desired position. This solution, which is based upon measuring how far the motor moves to arrive at its in-phase position, subjects the motor to an unknown and uncontrolled movement, which may not be acceptable in some applications. This solution may work provided friction is not too significant, but friction can cause the resting position to differ from the true in-phase position. Moreover, this solution does not meaningfully take advantage of the motor's dynamic behavior. Finally, when using this solution, one can witness erratic position shifts around the equilibrium position before stabilizing. These movements can be as large as the magnetic pitch, which may be a couple of millimeters, and such large oscillations are not acceptable for some applications.

Apparatus and method for estimation of initial phase of a brushless motor


A new 2D/3D switchable display apparatus matches a polarization direction of light output from a 2D image display panel with a rubbing direction of a lower alignment layer of a liquid crystal lens, and tilts a rubbing direction of an upper alignment layer of the liquid crystal lens and a direction of a polarization axis of a polarizer at a predetermined angle, thereby reducing a loss of light passing through the liquid crystal lens, making it possible to improve luminance of images, improve the quality of 3D images in the horizontal direction, prevent or reduce color separation and moire phenomena, and reduce the manufacturing cost.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to an apparatus for displaying three-dimensional (3D) images, and more particularly, to a two-dimensional/three-dimensional (2D/3D) switchable autostereoscopic display apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
3D display technologies are classified into so-called stereoscopic display technology that requires viewers to wear special glasses such as liquid crystal shutter glasses to view 3D stereoscopic images, and so-called autostereoscopic display technology that does not require the wearing of glasses.
Devices constructed with stereoscopic display technology can employ liquid crystal shutter glasses, in which left- and right-eye liquid crystal shutters alternately pass and block light during predetermined periods, and in which a shutter glass driving device drives the shutters. Stereoscopic images may be recognized by providing left- and right-eye images independently after separating them. However, stereoscopic display technology has many shortcomings, in particular requiring liquid crystal shutter glasses and their associated devices such as shutter glass driving devices.
Devices employing autostereoscopic display technology have the advantage of displaying 3D images without requiring the viewer to wear shutter glasses. Autostereoscopic display technology may employ a parallax barrier 3D display device or a lenticular 3D display device. The parallax barrier 3D display device has a parallax barrier with apertures in the form of a vertical grid, which is mounted in front of a display panel having pixels arranged in rows and columns. The parallax barrier separates left-eye images for the viewer's left eye from right-eye images for the viewer's right eye, and causes binocular disparity between the different images on the display panel. On the other hand, to display 3D images, the lenticular 3D display device generally uses a lenticular lens having a columnar (or vertical) array of semi-cylindrical lenses, which is put on the display panel, instead of using a parallax barrier.
A 2D/3D switchable lenticular 3D display device includes a display panel and a liquid crystal lens that serves as a lenticular lens depending on the change in refractive index of a liquid crystal material filled between upper and lower substrates. The liquid crystal lens is mounted in front of a 2D display panel, and may switch between 2D and 3D display modes depending on a voltage applied between electrodes thereof.
In the 2D display mode, the voltage applied between or across the electrodes is turned off, i.e. not applied, or its application is stopped. Then, the liquid crystal between the electrodes may maintain its initial alignment state, so the liquid crystal lens no longer serves as a lenticular lens and the light coming out from the 2D display panel is provided to the viewer as 2D images.
In the 3D display mode, the voltage applied between or across the electrodes is turned on. Then, the liquid crystal lens may serve as a lenticular lens by changing the refractive index of the liquid crystal differently depending on the location of the liquid crystal material. As the liquid crystal lens serves as a lenticular lens, the light coming out from the 2D display panel undergoes a change in its propagation direction while passing through the liquid crystal lens, and provides different images to the viewer's left and right eyes, making it possible for the viewer to view stereoscopic images.
In order for the liquid crystal lens to precisely control the images provided to the viewer's left and right eyes in the 3D display mode, polarizers are mounted on the upper and lower substrates. The polarizers absorb the light that proceeds in undesired directions, making it possible to control the direction of the light passing through the liquid crystal lens.
Disadvantageously, however, these polarizers may reduce luminance of the light passing therethrough. A light absorption loss of one polarizer is currently about 7%. Therefore, the polarizers included in the liquid crystal lens are significant causes of luminance reduction.
When a 3D display device uses a liquid crystal display panel as its display panel, an additional luminance loss may occur as follows. The liquid crystal display panel adjusts brightness of the light passing therethrough using two polarizers. The liquid crystal display panel transmits only the light linearly polarized in the vertical or horizontal direction using the polarizers. In the conventional liquid crystal lens, liquid crystal molecules are aligned in an anti-parallel way (e.g., aligned parallel but in opposite directions), and polarizers attached to its upper and lower substrates have their polarization axis in the same direction as the alignment direction of the liquid crystal material.
In order to prevent color separation and moire phenomena which may occur in 3D images, an array direction of liquid crystal lenses is required to be tilted with respect to the pixels arranged in the vertical (or columnar) direction. However, when a polarization direction of the polarized light passing through the 2D display panel is inconsistent with a direction of a polarization axis of polarizers mounted on the liquid crystal lens, a λ/2-phase difference film is required to match them with each other. The λ/2-phase difference film rotates the polarized light output or projected from the 2D liquid crystal display panel as required in the liquid crystal lens. However, when the polarization axis of the transmitted light is rotated by φ by means of the λ/2-phase difference film, a light loss caused by the rotation of the polarization axis may occur, as defined by Equation (1) below.Polarization Axis Rotation Loss=1−cos2φ  (1)where φ denotes an angle by which the polarization axis is rotated by the λ/2-phase difference film, and cos2φ denotes a transmittance given when the polarization axis is rotated. For example, for φ=18.5°, the polarization axis rotation loss may be about 10%.
In addition, the polarizers are very expensive. Therefore, a plurality of polarizers used for the 3D display device may increase the total price of the 3D display device to an undesirable degree.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a 2D/3D switchable display apparatus that can reduce the number of polarizers used in the liquid crystal lens and improve its luminance.

Two-dimensional/three-dimensional switchable display apparatus


A new and distinct cultivar of the species Actinidia chinesis Planch is described. ‘AU Golden Dragon’ has a low chilling requirement, fruit is very early maturing, excellent flavor with a non acid sweet taste, and high soluble solids and dry matter content. ‘AU Golden Dragon’ matures about 50 days ahead of ‘Hort 16A’ (patented), the industry standard for golden flesh kiwi, therefore, the two cultivars will not compete in the market place. ‘AU Golden Dragon’ fruit quality indices are similar to fruit quality indices of ‘Hort 16A’ (patented). There have been no differences in plant performance and fruit quality of ‘AU Golden Dragon’ plants grown in China and Central Alabama.

Seed were collected from fruit produced by open pollinated and unnamed kiwi plants of Actinidia chinensis Planch growing in a cultivated area of Fang County Hubei Province of P.R. China. Seedlings developed from the collected seeds were planted and grown in an experimental orchard and evaluated for fruit quality parameters, maturity date, flesh color and appearance. 'AU Golden Dragon' was selected as a potential commercial cultivar from this experimental evaluation planting because of its excellent plant performance, earliness of maturity and fruit quality, fragrance and yield. 'AU Golden Dragon' has the best fruit quality and performance of the very early maturing cultivars of Actinidia chinensis Planch. The new cultivar is able to be asexually reproduced by softwood and hardwood rooted cuttings or by budding or grafting onto a seedling or rooted cutting grown rootstock with the unique characteristics being transferred through succeeding asexual propagations. In China 'AU Golden Dragon' was vegetatively propagated by grafting and planted for evaluation in experimental plantings in Shanghui, Jiangsu, Fusion and Shanxi provinces. 'AU Golden Dragon' was vegetatively propagated by softwood and hardwood cuttings and cleft grafting for evaluation in experimental plantings in Central Alabama. This cultivar has had excellent and equal performance in both China and Alabama test locations. The fruit of 'AU Golden Dragon' is elliptical in shape with a brown smooth skin, very early maturity, excellent flavor with a non acid sweet taste, and high soluble solids and percent dry matter content.


A mobile communication system provides new services to a mobile terminal mounted in a vehicle through an auxiliary terminal by connecting the auxiliary terminal to the mobile terminal. A mobile communication system includes a first terminal mounted in a vehicle, and a second terminal configured to detect application programs available in the first terminal and transmit an application program list indicating the detected application programs to the first terminal.

Terminals may be classified as mobile/portable terminals or stationary terminals according to their mobility. Mobile terminals may be classified as handheld terminals or vehicle mounted terminals according to whether or not a user can directly carry the terminal.
As terminals become multifunctional, mobile terminals may capture still images or moving images, play music or video files, play games, receive broadcast and the like. In this regard, a mobile terminal may serve as an integrated multimedia player.

Mobile communication terminal, control method thereof, auxiliary terminal and vehicle


A polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell using hydrogen as the fuel and oxygen containing air as the oxidant. The fuel cell including a hydrogen side electrode; an air side electrode; an electrolyte positioned between the electrodes; a hydrogen diffuser/collector plate including hydrogen channels; and an air diffuser/collector plate including air channels. A method of operation of the fuel cell including introducing hydrogen into the hydrogen channels and introducing air into the air channels at a pressure of less than 5 psig and with a channel velocity of between about 0.15 and 7.0 meters/second.

The present invention relates to electrochemical fuel cells and a method of operating electrochemical fuel cells. More specifically, the present invention relates to polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells employing fuel and oxidant streams. More particularly, the present invention relates to PEM fuel cells utilizing hydrogen as the fuel and oxygen containing air as the oxidant.
Electrochemical fuel cells convert fuel and an oxidant to electricity and a reaction product. A typical fuel cell consists of a cathode, an anode, and an electrolyte. The electrolyte is sandwiched between the cathode and anode. Fuel, in the form of hydrogen, is supplied to the anode where a catalyst (usually platinum) catalyzes the following reaction: EQU Anode reaction: H.sub.2 .fwdarw.2H.sup.+ +2e.sup.-
Hydrogen separates into hydrogen ions and electrons. The cations (protons) migrate through the electrolyte membrane to the cathode. The electrons migrate via an external circuit in the form of electricity.
An oxidant, in the form of oxygen or oxygen containing air, is supplied to the cathode where it reacts with the hydrogen ions that have crossed the membrane and the electrons from the external circuit to form liquid water as the reaction product. The reaction is also usually catalyzed by platinum and occurs as follows: EQU Cathode reaction: 1/2O.sub.2 +2H.sup.+ +2e.sup.- .fwdarw.H.sub.2 O
Thus the fuel cell generates electricity and water through the electrochemical reaction.
Typically, the electrochemical reaction also supports a phenomenon called water pumping. As each cation (proton) migrates through the membrane, it transports or drags along several water molecules, too. Thus, there is a net transport of water to the cathode. Water pumping adds water to the product water formed at the cathode through the electrochemical reaction.
Solid polymer fuel cells generally comprise a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA). The MEA consists of a solid polymer electrolyte or ion exchange membrane situated between and in contact with two electrodes made of porous, electrically conducting sheet material. The electrodes are typically made from carbon fiber paper or cloth. At the interface of the electrode and membrane is a layer of catalyst to facilitate the electrochemical reaction. The MEA is placed between two electrically conductive plates, commonly formed from graphite. These plates have one or more reactant flow passages impressed on the surface. The reactant flow passages direct the flow of a reactant to the electrode.
The graphite flow plates, one for each electrode, provide support for the MEA and act as current collectors. Additional cells can be connected together in series to increase the voltage and power output. Such an arrangement is referred to as a fuel cell stack. In such an arrangement, the current collector plate will act as a flow plate for the anode on one side and as the flow plate for the cathode on the other. The stack will typically include inlets, outlets, and manifolds for directing the flow of the reactants as well as coolant, such as water, to the individual reactant flow plates.
To date, fuel cells have been utilized as prototypes for research or in very specialized, custom applications. In order to successfully commercialize fuel cells for vehicular propulsion, the fuel cell stack should be sized to provide sufficient power, at a useful voltage, for normal continuing operation. A significant barrier to commercialization is the power density of the fuel cell; in other words, the power produced for the volume or unit mass of the fuel cell stack. Power density needs to be higher to be practical for transportation. As a corollary, increased power density will decrease the cost to manufacture a given power rating. Thus, there is considerable interest in industry to increase fuel cell power density.
It is known that the performance of the fuel cell or fuel cell stack typically increases with increasing pressure of the reactants. As reactant pressure increases, the power density of the fuel cell increases. See for example Srinivasan, et al., "Advances in Solid Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Technology with Low Platinum Loading Electrodes" (Journal of Power Sources, 22 (1988) 359-375) in which this proposition is discussed. Fuel cell systems such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,260,143, 5,252,410, 5,366,821, and 5,360,679 and 5,346,778 utilize reactant pressures ranging from 10 p.s.i.g. to approximately 65 p.s.i.g. or higher. A common emphasis in these systems is to maximize the power output of the fuel cell or fuel cell stack.
Further, papers such as "The Renaissance of the Solid Polymer Fuel Cell" (Journal of Power Sources, 29 (1990) 239-250) by K. Prater and "Solid Polymer Fuel Cell Developments at Ballard" (Journal of Power Sources, 37 (1992) 181-188) also by K. Prater, disclose reactant pressures ranging from 30 psig to 50 psig and higher for improved cell and stack performance.
Many of the above systems use (substantially) pure oxygen as the oxidant. However, when working with oxygen-containing air as the oxidant reactant, the reactant must typically be supplied in larger volumes to compensate for the reduced concentration of oxygen. The increased flow is required to maintain sufficient stoichiometric conditions to support the electrochemical reaction.
A consideration in the operation of a fuel cell stack is the power diverted to supporting apparatus. Supporting apparatus includes pumps, compressors or blowers, control systems, and other equipment. The power to operate these sub-systems represents a drain on the net available power from the fuel cell. This is commonly referred to as "parasitic losses" or "parasitic load." The parasitic load required to run the subsystems varies, directly, with the gross power output of the fuel cell stack. As the net power demand increases, the gross output of the fuel cell stack increases and the parasitic load also increases.
The parasitic load for oxidant compression, or the means for moving an oxidant through the fuel cell, for fuel cells operating with air as the oxidant can represent a significant portion of the total parasitic load. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,366,821, 5,366,818, and 5,292,600 recognize the impact of such a drain and in these references the inventors considered minimizing the parasitic losses of the fuel cell system due to the air moving means.
Further references can be found in Swan, et al., "Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Characterization for Electric Vehicle Applications" (1994 SAE International Congress, February 28-March 3, Detroit, Mich.); Swan, et al., "The Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell--A Strong Candidate as a Power Source for Electric Vehicles" (Technical Proceedings--Project Hydrogen '91, American Academy of Science, Independence, Mo.); and Amphlett, et al., "Operating Characteristics of a Solid Polymer Fuel Cell" (Technical Proceedings--Project Hydrogen '91, American Academy of Science, Independence, Mo.). The authors demonstrate that compressor power requirements can constitute a major parasitic load that is not offset by improved net efficiency.
FIG. 1 shows the minimum voltage loss and the fractional net power loss due to adiabatic compression under ideal conditions. Fuel cells operate under real world conditions, not "ideal" conditions. Ergo, the actual losses will be higher.
Therefore, with respect to fuel cell design, a paradoxical problem exists; namely, fuel cell performance increases with increasing reactant pressure while parasitic losses similarly increase which serves to negate or even reduce net power gains.
Another consideration in fuel cell stack performance concerns water management. The accumulation of water at the cathode, due to water pumping and from product water, creates problems for the operation of the fuel cell. The presence of water in the vicinity of the catalyst layer reduces the accessibility of the catalyst to the reactant, a phenomenon commonly referred to as "flooding." Also, the presence of water, often in the form of droplets, can substantially block the flow of oxidant reactant through the oxidant passages. "Dead spots" can form in the areas where channel passages are blocked. These issues can result in a reduction of power of the fuel cell.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,292,600, 5,108,849, 4,855,193, and 4,729,932, recognize the need to maintain adequate oxidant flow in cathode flow passages to adequately remove water from the cell. The flow of the oxidant stream clears the water in the passages. An adequate flow of oxidant is necessary to keep all flow passages clear and to eliminate any potential dead spots that could reduce the power of the system. Maintaining adequate oxidant flow typically increases the required parasitic power. Thus, an issue with water management is the increase in parasitic losses to provide sufficient oxidant flow through the channels.
Another consideration in fuel cell stack performance that results from the oxidant air flow is that of pressure drop. Air or oxidant flowing through the reactant flow passages results in a pressure drop from the reactant inlet to the reactant outlet. The pressure drop is induced by the need to maintain adequate reactant flow for the previously mentioned water management. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,108,849 and 4,988,583 recognize that pressure drop from reactant inlet to reactant outlet across a cell becomes significant, particularly in larger size fuel cells utilizing air as a reactant or in fuel cell stacks. Increased pressure drop across the cell requires increased inlet pressure for the oxidant and, thus, increased parasitic power.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fuel cell that maximizes the net power from the fuel cell system. It is a further object of the present invention to reduce the overall pressure of the fuel cell system to minimize parasitic losses while still maintaining adequate airflow through the flow channels to remove water. It is also an object of the present invention to minimize the pressure drop across a fuel cell and through the fuel cell stack to reduce the parasitic losses.


Method of stabilizing valve lift-off movement in an automotive hydraulic shock absorber having compression and expansion chambers filled with a hydraulic shock-absorber fluid is diclosed. The chamber are divided by a valve body which has one or more orifices that have fluid flow therethrough controlled by a spring biased valve that lifts off from the valve body when the fluid pressure differential between chambers is above a predetermined amount. The steps of the method comprise (a) stationing the spring biased valve with respect to the orifices so that the fluid forcing the valve to lift off and overcome the spring bias will exit from the orifices in a manner that creates a velocity gradient in the expansion chamber resulting in pressure differences that disturb a smooth lift-off of the valves; and (b) modifying the hydraulic shock absorber fluid to form a mixture containing fumed amorphous silica whereby the fluid mixture will possess a viscosity inversely proportional to the velocity of the fluid mixture regions, the mixture will achieve the needed hydraulic attenuation.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the technology of hydraulically absorbing or dissipating shook energy and, more particularly, to shock absorber assemblies that use spring biased valves to change the energy absorbing characteristics while quieting or eliminating mechanical noise.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
As shown in FIG. 1, automotive shock absorbers typically have a piston rod 10 supported on a chassis or autobody component 11 and also have a cylinder 12 supported on a wheel 13 through a knuckle 14 so that hydraulic attenuation (fluid flow from a compression chamber to an expansion chamber) may be established by oil confined in the cylinder in response to sliding movement of the piston within the cylinder. The amount of energy absorbed or dissipated is determined by the velocity of the piston rod that is retarder by fluid flow between the chambers and the cylinder.
Often supplementary or secondary valves are deployed to vary the amount and sequence of fluid exchanged between such chambers to give real damping characteristics to the absorbing effect or ride quality for the automotive vehicle. These secondary valves are biased to a closed position by a relatively light spring to give a precise low energy lift-off response, but such spring biased valves may suffer from chatter or wobble as the fluid flow exiting from the valve orifice creates vortices in the expansion chamber thereby destabilizing movement of the valve.
Attempts to overcome such chatter or noise have been limited; one such attempt uses elastic elements in the valve guide (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,224) but this use destroys parameters chosen to provide a very specific ride quality; there is little latitude in varying the shock absorber parameters (such as spring stiffness, spring preload, valve mass) if such ride quality is to be achieved.

Method of stabilizing valve lift-off in hydraulic shock absorbers