Efficient techniques for determining compliance of a wireless device with radio-frequency (RF) exposure standards and regulations. In an aspect, two-dimensional surface scans of a device are determined and stored in a memory during a certification phase. Each scan corresponds to a basis surface scan wherein only one transmitter and one antenna of the device are active. During real-time operation, the basis surface scans corresponding to the real-time active transmitters and antennas of the device are retrieved. The retrieved scans are processed according to the real-time operating parameters to determine an estimated RF exposure metric, e.g., a peak specific absorption rate (SAR). The transmit power levels of the device may be adjusted in real time to ensure compliance of the estimated RF exposure metric with applicable standards and regulations.

1. Field
The invention relates to efficient techniques for exposure assessment of wireless devices.
2. Background
Modern wireless devices such as cellular phones are generally required to meet radio frequency (RF) exposure requirements as mandated by domestic and international standards and regulations. To ensure compliance with the standards, such devices must currently undergo an extensive certification process prior to being shipped to market. The certification process may entail performing a large number (e.g., thousands) of measurements on each device to determine the exposure caused by the device under different operating scenarios. For example, to determine a parameter known as specific absorption rate (SAR), a field scan may be performed over a two-dimensional (2D) surface surrounding the device, and subsequently a three-dimensional (3D) volume scan may be performed at specific points identified on the surface scan that correspond to high SAR.
State-of-the-art wireless devices increasingly support multiple communication technologies (e.g., W-CDMA, LTE, etc.) and/or multiple transmission bands in a single terminal. An exhaustive sweep over all possible operating scenarios to ensure RF exposure compliance would be time-consuming, as 2D and 3D field measurements would need to be performed for each possible combination of active transmitter(s) (TX), active antenna(s), frequency bands, channels, technologies, etc. The excessive time and cost of such measurements would render existing certification processes impractical.
It would be desirable to provide techniques for efficiently assessing compliance of wireless devices with RF exposure requirements to reduce the time and cost of certification.


To provide a method for producing a 3-substituted 2-chloro-5-fluoro-pyridine or its salt in high yield from a readily available material through a short process under mild reaction conditions using a reagent which is easy for handling and simple in the reaction operation. Namely, a method for producing the following compound (2) or its salt which comprises selectively reducing a chlorine atom at the 6-position of the following compound (1) or its salt, is provided. Further, a method for producing the following compound (4) or its salt which comprises substituting a Z1 group of the following compound (2) or its salt obtained by the reduction reaction, by a Z2 group, is provided. Here, Z1 is —CO2R1, etc., and R1 is a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, an aryl group, an aralkyl group or a cycloalkyl group. Z2 is a group different from Z1 and is —CO2R5, etc., and R5 is an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, an aryl group, an aralkyl group or a cycloalkyl group.

With respect to a method for producing a 3-substituted 2-chloro-5-fluoro-pyridine or its salt, the following methods have heretofore been proposed.
(1) A method wherein 2,6-dichloro-5-fluoronicotinic acid is used as the starting material, and it is converted to an ethyl ester of 2,6-dichloro-5-fluoronicotinic acid and then reacted with sodium thiomethoxide to obtain ethyl 2-chloro-5-fluoro-6-methylthionicotinate, and further, the methylthio group at the 6-position is reduced in the presence of a Raney nickel catalyst to obtain ethyl 2-chloro-5-fluoro-nicotinate (U.S. Pat. No. 5,250,548 (Examples 180A to C)).
(2) A method wherein 2-hydroxy nicotinic acid is used as the starting material, and the 5-position is nitrated, then the 2-position is chlorinated, then the nitro group at the 5-position is reduced in hydrochloric acid by means of tin(II) chloride to obtain 5-amino-2-chloronicotnic acid hydrochloride, which is then diazotized by means of tetrafluoroboric acid and sodium nitrite to convert the 5-position to diazonium tetrafluoroborate, followed by thermal decomposition in 1,2-dichlorobenzene to obtain 2-chloro-5-fluoronicotinic acid (European Patent No. 634413A1 (pages 12 and 13)).
(3) A method wherein 2-chloro-3-methyl-5-nitropyridine is used as the starting material, and the nitro group is reduced and then diazotized in HPF6 to convert the 5-position to diazonium hexafluorophosphate, followed by thermal decomposition to obtain 2-chloro-5-fluoro-3-methylpyridine, which is further oxidized with potassium permanganate to obtain 2-chloro-5-fluoronicotinic acid (Frank L. Setliff, Gary O. Rankin, "J. Chemical and Engineering Data", (U.S.A.), 1972, Vol. 17, No. 4, p. 515).
However, the above-methods have the following drawbacks.
In the method (1), the reaction for introducing a methylthio group is a reaction accompanying a bad odor. Further, in that method, after substituting a hydrogen atom by a methylthio group, the methylthio group is again substituted to a hydrogen atom by a reduction reaction, and as such; the method is inefficient. Further, there is an additional drawback that the yield in such a reduction reaction is low at a level of 30%. The method (2) has a drawback that the reaction process is long. Further, after synthesizing an unstable diazonium salt, the diazonium salt is thermally decomposed at a high temperature, and accordingly, the method has a drawback that the overall yield is low. The method (3) also has a drawback that the reaction process is long. Further, it has a drawback that the yield in the oxidation reaction is so low that the method is poor in practical applicability.

Method for producing 3-substituted 2-chloro-5-fluoro-pyridine or its salt


A novel pleated fibrous structure is disclosed, which fibrous structure comprises a layer of a pleated split fiber film. The layer of split fiber film may be electrostatically charged. The pleated split fiber film may be part of a composite fibrous structure further comprising a support of a nonwoven or scrim.

Pleated and/or electrically charged fibrous materials to be used as a filtration medium have been known for some time. The electrostatic charging of fibrous materials and its shortcomings are reviewed in U.S. patent application No. 5,401,446, issued Mar. 28, 1995, and incorporated herein by reference.
Currently available methods for cold charging a web have problems developing the desired charge densities and, in addition, suffer from the problem of having the charge bleed off the web with time.
Pleating the filters increases filtering efficiency, without producing as high a pressure drop as would be caused by more closely packing the fibers. Pleating also results in increased ability to retain dust which is filtered and removed from the environment.
A need exists for pleated and non-pleated composite structures, useful for filters, which have the capability to maintain a high level of electrostatic charge.

Composite pleated fibrous structures containing split film fibers


The present invention provides methods of treating inflammation associated with infection, and methods of preventing or reducing the severity of sepsis caused by inflammation associated with infection, in an individual comprising, consisting essentially of or consisting of the steps of administering a therapeutically effective amount of idronoxil, or derivative, pharmaceutically acceptable salt, ester, amide, polymorph and/or prodrug thereof to the individual, wherein the individual is diagnosed with, or suspected of having, early stage organ damage caused by inflammation associated with infection.

Sepsis is a disease characterized by an overwhelming systemic inflammatory response to infection.
Bacterial sepsis is a complex systemic inflammatory syndrome caused by aggressive bacterial infection in the blood. Sepsis causes high morbidity and mortality in humans and other animals. In the United States, sepsis is a leading cause of nosocomial death for humans (particularly in intensive care units) and death from infections in young livestock and other animals. Each year, over 700,000 new cases of sepsis are diagnosed in humans. Extrapolated to a global population, this represents several million cases of severe sepsis worldwide annually. Mortality rates range from about 20-30% and represent at least 150,000 deaths per year in the United States.
Sepsis can result from many causes but is typically triggered by events such as pneumonia, other infections, trauma, surgery, and burns or by conditions such as cancer or AIDS. Sepsis usually begins with tremor, fever, falling blood pressure (septic shock), rapid breathing, rapid heart rate, and skin lesions. Within hours, sepsis may cause spontaneous clotting in blood vessels, severe hypotension, multiple organ failure, shock, and eventually death.
Typically, these symptoms are caused by the excessive or uncontrolled activation of host defense mechanisms such as cytokines, leukocytes, and complement. Certain symptoms, including clotting, are caused by the STING pathway, independent of cytokines.
Sepsis is usually caused by bacterial infections (either Gram-negative or Gram-positive bacteria) but can also be caused by other pathogens such as fungi, viruses, and parasites and non-infective stimuli such as superantigens. Most often however, sepsis is caused by Gram-negative bacterial infections. However, the injury and symptoms attributable to sepsis are not only caused by the bacteria but are also caused by a component of the bacterial cell wall known as endotoxin or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). LPS molecules are glycolipids that are ubiquitous in the outer membrane of all Gram-negative bacteria. While the known chemical structure of the LPS molecule is complex and diverse, a common feature is the lipid A region. Recognition of the highly conserved lipid A LPS region initiates many, if not all, of the events responsible for sepsis. LPS is released when the immune system destroys the invading bacteria.
There is a need for improved methods for treating inflammation associated with infection and for preventing sepsis.
Reference to any prior art in the specification is not an acknowledgment or suggestion that this prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in any jurisdiction or that this prior art could reasonably be expected to be understood, regarded as relevant, and/or combined with other pieces of prior art by a skilled person in the art.

Methods for the treatment of inflammation associated with infection


The present invention is directed to a unicellular organism system, such as a yeast, for producing geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate and a diterpene in vivo. The yeast cell preferably comprises an inducible nucleic acid sequence encoding geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase, an inducible nucleic acid sequence encoding a soluble form of HMG-CoA reductase, a nucleic acid sequence of an allele that confers an increase in sterol metabolic flux and, in the diterpene-producing cell, a diterpene synthase.

Metabolic engineering employs recombinant DNA technology to restructure metabolic networks of microorganisms leading to improved production and yields of natural products (Bailey, 1991) This method alters a synchronous series of transformations, defined as a pathway, to produce metabolites. Such pathway manipulations require an awareness of inherent complex regulation and a comprehensive understanding of the discrete enzymatic transformations involved. Metabolic engineering recently emerged in response to efforts made towards improving cellular function by modifying and/or introducing specific biochemical processes (Stephanopoulos, 1996).
Examples of the utility of metabolic engineering have been described and include a modified Candida utilis strain, a diploid yeast, and a modified E. coli strain, each altered to produce carotenoids (e.g., tetraterpenes). Miura et al. (1998b) and Yamano et al. (1994) describe the engineering of Escherichia coli to produce the tetraterpene lycopene by introducing recombinant Erwinia uredovora crtE, crtB and crtI genes.
Miura et al. (1998a) described a Candida utilis strain that produces lycopene, β-carotene, and astaxantin via an engineered carotenoid biosynthetic pathway that included recombinant Erwinia uredovora crtE, crtB, crtI, crtY, crtZ and crtW genes modified to contain the preferred codon usage for Candida and then expressed under the control of constitutive promoters. This strain demonstrated 0.4 mg–1.1 mg lycopene per gram dry weight of cells. Employing a similarly modified C. utilis strain comprising recombinant carotenoid biosynthetic genes from E. uredovora, Shimada et al. (1998) co-expressed the C. utilis HMG-CoA reductase catalytic domain to yield 4.3 mg lycopene/g dry weight of cells. Adding a heterozygous squalene synthase deletion, ERG9, in the same strain effected lycopene production at 7.8 mg lycopene/g dry weight of cells was produced. Wang et al. (1999) engineered Escherichia coli to generate geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate by overexpressing concomitantly E. coli isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase and Archaeoglobus fulgidus GGPP synthase. The cells were further modified to contain the Agrobacterium aurantiacum crtBIYZW gene cluster to produce the carotenoid astaxanthin. U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,581, and EP Patent Nos. EP0769551 and EP0393690, are directed to Erwinia uredovora DNA sequences which encode enzymes that participate in carotenoid biosynthesis.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,939 and EP Patent No. 0769551 are directed to a process for producing geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate by transforming a host with a DNA sequence consisting of an Erwinia uredovora enzyme involved in carotenoid biosynthesis and which effects transformation of farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) to geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP).
Terpenes are compounds derived from isopentenyl pyrophosphate and represent a vast and structurally diverse group of natural products comprising at least 30,000 compounds displaying more than 300 ring systems. Terpenes perform crucial roles in vertebrates and include the retinoids, the geranylgeranyl and farnesyl moiety of prenylated proteins, the coenzymes A, vitamins A, D and E, cholesterol and the steroid hormones. Similarly, terpenoid hormones and pheromones are important in invertebrates. Plants control growth and development using regulatory terpenes including the gibberellins, the brassinosteroids, and abscissic acid. Many plants synthesize defense terpenoids that interfere with biological processes in potential herbivores. Some of these compounds are medicinally useful, such as Taxol, ginkgolide and artemisinin.
One terpene sub-class is the diterpenes. In plants, diterpenes serve as defense toxins, volatile defensive signals, pollinator attractants, and photoprotectants (Bohlmann et al., 1998; McGarvey and Croteau, 1995). In addition to the physiological utility imparted to their host, some diterpenes have exhibited clinical and medicinal relevance, such as the diterpene glycosides found in Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae that demonstrate anti-inflammatory activity (Look et al., 1986; Mayer et al., 1998). Generally, commercial diterpene production often begins with extraction from natural sources followed by, if necessary, synthetic manipulation. However, natural sources are limited and commercial-scale total syntheses are usually impractical. Therefore, an alternative source for the efficient and inexpensive production of diterpenes is lacking in the art.
The present invention is directed to providing a terpene, specifically a diterpene, producing system in a unicellular organism. In one embodiment a haploid S. cerevisiae strain produces significant yields of diterpene and diterpene precursors and is particularly useful as a production mechanism for these compounds.


A ceramic powder having a uniform particle diameter of 50 .mu.m or smaller is used as a dental ceramic powder to produce a high-precision and compact artificial tooth. The ceramic powder fired assures a non-porous and compact structure of the artificial tooth. In a manufacturing method for the artificial tooth, the cream of ceramic powder is poured into a core, the core with the ceramic cream loaded is frozen to shape, thawed, dried and then fired in a furnace. To assure even more compact structure, the cream is compacted and hardened prior to freezing. Pressure is efficiently applied in the compaction and hardening process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ceramic powder that forms a fine ceramic product which is used to produce an artificial tooth at a dental laboratory and also relates to a method of producing an artificial tooth by settling a ceramic product.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ceramic powders are chiefly used to restore the crown of a tooth or to form an artificial tooth in dental clinics today. In one method, a ceramic powder is dissolved in water or a special mixture liquid mixed with an additive such as glycerin that slows drying for assuring an easy-to-handle feature to make a ceramic paste, which is thickened and shaped by a brush or other instruments. To match complex coloration of a tooth, ceramic powders of a plurality of colors are sequentially applied and are compacted and then hardened by adding vibration while an adjustment is gradually performed.
A high skill level is needed for a series of steps in which the ceramic powder is molded into the shape of a tooth while moisture is oozed out therefrom through vibration to compact and harden the ceramic material. Since the ceramic material needs to be free from deformation and maintain its form, ceramic powders in a wide range of particle size are mixed. When mixed, molding and vibration of the ceramic material and moisture oozing are insufficient in a mixture of ceramic powders in a wide range of particle size, particles in particular range are distributed in a localized region, leading to a localized defect after a firing process. If the localized distribution is left for a long period of time, mixture is different from position to position, and it is impossible to restore uniform distribution of the particles. Once mixed, the ceramic powders, even unused, have to be discarded at the moment drying starts.
The above-described conventional ceramic powder can be mixed in a mixing liquid such as water and then poured into a core. Since consideration is given to preventing a run of material in the course of molding in the conventional ceramic material, the pouring method does not work in the conventional ceramic powder. More specifically, when the ceramic powder is mixed in water, particles precipitate for a short period of time and are hardened inconsistently. Pouring the particles into a fine area is difficult. After pouring, the particles are distributed in a localized region, and uniformly compacting the particles through vibration is difficult. The ceramic material is thus subject to cracks and deformation in the course of drying. Especially when additional molding is performed, a crack is likely to take place during a firing process.

Manufacturing method for artificial tooth


The invention provides a bill receiving and paying apparatus which has a function capable of replenishing and retracting the bill in correspondence to a lot of money kinds, secures the bill capacity without enlarging the apparatus, and has an improved maintenance characteristic and an improved operability. A recycle cassette per a money kind and a reject cassette are arranged in parallel in a depth direction as seen from a front face of a bill receiving and paying apparatus, a replenishment/retract cassette is arranged in a vertically laminated direction with respect to the recycle cassette and the reject cassette, the reject cassette is arranged in a front face side or a rear face side of the recycle cassette in correspondence to an operation and maintenance aspect of the apparatus. Further, a bill carrying path arranged in a front side of the replenishment/retract cassette is structured such as to be freely opened and closed, thereby being detachable from the front face side of the replenishment/retract cassette. Further, the bill receiving portion structured by the replenishment/retract cassette and the reject cassette, and the carrying path which may be freely opened and closed, are connected by one two-way carrying path.

The present invention relates to a bill receiving and paying apparatus, and more particularly to a technology for making it easy to add a recycle cassette and securing a bill capacity in correspondence to an increase of a kind of the received and paid bill without enlarging the apparatus.
As a conventional bill receiving and paying apparatus, JP-A-2003-208654 discloses a bill receiving and paying apparatus comprising:
a cash slot charging and receiving the bill;
a validator validating the bill;
a money classifying recycle cassette receiving the received bill and preparing for the next paying;
a replenishment/retract cassette replenishing the bill in the money classifying recycle cassette in a lump or retracting the bill received in the money classifying recycle cassette in a lump;
a reject cassette removing and accumulating the bill which is determined by the validator to be impossible to read and the bill which is determined to be impossible to be carried;
a temporary stacker temporarily receiving the bill at a time of receiving the bill and the reject bill at a time of paying the bill; and
a bill conveying path connecting the cash slot, the validator, the money classifying recycle cassette, the reject cassette and the temporary stacker,
wherein the recycle cassette, the reject cassette and the replenishment/retract cassette have a horizontally arranged structure, and are arranged in a vertically laminated direction. Further, as the other bill receiving and paying apparatus, JP-A-7-267513 discloses a bill receiving and paying apparatus in which vertically arranged stackers are arranged in parallel in a depth direction, and no replenishment/retract cassette is arranged.


Apparatuses, methods, and computer readable media are disclosed for location based advertising and querying for low power devices in a wireless local -area network. An apparatus is disclosed including memory and processing circuitry couple to the memory, where the processing circuitry is configured to: encode a location-based advertisement (LBA) frame comprising a first location identifier (LID) and a duration, configure the access point to transmit the LBA frame to a sensor hub with a second LID, where the first LID and the second LID match, and decode a feedback report from the sensor hub, where the feedback report is in response to the LBA frame. The feedback report may include measured data from one or more internet of things (IoT) devices, and some of the measured data may be collected from the IoT devices during the duration. An apparatus of a sensor hub is disclosed that includes a LID.

Efficient use of the resources of a wireless local-area network (WLAN) is important to provide bandwidth and acceptable response times to the users of the WLAN. Moreover, wireless devices may need to operate with both newer protocols and with legacy device protocols. Some wireless devices may operate with limited power owing to battery operation and with short or long range and may have limited functionality. Moreover, there may be many limited power and/or limited functionality wireless devices.
Thus, there are general needs for methods, apparatuses, and computer readable media for location based query for low power devices.

Location based advertising and querying for low power devices in a wireless local-area network


The lawn sprinkler device comprises a manually operative combination of a container, sprinkler head and lid components. The container and lid are manually movable between a closed position defining a closed volume in the container and an open position that provides access to the closed volume. The container and lid are mounted within the ground so that the closed volume extends downwardly from the level of the lawn area and in the open position access to the closed volume is available generally at the level of the lawn area. The sprinkler head component includes a hose coupling inlet for manual connection by a user with an above-ground hose and an outlet structure for discharging water under pressure in a desired pattern on the lawn area. The sprinkler head is mounted with respect to the container and lid for manual movement between a storage position within the closed volume of the container and an operative position which is in elevated relation to the closed volume. In the operative position the sprinkler head can be manually connected to the above-ground hose containing a source of water under pressure so that water will discharge from the outlet in a desired pattern on the lawn area.

There are two basic types of lawn sprinkler systems on the market. The first type of system uses above-ground hoses that are attached to a water supply and to a portable sprinkler. This system allows the user to freely place the sprinkler in any position on the lawn. To entirely water a lawn area, a user must move the hose and sprinkler to different locations. This free moving system offers the user a number of advantages. 1) The materials needed, i.e. a hose and a sprinkler, are readily available on the market, and 2) the variety of sprinklers available offer the user different options of expense and area coverage depending on the size and shape of the area to be covered. This system has disadvantages, it can be time consuming for the user as the system must be set up each time it is used and the hose and sprinkler must be moved and readjusted a number of times before an entire area is adequately watered. Furthermore, the act of watering the lawn can be messy as the user must walk through wet grass and readjust the sprinkler, with the risk of getting wet, each time it is moved.
The second type of system does not require the user to move hoses and sprinklers because the entire system is fixed underground. This fixed system has specially designed sprinklers that are installed in the ground. The sprinkler in the underground system is held in the ground by a canister when it is not in use. Underground pipes are connected to the canisters and a water supply. According to U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,252, when the water enters the canister, the pressure differential in the canister and sprinkler cause the sprinkler to pop-up out of the canister. After the sprinkler has popped-up, water will issue forth from the sprinkler outlet and water the area. When the water stops flowing through the system the sprinkler returns to its position within the canister by way of a spring or gravity. The sprinkler can also be of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,506 or an externally driven sprinkler.
Because the system is positionally fixed, it is simpler to operate and is far less time consuming. Often an underground system is attached to a timer that, on a regular basis, automatically will turn the water supply on and off. Consequently, the user is not required to spend the same amount of time to water the yard as in the first system and is not subject to the same sort of physical mess.
On the other hand, the underground system presents other problems for the user. Installation and maintenance is expensive as well as time consuming and disruptive. Because the system is installed in the ground, a system scheme must be specially designed for the area to be watered. Once a system is designed, the yard must be dug up to install the system. The yard also must be dug up to make any repairs to the sprinklers and the pipes. Furthermore, because the system is fixed, it is difficult to make modifications once it is installed. Much of this work is often performed by underground sprinkler system professionals instead of home owners or the like. In summary, the system can be difficult and expensive to maintain.
Because of the construction of the sprinkler and canister revealed in the prior art, it has not been possible to have a simple, inexpensive sprinkler system that can be retained below the ground when not in use.
As is evident from the above description, there are a number of limitations to the two prior art systems. The free moving system tends to be messy and time consuming, while the fixed system is expensive and difficult to install and repair. The difficulties suggested in the proceeding are not intended to be exhaustive but rather ones that tend to demonstrate some limitations of the two systems. Other noteworthy problems may also exist; however, the disadvantages presented above should be sufficient to illustrate that sprinkler systems known in the past will admit to worthwhile improvements.

In-ground pull-up sprinkler with above ground hose connection


A sub-air chamber member includes: a lower surface portion disposed proximate to the outer circumferential surface of the well portion; an upper surface portion disposed radially outside of the lower surface portion; a pair of edge portions engaging with the well portion. A space portion is positioned above the upper surface portion, the space portion being formed by a part of the upper surface portion and an inner wall surface of the well portion. A strong axis of principal axes of a section of the sub-air chamber member perpendicular to an axis of the sub-air chamber member is inclined by a first predetermined angle relative to a wheel width direction Y.

To reduce road noise caused by pipe resonance in a tire air chamber, various wheels have been conventionally proposed which are provided with Helmholtz resonators (sub-air chamber members) each having a sub-air chamber that communicates with the tire air chamber via a communication hole.
The sub-air chamber member includes a main body part which has a sub-air chamber inside and which is formed long in the wheel circumferential direction (see, for example, Patent Literature 1). The main body part is formed by an upper plate, a bottom plate, and a pair of side plates that extend up outward in the wheel radial direction from the respective edges of the bottom plate in the wheel width direction.


A catheter connector system that allows trimming of the proximal end of a catheter (single or multiple lumen) prior to the placement of a connector hub. In one variation, the catheter connector system comprises a catheter, a connector sheath including a soft collet, and a connector hub including a cannula for engaging the catheter and a connector hub interface for receiving the connector sheath.

It is common to use an implanted catheter to repeatedly access the vascular system of a patient and with the catheter perform repeated therapeutic medical activity. Such therapeutic activity could include the intermittent or continuous infusion of medication and fluids, the periodic sampling of blood, or the continuous withdrawal and return of blood for processing outside of the body of the patient. The catheters used in these activities are referred to as vascular access catheters.
Before any therapeutic activity can actually commence, however, the vascular access catheter must be implanted in the body of the patient with the distal tip of the catheter residing at the location in the vascular system at which an intended therapeutic activity is appropriate. Typically, most of the length of an implanted vascular access catheter resides within blood vessels of the vascular system, extending from the distal tip of the catheter to a location in the vascular system at which the catheter, by traversing a puncture or incision formed through a wall of the blood vessel in which the catheter is disposed, enters into the surrounding subcutaneous tissue of the patient. The location at which this occurs is referred to as a venipuncture site. Venipuncture sites are classified on the basis of the position of a venipuncture site in relation to the center of the body of the patient. Central venipuncture sites are those that enter the vasculature through the jugular or subclavian veins. Peripheral venipuncture sites typically enter the basilic or cephalic veins of the upper or lower arm. The freedom to select among venipuncture sites is determined largely on catheter size and vein size. Vein size is dependent on patient size and on location within the body, with peripheral veins being smaller than central veins.
Proximal of the venipuncture site, the implanted catheter extends through the subcutaneous tissue of the patient to emerge through the skin at a location that is referred to as the skin exit site. Most skin exit sites are chosen as being locations at which the proximal end of the implanted catheter can be easily manipulated by medical personnel. Favored among such locations are the neck, the region about the collar bone or chest wall, the upper leg, the upper arm, and the forearm. Occasionally, the skin exit site is somewhat removed from the venipuncture site. Then, a significant portion of the length of the implanted catheter must be embedded in the subcutaneous tissue of the patient in a surgically created tunnel that extends from the venipuncture site to the skin exit site. In all instances, a portion of the proximal end of an implanted catheter must remain outside of the body of the patient. It is this portion of an implanted catheter, from the proximal end thereof to the skin access site that is referred to as the extracorporeal portion of the implanted catheter.
In various applications, the extracorporeal portion of an implanted catheter needs to be configured to permit selective coupling and uncoupling between the tubing and the medical equipment outside the body of the patient that are required for therapeutic activity. Accordingly, the proximal end of the vascular access catheters is configured to terminate in a catheter coupling hub that can be secured in fluid communication with such tubing and medical equipment, or can be capped, valved, or clamped closed between periods of actual use. Due to the variation in length of catheter that is required to traverse the subcutaneous and intravascular route from implanted tip location to skin exit site, it often becomes necessary to trim the catheter to an appropriate length. Traditionally, it is the distal end of the catheter that is trimmed.
Trimming the catheter to an appropriate length is particularly advantageous with respect to Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters (PICCs) where precise central venous catheter tip placement at the right atrial (RA), superior vena cava (SVC) junction is imperative to prevent potential thrombosis, traumatic or functional complications. Many types of catheters, however, cannot be distally trimmed due to the special configuration thereof, including, for example, dual lumen catheters with a pre-staggered tip, soft tip catheters, catheters with valved distal ends, etc. In the case of such catheters, a pre-connected hub at the proximal end of the catheter cannot be accurately located at the venipuncture site and, consequently, some length of catheter extends there from. This excess catheter length often presents difficulty in dressing the catheter and exposes the catheter to potential damage.
Whether or not the catheter has a preformed distal tip, it is advantageous to be able to trim a catheter at its proximal end prior to connection to a coupling hub or other extracorporeal medical equipment because proximal trimming may allow the physicians to keep inventory low (as several different catheter lengths are unnecessary), and each catheter implanted can be customized to the exact length optimal for patient comfort and operability of the catheter. Therefore, a catheter connector system that permits the proximal end of a catheter to be trimmed and allows coupling of a connector hub to the trimmed proximal end for repeated access of the catheter may desirable in various medical applications.


A core for compressed core wound paper products such as toilet tissue and paper toweling is disclosed. The core is selectively cut and scored to form folding tab portions that fold radially inward when the core is in a generally flattened configuration. Upon rerounding of the core to a generally cylindrical configuration, the folding tab portions can be unfolded to form circular arcs conforming to the core inner and outer surfaces. The folding tab portions enable the core to reround to a generally cylindrical configuration that resists reflattening.

Rolls of toilet paper and paper toweling typically comprise a paper product wound upon a hollow core. The roll is typically supported for rotation on a spindle which extends through the hollow core.
A preferred core shape for dispensing a paper product is a cylinder having a geometrically circular cross-section. A core with a circular cross-section freely rotates about the axis of the spindle and permits smooth, quiet dispensing of the paper product from the roll. However, a core having a hollow circular cross-section has a relatively large void space. It is desirable to reduce such void spaces to improve shipping and storage efficiencies.
One improvement to core wound paper products includes diametric compression of the roll, such that the core has a generally flattened configuration with reduced core void space. The flattened core configuration permits the core wound product to be shipped and stored more economically and in higher densities.
Several attempts have been made in the art to realize the benefits of compressed core wound paper products. Examples of compressed core wound paper products are disclosed in the following references: U.S. Pat. No. 401,233 issued Apr. 9, 1889, to Wheeler, U.S. Pat. No. 972,668 issued Oct. 11, 1910, to Wheeler; U.S. Pat. No. 1,005,787 issued Oct. 10, 1911, to Sibley; U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,061 issued Aug. 9, 1988, to Watanabe, U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,167 issued Dec. 12, 1989, to Dearwester, U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,388 issued Mar. 20, 1990, to Watanabe, U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,582 issued Jul. 2, 1991 to Dearwester; PCT International Publication Number WO 92/11196 Published Jul. 9, 1992, by Dearwester et al.; and G.B. Patent 709,363 issued May 19, 1954, to Samson.
While the compressed rolls taught in these references reduce hollow core void space, they suffer from one or more drawbacks. First, conventional cores can be unstable in the flattened configuration. This instability is characterized by the flattened core buckling and taking on a crescent shaped configuration when the forces compressing the roll are removed and rerounding forces are applied. This tendency to take on a crescent shaped configuration is also known as core inversion, and results in a closed core cross-section rather than an open cross-section. An inverted core having a closed cross section requires considerable effort on the part of the consumer to open the core cross section so that the core can be inserted onto a spindle.
Second, previously compressed cores can have unstable configurations when rerounded. A compressed core will generally have folding creases, vertices or other lines of weakening which cause such instability when the core is rerounded. Once the core is rerounded, radially inward directed forces on the roll can cause the core to reflatten along these same weakened lines. Reflattening of the core results in an undesirable non-circular core cross-section. A non-circular core cross-section results in wobble and noise as the roll is rotated on the spindle to dispense the paper product.
Third, previously compressed cores, when rerounded, often have a non-circular cross-section. Flattening of the core for compression creates flat core sections connected at folding creases or vertices. The rerounded core will have a polygonal cross-section having a relatively flat side corresponding to each folding crease or vertex. A rerounded core having a non-circular cross-section is undesirable for the reasons listed above.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a core which has a generally flattened configuration which resists core inversion upon rerounding. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a core having a rerounded configuration that resists reflattening. Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a core having a rerounded, generally circular cross-section.

Cores for compressed core wound paper products


A method of driving a liquid crystal display device of IPS mode is disclosed. The liquid crystal display device includes a pair of substrates, a liquid crystal layer placed between the substrates, gate lines placed above one of the substrates, source lines placed to cross the gate lines with an insulative layer interposed therebetween, a switching element placed near the crossing point of the gate lines and the source lines, and a pixel electrode connected to the source lines through the switching element. A signal voltage required for image display is supplied to the pixel electrode by the source line through the switching element. The method sets an average value of the signal voltage in such a way that an average value of a positive polarity voltage and a negative polarity voltage of the pixel electrode varies with a grayscale to be displayed, and inputs the average value of the signal voltage to the pixel electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of driving an active matrix liquid crystal display device of in-plane switching mode.
2. Related Background Art
Conventional liquid crystal display devices undesirably produce image sticking, in which, when leaving an unchanging image on a screen for a long period of time, a faint remnant of the image remains even after a new image has replaced it. A driving method used to overcome this problem is offset correction to correct the grayscale dependence of voltage drop induced by a gate signal. Another driving method for reducing the image sticking and eliminating flicker in a twisted nematic (TN) liquid crystal display device is as follows. In a grayscale where a source signal has a large amplitude, the voltage of a common signal and the center voltage of the source signal are set to such values as to compensate the voltage drop inducted by a gate signal. In a grayscale where the source signal has a small amplitude, on the other hand, the center voltage of the source signal is set to a value higher than the above center voltage of the source signal for compensating the voltage drop induced by the gate signal. This method is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-337310, pp. 2–5, and illustrated in FIG. 8–9, for example.
However, if the driving method described in the above application is applied to a liquid crystal cell of in-plane switching (IPS) mode, it is unable to prevent the image sticking. The liquid crystal cell of the IPS mode has electrodes parallel to each other, which is different from that of the TN mode having electrodes opposite to each other, and a residual DC voltage is more likely to be retained in the IPS mode than in the TN mode, causing the image sticking.

Method of driving liquid crystal display device


A wet cleaning apparatus can remove trace heavy metals, colloidal matter or other impurities contained in ultra-pure water to be used as rinse water in semiconductor cleaning processes and suppress deposit of trace impurities such as heavy metals or other particles that would otherwise cause characteristics of such devices to deteriorate. A wet cleaning apparatus for rinsing with ultra-pure water as a rinse liquid by supplying ultra-pure water through a piping to a rinse location inside the apparatus. The rinse location is a point of use of the ultra-pure water. The wet cleaning apparatus includes a module filled with porous film in which polymer chains having at least one of an anion exchange group, a cation exchange group, and a chelating group are held in the middle of the piping positioned inside the apparatus. The wet cleaning apparatus further includes a means for adding hydrogen gas to the rinse liquid.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention concerns a cleaner using ultra-pure water, and particularly a cleaner for use in the wet cleaning process for the semiconductor industry.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
It has been devised to introduce, just before the point of use, an ion absorption film module filled with a porous film of 0.01 to 1 xcexcm in average hole diameter, the porous film holding polymer chains having a cation exchange group, an anion exchange group and a chelating group (hereafter, called cation absorption film, anion absorption film and chelate film, respectively); and each such film being generically called an ion absorption film for reducing impurities such as heavy metals, for example, just before the point of use (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. HEI 8-89954).
A hollow yarn film module having a cation exchange group associated therewith is applied to eliminate metals, and it is particularly effective in eliminating alkali metals and/or alkali earth metals. A hollow yarn film module having an anion exchange group can effectively eliminate particles and colloidal matter. A hollow yarn film module having a chelating group has an excellent function of eliminating heavy metal material, even when present at an extremely low concentration.
It is known that the use of hydrogenated ultra-pure water can suppress and/or eliminate deposition onto a substance of silicon or the like. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. HEI 9-10713 discloses a method including the steps of presenting an extremely high hydrocarbon elimination rate and by treating the wafer with ultra-pure water in order to perform substrate hydrogen termination, the ultra-pure water containing hydrogen or a mixture of hydrogen and a rare gas. As hydrogenated ultra-pure water presents an extremely high hydrocarbon elimination rate, using a rinse of hydrogenated ultra-pure water should allow a cleaner wafer surface to be obtained than possibly achieved using a rinse not employing hydrogenated ultra-pure water.
However, through the comparison between a film (for example, an insulation film such as a gate insulation film) formed on the silicon substrate when hydrogenated ultra-pure water is used to rinse and a film formed on the substrate when non-hydrogenated ultra-pure water is used to rinse, the Inventors have found a problem that the former film happens to be inferior to the latter film in quality (for example, dielectric strength).
They have investigated the cause thereof and have found that the hydrogenated ultra-pure water is capable of eliminating particles and/or of preventing particles from depositing on a substrate, but also has a function of facilitating deposition of metallic impurities onto the substrate. They have explicated that this deposition provokes film quality degeneration (for example, deterioration of dielectric strength).
The present invention provides a wet cleaning apparatus for eliminating a trace heavy metal, colloidal matter, and/or other impurities contained in ultra-pure water used as rinse water in the semiconductor cleaning process and suppressing deposition of impurities, such as particles and/or heavy metals that degenerate device characteristics, onto the substance surface.
According to the present invention, a wet cleaning apparatus for rinsing with ultra-pure water includes a piping through which is supplied to a point of use inside the apparatus, the piping being provided with a module filled with a porous film in which polymer chains having at least one of a cation exchange group, an anion exchange group and a chelating group held within the polymer chains, the porous film being positioned in the middle of the piping.
Here, the cleaner is a multi-tank type, a single tank type batch cleaner, or a sheet cleaner for performing wet cleaning. In wet cleaning, the cleaner is an apparatus for cleaning a wafer surface with ultra-pure water-based chemicals, for rinsing surface chemical deposits therefrom with the ultra-pure water and eventually for drying the wafer surface. Note that such an apparatus includes a cleaner for cleaning by ultra-pure water jet.
Here, the cleaner includes a wet bench. A wet bench is a cleaning place provided with exhaust equipment and cleaning equipment. The cleaning equipment is provided with ultra-pure water, chemical supply piping, and drain piping for cleaning liquid and rinse water.
Ultra-pure water produced by the ultra-pure water system always circulates within the main loop and is extracted as necessary from the main loop by means of a branch piping to dilute chemicals necessary for cleaning or rinsing, as appropriate.
Branch piping is introduced into the cleaner or wet bench to supply ultra-pure water for individual cleaning processes, and among them, in the final rinse corresponding to the final process of the cleaning processes, it is an object to eliminate any chemical deposit from the semiconductor substrate that would otherwise exist thereon after cleaning.
Here, the final rinse designates the process for rinsing a chemical deposit on the wafer surface with ultra-pure water or hydrogenated ultra-pure water just before a wafer drying process, such as IPA (2-propanol) vapor drying, spin drying, or Marangoni-type drying.
As the rinse with ultra-pure water itself does not present an effect to suppress deposition of impurities such as various types of metal, rinsing water after chemical cleaning should be free from even a trace of impurities.
Especially, in the last process of wet cleaning, the substrate surface is etched with dilute hydrofluoric acid solution, a bare silicon surface, deprived of an oxide film, is exposed, and thereafter, the rinse process is performed with ultra-pure water.
There, the object of ultra-pure water rinse is to eliminate hydrofluoric acid chemical deposited on the substrate by rinsing with ultra-pure water. However, if impurities such as metals exist in the ultra-pure water, the use thereof can result in impurity deposition since the silicon surface is exposed. Once impurities deposit onto the substrate, the ultra-pure water is totally incapable of eliminating them. Consequently, the ultra-pure water used for the final rinse is required to be totally free from impurities such as metals that tend to deposit onto the substrate surface.
Among impurities present in the ultra-pure water, especially metals, are reduced and hardly detected, even by means of a high sensitivity instrument analyzer such as an inductively coupled plasma analyzer (ICP-MS).
It is presumed that the presence of impurities under the analyzer quantification lower limit level provokes the deposition of impurities onto the substrate surface.
Almost all metals existing in the ultra-pure water are generally anionized. However, it is presumed that they do not exist as independent anions, but they are clustered or colloidalized, forming electrostatically weak binding with silica or organic matter having negative charge. For this reason, it is difficult to remove the clustered matter having weak charge and small size with ion exchange or reverse osmosis equipment designed to remove metal impurities in the ultra-pure water system. It has been found that these metal impurities are present at the exit of ultra-pure water system and may deposit onto the substrate surface.
Here, the investigation by the Inventors has shown that the use of a module filled with an ion absorption film holding polymer chains having at least have of a exchange group, an anion exchange group and a chelating group can eliminate impurities, such as a clustered metal, that could not be removed by the conventional system.
Here, as the ion absorption film used in the present invention, for example, a hollow yarn porous film of 0.01 to 1 xcexcm in average hole diameter is used preferably, the porous film containing polymer chains having ion exchange groups inside the film, the ion exchange groups forming 0.2 to 10 mili-equivalent weight per 1 gram of film. The manufacturing method and other details thereof are as described in the document JAPANESE PATENT LAID-OPEN NO. HEI 8-89954.
As for ion absorption film, for example, it concerns one having quaternary anime as an exchange group, and quaternarized chloromethyl styrene is generally used. However, those obtained by quaternarizing azote atoms of pyridine-based or imidazole-based heterocyclic rings can also be used.
As for a potential cation absorption film, a sulfonic group, phosphoric group, carboxylic group or the like are advantageously used as the exchange group.
Concerning a usable chelating group, an iminodi acetic group, mercapto group, ethylene diamine or the like can be used as the exchange group.
As a wet cleaning method in the semiconductor production, a cleaning method called RCA cleaning, shown in FIG. 1, has been used conventionally. This RCA cleaning is characterized by blending acid or alkali on the base of hydrogen peroxide, and cleaning at a high temperature, and repeating ultra-pure water rinsing following chemical cleaning.
The role of ultra-pure water rinse is nothing other than the removal of used chemicals from the substrate. However, as the rinse process hardly removes impurities other than the chemical solution, it is required to supply cleaned ultra-pure water. Especially, if the contamination occurs in the final rinse, all cleaning processes should be performed over again. Consequently, it is necessary to take some measures against recontamination.
In order to improve the quality of ultra-pure used for a final rinse, the problem of ineffective cleaning in the wet cleaning can be resolved by integrating these ion absorption film modules into the ultra-pure water piping for final rinse in a cleaner.
In a cleaner according to the present invention, ultra-pure water is first treated by a module filled with ion absorption film holding polymer chains having at least one of a cation exchange group. An anion exchange group and a chelating exchange group acting as an exchange group inside the film when hydrogenated ultra-pure water is used in the rinse process of wet cleaning, and then hydrogenated, for instance, when a silicon wafer is to be washed for semiconductor manufacturing.
Hydrogenated ultra-pure water is capable of eliminating particles deposit from a substrate and has an effect to prevent particles from depositing on the substrate, but when metallic impurities are present, it facilitates disadvantageously the deposition of such metallic impurities onto the substrate.
It was found that metal deposition onto the substrate can be suppressed even if hydrogenated ultra-pure water is used, provided that metal impurities present in the ultra-pure water can be reduced sufficiently.
Consequently, according to the present invention, the deposition of not only particles but also metal impurities can be suppressed. Besides, an insulation film having, for instance, a high dielectric strength can be formed on the substrate even when the final rinse is performed by the wet cleaning apparatus of the present invention.
Therefore, a cleaning method wherein ultra-pure water is hydrogenated after having sufficiently reduced metal impurities in the ultra-pure water through the treatment with a module filled with ion absorption films and a cleaner capable of carrying out that cleaning method have been invented.
Moreover, the ultra-pure water is first hydrogenated when hydrogenated ultra-pure water is used in the rinse process of wet cleaning and then treated by a module filled with an ion absorption film holding polymer chains having at least one of a cation exchange group, an anion exchange group and a chelating group as an exchange group inside the film, when a silicon wafer is to be washed for semiconductor manufacturing.
A combination of any two or more modules filled with an ion absorption film holding polymer chains having at least one of cation exchange group, an anion exchange group and a chelating group can be used in the cleaner or wet bench, when a silicon wafer is to be washed for semiconductor manufacturing.
As for the metal present in the ultra-pure water, though the metal itself is ionized and becomes cationic, matter like negatively charged silica or organic acid approaches around the metal, clusters and exists in a colloidal state.
As charge deviation varies according to the nature of the metal element paired with silica or organic matter, a complete removal may not be assured by a single film module. However, in such a case, the metal can be eliminated completely by combining films whereby different exchange groups are introduced. As a possible combination in one method, two kinds of films can be combined as follows:
Cation absorption film+anion absorption film;
Chelate film+anion absorption film;
Anion absorption film+cation absorption film;
Anion absorption film+chelate film;
Cation absorption film+chelate film; and
Chelate film+cation absorption film
and, in another method, three kinds of films can be combined as follows:
Cation absorption film+chelate film+anion absorption film;
Chelate film+cation absorption film+anion absorption film;
Cation absorption film+anion absorption film+chelate film;
Anion absorption film+cation absorption film+chelate film;
Anion absorption film+chelate film+cation absorption film; and
Chelate film+anion absorption film+cation absorption film. However, the combination preferably includes a chelate film to eliminate impurities.
Ultra-pure water hydrogenation can take place either upstream of the module or downstream of the module. If it is performed upstream, the metal deposition onto the substrate can be prevented more effectively. Note that the hydrogenated ultrapure water includes water hydrogenated from exterior and one containing hydrogen from the beginning of the manufacturing.

Wet cleaning apparatus utilizing ultra-pure water rinse liquid with hydrogen gas

Aoba-ku, Sendai-shi, Miyagi-ken 980-0813


A touch probe includes a base structure and a stylus supporting member. The base structure and stylus supporting member are connected by six extensible legs that permit the stylus supporting member to move with six degrees of freedom relative to the base structure. A plurality of sensors are arranged to measure movement of the stylus supporting member relative to the base structure along all six axes.

A variety of touch probes are used with coordinate positioning machines, such as coordinate measuring machines or machine tools to measure a position on or along a surface, e.g., a workpiece surface. There are many coordinate positioning machine designs, but such machines typically include a moveable arm to which the probe is attached. The arm is supported for movement relative to a datum, such as a platform or table on which a workpiece is supported. This allows an operator to use the coordinate positioning machine in combination with the probe to determine whether certain positions on the workpiece are at their proper location relative to the structure on which the workpiece is supported.
Some probes, such as touch probes, are designed to produce a signal when the stylus carried by the probe contacts a surface. This type of probe includes a fixed structure that is mounted to the moveable arm of the coordinate positioning machine. A stylus structure is supported on the fixed structure at several locations. For example, the stylus structure may include three balls biased against a contact surface of the fixed structure. In some designs, the balls and contact surfaces are part of a circuit which is broken when the stylus contacts an object and one of the balls is forced away from the contact surface. When the circuit is broken, a signal is provided to indicate the contact between the stylus and an object. In other probes, the stylus support structure is connected to a strain sensor that provides a signal when strain is induced via contact of the stylus with an object.
With these types of probes, it is critical that the stylus be moved back to a precise and repeatable rest position after contact with an object. Sometimes grooves may be formed in the contact surface to assist in precisely reseating the balls after deflection of the stylus. Without this precise reseating of the stylus support structure, the position of the stylus would be different for each subsequent measurement of position, and errors would be introduced into the measurement.
The accuracy of these probes depends on maintaining a mechanically repeatable rest position of the stylus support structure This is often difficult, because wear can result due to the repeated contact between the balls and the contact surface and due to the electrical current that can degrade electrical contacts. Also, slow, careful contact is necessary to obtain an accurate measurement of the point at which the stylus contacted the object. In fact, the required sensitivity may be so great it is sometimes necessary to adjust the amount of force biasing the stylus support structure back to its rest position when different styli are interchanged.
Attempts have been made to design probes able to measure movement of the stylus after contact with an object. If this movement can be measured, then it is a straightforward mathematical calculation to determine the location of the stylus prior to movement and thus the precise point of contact with the object being measured, obviating the need for a precise mechanically repeatable rest position. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,424, an analog probe is disclosed that measures the movement of a stylus along the three linear axes commonly known as the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis. This probe includes a stylus-supporting assembly that has three slideable members supported on air bearings for movement along the x, y and z axes. The movement in the x, y or z directions is measured by opto-electronic transducers that each comprise a scale and a readhead. Thus, movement of the stylus after contacting the object being measured can be sensed in three linear directions.
The probe described above works well in many applications, but movement of the stylus supporting member must be accurately constrained to movement along the three linear axes. Any other movement of the stylus would be detrimental to the accuracy of the probe. However, a stylus, like any object, potentially can be moved with six degrees of freedom. The stylus can be moved along the linear axes x, y and z, but it can also be moved along the rotational axes, commonly known as the a-axis, b-axis, and c-axis. The a, b and c axes represent rotational movement of an object about the x, y and z axes respectively.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to avoid these limitations and to provide a multi-axis continuous probe potentially able to track the movement of its stylus along all six axes.

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A process is described to modify the chemical structure of an aerogel under conditions which inhibit plasma formation within the aerogel pores, which process includes; (a) providing an aerogel with a pore size of less than 0.1.mu.; (b) exposing the initial aerogel to at least one gas selected from the group consisting of reducing gas, oxidizing gas, noble gas and combinations thereof, with the proviso that at least one reducing gas or one oxidizing gas is present; and (c) irradiating the combination of step (b) while maintaining the temperature to preserve the structural composition of the aerogel at a pressure of between about 0.1 and 54 Torr for between and about 5 and 960 minutes. This process produces a modified aerogel wherein the pore size does not allow for plasma formation within the pore. Chemical reactions occur within the pores of the aerogel of a nonplasma nature. These modified aerogels have a number of uses, including catalysts, ceramics, composites, chemical sensors, LED's and the like.

Origin of the Invention
This invention was made in the course of or under contract no. DE-AC03765F00098 between the U.S. Department of Energy and the University of California. The government has certain rights in this invention.
Field of the Invention:
The present invention concerns a process for altering the chemical composition of aerogels without affecting their morphological properties and under conditions which inhibit formation of a plasma within the aerogels' pores. Specifically, the aerogels are exposed to gas and irradiated at optimal temperatures and pressures.
Description of Related Art:
Present processes to produce inorganic aerogels are limited to the synthesis of oxides of metals and metalloids or pure carbon aerogels. Currently, there are no synthetic routes to non-oxide inorganic aerogels, such as metal carbides, nitrides, silicides, and halides.
General methods of preparing aerogels have been known as early as the 1930's. See, for example S. S. Kistler, in Nature 127:741 (1931) and S.S. Kistler in U.S. Pat. No. 2,249,767 both of which describe the preparation of silicon dioxide aerogels. The methods in Kistler involve techniques which were considered laborious and dangerous at that time, including drying gels formed from sodium silicate and removing solvents by supercritical extraction. Because of the hazards involved with Kistler's process, there was very little progress in aerogel research for several decades thereafter.
In the early 1980's there was a resurgence of aerogel research. Present developments in aerogels have lead to a variety of compositions. However, despite significant advances in aerogel technology, most of the aerogels produced are limited to the oxides of metal or metalloids. See, for example T. M. Tillotson, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,683. Organic aerogels are also known. See, for example, R. W. Pekala, et al. J.Non-Cryst. Solids 145:90 (1922). Methods exist to convert some of these organic aerogels into pure carbon aerogels by pyrolysis in an inert atmosphere. Other processes to prepare aerogels include R. S. Upadhye, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,239; T. M. Tillotson, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,796; and C. Colmenares, U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,607. Yet, there is still a need for procedures to produce non-oxide inorganic aerogels and in particular, procedures for making non-oxide aerogel from other types of aerogels.
General procedures for the transformation of metals or metalloid oxides into non-oxide materials have not been successful with aerogels. Such techniques require treatment with a reducing agent at temperatures which are too high to preserve an aerogel's structure. For example, the conversion of SiO.sub.2 to Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 using ammonia occurs at 1450.degree. C. See, T. Ishii, et al. Jap. Pat. #63,162,514 (Jul. 6, 1988). However, silica aerogels will shrink and densify at above 450.degree. C. Therefore, typical procedures to convert metal or metalloid oxides into non-oxide organic aerogels are not useful.
Prior attempts at modifying aerogels are also not applicable to making non-oxide inorganic aerogels. These modification techniques have been restricted to the addition of a single layer or deposits of new material within the aerogel. Such procedures do not significantly change the chemical formula of the aerogels.
Some art of general interest is as follows:
A. J. Hunt, et al. J Non-Cryst. Solids Vol. 185, p.227 (1995) disclose chemical vapor infiltration to deposit new material within the aerogel matrix.
H. Yokogawa, et al.J. Non-Cryst. Solids Vol. 186, p.23 (1995) disclose a method of affecting one molecular layer of an aerogel, leaving the bulk of the material unchanged.
P. H. Tewari, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,863 disclose a process for forming a transparent aerogel as an insulating array.
J. Carlson, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,652 disclose a method of production of an aerogel on a support.
S. Reed, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,445 (1994) disclose chemical treatment to change one molecular layer of the interior surface of the aerogel.
S. L. Koontz in U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,857 disclose the use of oxygen plasma to remove adsorbed organic material from the interior surface of aerogel powders resulting in the formation of aerogel granules yet not changing the chemical structure of the aerogel.
S. P. Hotaling in U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,776 disclose a plasma processing technique to deposit plasma on a substrate, adding a new material to the substrate but not altering its chemical structure.
W. Cao, et al. in U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 08/221,643 disclose thermally assisted chemical vapor infiltration to deposit a material on the pores of the aerogel.
J. Maire in GB Patent 2 141 418 A disclose chemical deposition in the vapor phase of carbon in silica aerogels.
None of these references individually or collectively teach or suggest the present invention.
All patents, patent applications, articles, references, publications, standards and the like cited in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
There is, therefore, a strong need for alternative methods of modifying aerogels to the presently used chemical treatments in order to change the chemical formula of aerogels and produce non-oxide inorganic aerogels. What is needed is a process which alters the functional properties of aerogels and preserves the original aerogel's morphological properties. Further, the improved methods should circumvent the need for excessively high temperatures during the transformation process.
The present invention has operational and commercial value in that it provides efficient processes for modifying the chemical structure of aerogels thereby changing the aerogel's physical properties yet maintaining the original structural properties. Of special interest is the use of the present process in producing non-oxide inorganic aerogels. Non-oxide inorganic aerogels find application in many fields including catalysts, ceramics, composite materials, chemical sensors (e.g. oxygen, etc.), optical devices, light-emitting devices, microelectronics, energy storage devices, etc.

Processes for the chemical modification of inorganic aerogels

The Regents of the University of California


The present invention relates to a surgical microscope drape with a removable lens assembly for use with surgical microscopes. The drape assembly comprises an elongated hollow enclosure of sheet-form material having a first end defining an access opening and a second end defining a hole and at least four ocular pockets. The access opening enables the drape assembly to be pulled over the body of a surgical microscope while the four ocular pockets each cover corresponding ocular ports of the microscope. A view portal located on the enclosure at the hole is adapted to be located within a cavity of the objective lens barrel. The portal houses a removable lens assembly that includes a window. Multiple lens assemblies can be packaged together with a microscope drape to form a kit.

Microscopes are often used in operating rooms during surgical procedures. During many of these procedures, such as spinal and cranial procedures, the surgeon must manipulate exceptionally small blood vessels, nerve bundles, muscles, nerves and other tissue. These procedures require viewing the surgical site through a surgical microscope so that the fine details in the surgical site can be clearly seen by the surgeon. However, during an operation, the area around the surgical site must remain sterile. A surgical field, as present in a typical hospital's operating room, is an environmentally controlled area where the risk of infection from naturally occurring organisms, such as bacteria, is minimized. The environment's sterility is thus controlled by limiting the introduction of infection-causing bacteria and other contaminants by maintaining strict control over the personnel and equipment present in an operating room.
As it is difficult or impossible to sterilize the surgical microscope, it is common practice to cover the microscope with a sterile drape. The drape typically comprises a flexible tube of sheet-form material that covers all of the components of the surgical microscope, to include the ocular ports of the microscope head and the structure that supports the head. The drape also typically includes a transparent window therein for attachment to the objective lens of the microscope. The drape is typically manufactured and packaged in a sterile condition so that when it is unpackaged in the operating room and placed on a microscope, it creates a sterile field around the microscope and its components.
However, various disadvantages have been realized in trying to adapt sterile drapes to surgical microscopes. One disadvantage arises because many hospitals utilize different configurations of microscopes to perform different types of surgical procedures. Microscopes can be configured to include a variety of ocular view ports in a variety of locations, with such configuration depending on the surgical procedure to be performed. The number and location of ocular ports of a given microscope depends on the surgical procedure taking place and the number of surgeons and or assistants present during the procedure. For example, during cranial operations, surgeons typically stand at the head of the patient side-by-side of one another, with a lead surgeon standing next to one or more assisting surgeons. Thus, with the cranial configuration, the microscope may have up to three ocular ports located approximately side-by-side of one another on one side of the microscope.
This ocular port configuration changes for spinal operations, where surgeons typically stand on opposite sides of a given patient, with a lead surgeon and an assisting surgeon standing preferably 180 degrees from one another on opposite sides of a patient, and up to two assisting surgeons standing on either side of the lead surgeon. With the cranial configuration, the microscope may thus have up to three ocular ports located approximately side-by-side of one another on one side of the microscope and a fourth ocular port located on an opposite side of the microscope, preferably 180 degrees from the lead surgeon's ocular port.
To effectively cover the microscope, it is usually necessary to form the microscope drape with one or more ocular pockets to accommodate the microscope's ocular ports. Prior art drapes have up to three ocular pockets to accommodate the ocular ports of a given microscope. Although such drapes have proven sufficient for use with microscopes configured for cranial operations, with the three ocular pockets accommodating the up to three ocular ports located on one side of a microscope, they prove insufficient during cranial operations requiring the use of four ocular ports. Furthermore, the prior art drapes, having up to three ocular pockets located side-by-side of one another, prove insufficient for use during cranial procedures utilizing as few as two ocular ports, with the two ocular ports used during such procedure being located preferably 180 degrees from one another.
For the prior art drapes to accommodate a microscope having two ocular ports configured for a cranial operation (i.e. located preferably 180 degrees from one another), the ocular pockets of the prior art drape, located side-by-side of one another, must be stretched across the head of the microscope to cover the two opposing ports. Such stretching usually causes tension at some portions of the drape, especially at the joint between the main cover portion and the ocular pockets, thus causing the drape material to deform, rip or rupture. Such a rupture compromises the sterile field established by the drape, requiring a replacement of the drape itself.
Furthermore, in positioning the prior art drapes on the microscope to accommodate the opposing ocular ports, a tearing of the drape may occur around the drape's lens cover, which is typically mounted to the objective lens barrel of the microscope, again compromising the sterile field. Although such tearing may be avoided through a rotation of the lens cover about microscope's objective lens barrel, a rotational adjustment of the lens cover about the barrel may interfere with the optical quality of the image received through the objective lens and drape lens cover. Thus there is a need for a microscope drape having a quantity and location of ocular pockets that can readily accommodate the various configurations of microscope ocular ports commonly used during a variety of surgical procedures.
Another disadvantage associated with prior art drapes arises where the lens cover of such drapes is mounted to the objective barrel such that the lens or window of the cover is located below the lower end of the barrel itself. Such drape lens covers thus result in an increased working distance (depth) of the microscope head during surgical procedures. This increased depth of the microscope results in longer working distances for the surgeon, thus requiring the surgeon to extend his or her arms during surgical procedures performed while viewing the surgical site through the microscope. An increased extension of the arms of the surgeon thus results in the surgeon having reduced surgical control, increased arm and hand fatigue and decreased hand and finger dexterity.
The location of the drape window below the objective lens barrel also results in the window being located towards the surgical site, thus increasing the likelihood of the occurrence of view obstructions on the window due to blood or tissue particles contacting the window itself. During a given surgical procedure, the microscope head may be repositioned many times in relation to the surgical site. Thus, a window location below the objective lens barrel increases the possibility of the surgeon contacting the window with his or her hands, with such contact again resulting in viewing obstructions occurring on the window. Thus, there is a need for a microscope drape having a lens cover with a window location that results in a reduced working distance (depth) of the microscope head during surgical procedures and a minimization of the occurrence of view obstructions on the window, due to blood or tissue particles contacting the window itself or due to an inadvertent touching of the window by medical staff.
Undesirable complications may also arise where the placement of the drape window below the lens barrel interferes with the surgical procedure itself. For example, the distal end of a surgeon's hand-held instruments may contact or collide with the window during use, thus resulting again in viewing obstructions occurring on the window. Such a collision of the instrument with the window may also interfere with the surgical procedure itself, thus slowing the procedure or adversely affecting the interaction between the instrument and the tissue contacted thereby within the surgical site. Thus, there is a need for a microscope drape having a lens cover with a window location that results in a reduced working distance (depth) of the microscope head during surgical procedures and a minimization of the occurrence surgical interference in the form of collisions between the window of the drape and the hand-held instruments of the surgeon.
In many surgical microscopes, the objective lens transmits light from a light source to the surgical site to illuminate the surgical site, with the objective lens also transmitting the image of the surgical site to the optical path of the microscope. Another disadvantage associated with prior art drapes thus arises where the lens cover results in a degraded optical quality of the viewed image due to a reflection of light from the microscope's light source off of the window of the drape lens and towards the objective lens of the microscope, resulting in glare. In an attempt to remedy this undesirable light reflection and glare, prior art drapes have utilized convex, concave or otherwise curved lens covers or windows to direct the light reflection away from the objective lens.
However, such lenses may cause a distortion of the view of the operative field, resulting in some surgeons discarding the lens or window of the drape lens cover during a given surgical procedure, thus compromising the sterile field around the microscope. With the drape window removed, bacteria or other contaminants present on the objective lens of the microscope itself may fall into the surgical site, thus increasing a likelihood for the occurrence of infection. A removal of the drape window also causes the objective lens of the surgical microscope itself to become exposed to blood and other fluids so that frequent cleaning may be required, thus increasing the potential to scratch or damage the objective lens, an expensive component of the surgical microscope. Finally, a curved drape lens or window results in an undesirable diffraction of a laser beam projected through the lens during image-guided surgeries. Thus, there is a need for an objective lens cover that maintains true sterility within the surgical field and minimizes the occurrence of glare, image distortion and laser diffraction during operative procedures.
Another problem that arises during certain surgical procedures such as power drilling on bone is that the lens can be obstructed or damaged by surgical debris. While a window covering the lens protects the expensive objective lens of the microscope from physical damage, the optical properties of the disposable lens cover itself can be degraded from view obstructions resulting from blood, bone, or tissue debris. Owing to their mass produced and disposable nature, lens covers packaged with surgical drape assemblies often have less than desirable optical qualities. The additional refraction of light rays caused by a disposable lens cover leads to unacceptable optical aberrations in precise procedures such as image guide measurements. It would thus be desirable in these situations for a surgeon to be able to temporarily remove the lens cover or to replace a defective or dirty lens cover with a clean sterile lens cover.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a true, sterile surgical microscope drape with a removable lens assembly. A removable lens assembly would permit a surgeon to easily replace a lens cover that is damaged or obstructed with debris with a clean and sterile one. The removable lens cover can also be temporarily removed to avoid optical aberrations in performing delicate surgical tasks. The present invention satisfies these needs.

Surgical microscope drape with removable lens assembly


Systems and methods for determining a reduced feature set for a model for classifying data are disclosed. In some embodiments, the method includes obtaining a first feature set for the model. The method may also include selecting a second feature set for the model, wherein the second feature set is a candidate for the reduced feature set. In some embodiments, the second feature set is a subset or a superset of the first feature set. In some embodiments, the selection includes applying a selection statistical test. The method may further include determining whether the model using the second feature set in place of the first feature set is adequate for classifying the data. In some embodiments, the determination includes applying an evaluation statistical test.

In various areas of machine learning and statistics, mathematical models are constructed, learned, or derived for classifying data into categories, classes, or subsets. For example, machine learning may be used to generate models for categorizing handwritten characters as the corresponding alphanumeric character, recognizing a portion of a photo as a face, or the face of a specific person. In another example, machine learning may be used to generate models that predict tomorrow's temperature based on various current weather elements or predict a patient's prognosis based on the patient's symptoms. In yet another example, the models may classify whether a particular e-mail is a spam e-mail, based on the content of the e-mail.
Models classify data or make predictions that utilize the data based on a number of features associated with the data. The models include algorithms and rules to process the data and generate the classifications or predictions. Models are used in a wide range of applications, including analysis of genetic data, financial modeling, image classification, sorting tasks, weather prediction, and many other applications. By utilizing these models, data can be sorted to aid in extraction of useful information, including trends, from the data.
The accuracy of a model may vary depending on the number of features used by the model to classify the data. In some cases, there may be an optimal or improved set of features used by the model, wherein the improved set of features allows the model to classify the data more efficiently and accurately. In such situations, if the model utilizes a lesser number of features than that in the optimal set, the classification accuracy of the model may be compromised. On the other hand, if a model uses a greater number of features than that in the optimal set, the computational cost of the model may increase without a significant gain in accuracy. For instance, in the example of predicting a prognosis for a patient with a disease, a model may generate the prediction based on a feature set of one feature, such as the age of the patient. The model may be able to generate predictions with minimal computational resource, but the predictions may lack accuracy. In another situation, the model may generate the prediction based on a feature set of several hundred features, including age, weight, genetic profile, previous illnesses, previous treatments, etc. The model may be able to generate predictions with high accuracy, but the predictions may be computationally expensive. An optimal feature set would include enough features to enable the model to generate a classification or prediction with an acceptable level of accuracy, while excluding features that are not necessary for the desired level of accuracy.
There is a need for systems and methods that can determine the optimal feature set for various models.

Methods and systems for sequential feature selection based on significance testing


An antenna system (20) in transponder article surveillance and identification system (10) employs a separate interrogating transmitting antenna (31) and interrogating receiving antenna (41) both of which are circularly polarized in opposite hand senses whereby very little of a transmitted electromagnetic interrogation signal is coupled to the interrogation receiving antenna (41) and reflections from nearby surfaces are transparent, significantly improving system performance. Interrogating transmitting antenna (31) and interrogating receiving antenna (41) are cavity-backed, crossed-dipole-fed antennas producing a substantially hemispherical radiation pattern. Transponder (11) is mounted together with a dipole antenna (50) on a tag (13) carried on each article to be identified. Dipole antenna (50) includes two substantially paddle-shaped radiating members (52,53) formed upon a substrate (54), each paddle-shaped radiating member (52, 53) having an end centrally disposed on substrate (54) terminating at an angle whereby the impedance of dipole antenna (50) substantially matches the impedance of the transponder (12) in electrical connection therewith.

In the fields of remote data collection and processing, electronic article surveillance and automatic identification are most successfully accomplished by employing an interrogator that generates an electromagnetic signal throughout a limited space. The electromagnetic signal is received, modified to include identification information and reradiated by a transponder within a tag carried by each article in the radiated space. If conditions are acceptable, the interrogator receives the reradiated signal; if not, no identification or an incorrect identification result.
Prominent in effecting reliable, correct identification is the performance of the antennas utilized by the interrogator and the tag. Unfortunately, in many applications the articles carrying the tags often position the tag antenna while in the interrogation space in an orientation creating a polarization mismatch between the antennas, effectively substantially reducing energy transfer therebetween.
Efforts have been made to reduce the extent of polarization mismatch or otherwise increase the coupling between the antennas of the interrogator and tag. Many of these efforts have centered around configuring the interrogator antenna to monitor for multiple polarizations by either phasing the interrogator antenna or using multiple antennas of differing polarizations. It has also been suggested that the reradiated signal from the tag antenna be circularly polarized. However, phased or multiple antenna configurations are as large or larger than planar polarized antennas, more costly and difficult to manufacture and operate, and have poor gain and directivity. Moreover, the physical constraints that applications place on tag characteristics make manufacture of a circularly polarized tag antenna impracticable and equally performance limited.
Both the interrogator antenna and tag antenna should be as small as possible and simple and easy to manufacture. Equally important, the interrogator antenna should provide a hemispherical radiation field with good gain in the forward direction and low gain to the sides and back in order to facilitate optimal coupling to the tag antenna whose polarization orientation may change at random as the article carrying the tag moves through the interrogation space. The tag antenna should directly couple to the transponder circuitry with which it operates with a high degree of impedance matching.

Surveillance and identification system antennas


A method for fabricating a stack of motor laminations comprises forming cooling holes in each of the motor laminations and stacking the motor laminations with respective ones of the cooling holes in the laminations at least partially coincident to form a staggered cooling passage by having at least some of the cooling holes extending further into the cooling passage than others of the cooling holes. In one embodiment, the cooling holes can be perturbed cooling holes which are radially displaced from another cooling hole, azimuthally displaced from a hole axis, having an asymmetrical shape, being a different size from another cooling hole, or being shaped so that the rotation and stacking of a subsequently applied lamination results in a situation wherein adjacent cooling holes are not precisely aligned.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to motor lamination stacks and, more particularly, to cooling passages in motor lamination stacks.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional motor fabrication techniques, rotor and stator cores are formed by stacking laminations of iron or steel. Each lamination has holes which may be used for insertion of motor windings, insertion of through-bolts, or application of cooling air, for example. Lamination holes are generally formed by mechanical punching, and can also be formed using lasers or chemical etch solutions.
The winding holes are typically referred to as winding "slots" which either can be situated entirely within the lamination or can have one portion extending open to an outer edge of the lamination. The winding slots and through-bolt holes are stacked so as to be aligned with smooth surfaces to ease in the insertion of respective coils and bolts with minimum wasted space for clearance.
Smooth surfaces, however, are detrimental for holes used as air passages for cooling the motor because smooth surfaces provide stable and streamlined airflow. Good heat transfer requires turbulent boundary layers and efficient mixing of air at the boundary layer surface with air in the bulk flow of the cooling stream.
Turbulence can be achieved by roughening the surfaces of the passages. In earlier motor applications, when tolerances on laminations were less precise, a stagger in the lamination stacking resulted naturally in rough passage surfaces and adequate heat transfer occurred. This natural stagger is not an option in conventional motor fabrication techniques that require precise punchings of holes for the winding and through-bolt passages. In these conventional techniques, to provide irregular cooling passage surfaces, extra roughening steps are required to treat the cooling passage surfaces.

Staggered cooling holes for enhanced heat transfer in air-cooled motors


A random access feedback method, a random access processing method, a base station and a terminal are provided. The random access feedback method includes: receiving a first message sent by a terminal in performing a random access, wherein the first message comprises a preamble field and a data field; detecting the preamble field and the data field of the first message to obtain a detection result of whether or not a preamble exists in the first message and/or whether or not data is successfully obtained in the first message; and feeding back the detection result to the terminal.

A four-step random access mechanism is applied in an existing Long Term Evolutionary (LTE) protocol. As shown in FIG. 1, the main implementation process of the four-step random access mechanism is described as follows.
In step 11, a terminal sends a random access preamble (namely an Msg1 message) to a base station;
In step 12, the base station feeds back a random access response (RAR, namely an Msg2 message) to the terminal;
In step 13, the terminal sends a scheduled transmission message (namely an Msg3 message), wherein the Msg3 message includes layer 2/layer 3 (L2/L3) random access information; and
In step 14, the base station sends a contention resolution message (namely an Msg4 message) to the terminal.
In the 5th generation mobile communication system (5G) New Radio (NR), a problem of large latency in a control plane exists in an uplink multi-beam physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission, and the low latency performance index defined for an Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC) scenario cannot be met. In a processing method for effectively reducing the control plane processing latency, a two-step random access mechanism is currently discussed in NR. As shown in FIG. 2, the main implementation process of the two-step random access mechanism is described as follows.
In step 21, the terminal sends a random access preamble and data (Random Access Preamble+Data, namely an Msg1 message) to the base station, wherein the Msg1 message includes identification information of the terminal (namely UE ID), a small data packet, and the like; and
In step 22, the base station feeds back a random access response (RAR, namely an Msg2 message) to the terminal.
It should be noted that the difference between the two-step random access mechanism of the NR and the four-step random access mechanism of the conventional LTE is that the Msg1 sends the random access preamble and data simultaneously, and the content of the data bearer corresponds to the content of Msg3 in the four-step random access mechanism.
However, in the current two-step random access mechanism, a method has not been defined in which a terminal can know whether a preamble and data of a first message in the two-step random access mechanism is successfully received by a base station, which results in an incomplete two-step random access mechanism and makes it impossible to ensure the reliability of network communication.

Random access feedback method, random access processing method, base station and terminal

CHINA ACADEMY OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY