A cross point spacer is provided with subchannel vertical tubes at the subchannel volumes, these tubes being supplied with an inner flow free cylindrical volume and an peripheral steam separator in the form of a surface which imparts a spiral flow pattern to steam/water mixture flowing peripherally upwardly within the subchannel tube. According to a first and preferred embodiment, the subchannel tube of the cross point spacer is provided with rifling. According to a second embodiment, twisted vanes are installed and fastened to the interior of the subchannel tube and drilled away at the central portion of the twisted vanes to leave strips of metal defining rifling like paths on the subchannel tube interior. In either case, the main and central portion of the subchannel volume through the spacer is provided with an unobstructed central portion for upward steam flow. At the same time, the peripheral portion of the subchannel tube imparts a steam separator centrifugal upward spiral flow to water particles within the subchannel tube. Upon exit of the water and generated steam from the vertically disposed subchannel tube, a separated steam flow overlying the subchannel tube occurs. At the same time, entrained water is centrifugally classified outwardly from the steam flow to the surrounding steam generating fuel rods for the generation of steam.

Fuel bundles in boiling water nuclear reactors require spacers for the maintenance of their fuel rods in designed spaced apart relation. Such fuel bundles have an array of upstanding side-by-side fuel rods supported at the bottom on a lower tie plate. At least some of the fuel rods extend to an upper tie plate. All fuel rods are surrounded between the tie plates by a fuel bundle channel. The lower tie plate is configured to permit the inflow of moderating water coolant while the upper tie plate permits the outflow of both water coolant and generated steam. The surrounding channel confines the flow of coolant to a path around the steam generating fuel rods separate from a water flooded core bypass region surrounding each fuel bundle.
The generation of steam within a boiling water reactor fuel bundle can be simply understood. At the bottom of the fuel bundle, liquid coolant is pumped into, enters and rises upwardly within the channel and around the fuel rods. As the coolant proceeds upwardly, steam is generated in an increasing fraction within the upward coolant flow. As a result, the upper portion of the fuel bundle is typically referred to as the "two phase" region of the fuel bundle, these two phases being water and steam. An increasing amount of steam or "void fraction" is generated as the coolant rises and passes out of the fuel bundle through the upper tie plate.
The flow in the upper two phase region of the fuel bundle is characterized by differential flow rates between the upwardly flowing water and the upwardly flowing steam. The upwardly flowing water tends to adhere to and cover all available surfaces. This upward flow of water usually occurs at a relatively low velocity when compared to the upward flow rate of the generated steam. The upwardly flowing steam tends to move to all open spaces within the fuel bundle and away from all surfaces. This upward flow of steam occurs at a relatively high velocity when compared to the upward flow rate of the water.
It is common to compare the upward flow rate of steam in a fuel bundle geometry to the upward flow rate of water in a ratio known as the "slip ratio." This slip ratio always constitutes a number greater than one and usually falls with the range of 2 to 20.
In a regular row and column array of fuel rods, the greatest volume of upward steam flow occurs in the so-called "subchannel" volume. This region constitutes a roughly cylindrical volume between four adjacent fuel rods. The steam-water mixture in the subchannel is mostly steam flowing upwardly at a relatively high velocity while the surrounding volumes adjacent to the fuel rods have a higher concentration of slower moving water.
The fuel rods extending between the tie plates are long slender fuel pellet filled sealed tubes. Absent any restraint during the fluid flow and steam generating process, these fuel rods would vibrate from their original designed spacing and most likely come into abrading contact. To prevent this abrading contact as well as to maintain the fuel rods in their original design spacing for nuclear efficiency, it is the regular practice of the nuclear industry to place fuel rod spacers interior of the fuel bundles.
Typically such fuel rod spacers individually surround and hold each fuel rod at the particular elevation of the spacer. These spacers are placed at sufficient selected vertical intervals to minimize fuel rod vibrations and to prevent abrading contact and maintain designed fuel rod spacing.
Fuel bundle spacers of various varieties have been developed. Such spacers include cell type spacers made of spring steel (commonly Inconel) in which a small matrix of spring steel surrounds each of the fuel rods, ferrule spacers in which each fuel rod is surrounded by its own individual ferrule, and egg crate spacers in which a generally square grid defines discrete cells surrounding each fuel rod.
When the generation of steam within a fuel bundle is considered, egg crate spacers have an inherent disadvantage. The points of connection of the grid are in the subchannel volumes between the fuel rods. This intersection of the grid is in the middle of the high velocity upward flowing steam. With this intersection, upward steam flow is inhibited.
This problem has been recognized in the prior art. Specifically, in prior art spacer construction it has been suggested to eliminate the grid intersections and substitute vertically upstanding subchannel tubes at the intersections of the grid. This spacer type has been called a "cross-point" spacer. The present invention is directed to spacers of the cross point type. Instead of having the grid secured by an intersection interfering with high velocity steam flow in the subchannel volume, the grid is secured by the outside of the subchannel tube. Thus, the exterior of the subchannel tube provides the necessary grid interconnection. Further, the interior of the subchannel tube provides the necessary subchannel volume for upward steam flow. This has the advantage of taking the intersection of the grid out of the subchannel volume and providing the cylindrical volume required for the subchannel flow interior of the tube for the upward steam flow.


Information is quickly offered to users who require the information. In a system in which questions and answers are exchanged, when a given user other than the questioner becomes interested in a question, the user requests a notification server 1 to present the question. The answers to the question are automatically sent to a notification client 2 of the user. The answers to be sent may be either all the answers to the question or only the effective answers. Supports to the answers and comments on the answers may be accepted to decide the effectiveness of the answers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to technologies by which questions and answers are exchanged between a plurality of users on a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, mobile devices such as PDAs (Personal Digital (Data) Assistants) and mobile telephones have become increasingly popular in addition to desktop-type personal computers and notebook-type personal computers, and information sharing and exchanging systems that utilizes broadband connection or nailed-up connection to networks have become feasible. A bulletin board system is one of those systems which is expected to be a means to share knowledge to solve particular problems among company employees on intranets or consumers on the Internet by collecting their voices quickly. Here, the bulletin board system means a system in which questions and the answers thereto posted from users on a network are published through an electronic bulletin board to enable the users to exchange text-based questions and answers between the users.
With the bulletin board system, however, it is unclear how important a question posted by a user A is for other users who participate in the bulletin board; moreover, it is uncertain what effect the answers to the question will have on the other users, or how or by whom the answers are made use of. For these reasons, those users who truly need information are often unable to access the Q&As that may meet their needs, and thus it is difficult to effectively share knowledge among them.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a technology to offer required information to the users who has a need for the information. It is another object of the present invention to provide a technology to enable the users who has a need for required information to obtain the information quickly.

Notification method and notification device


A scheduler for a packet switch capable of atomic multicasts, that is, allowing one packet at an input port to be simultaneously transmitted to multiple output ports. The scheduling algorithm sequentially polls each of the input ports to determine to which output ports it desires connection for the next transmission slot. If those output ports are available, that input port assigns itself to the slot, and subsequent input ports are blocked from those output ports. The scheduling algorithm does not poll these blocked input ports for the current slot. The scheduler can be advantageously implemented in an optical system having one optical path for indexing control and multiple optical paths corresponding to each of the output ports. Sub-schedulers are arranged serially along all the optical paths. When a sub-scheduler is notified by the indexing control path that its turn to assign has arrived, it checks all of the optical paths corresponding to the output ports to which it desires connection. If those output ports are available, it assigns itself to the current slot, indicates on the output port optical paths that those desired output ports are no longer available, and indicates on the indexing control path that its assigning turn is over. If those output ports are not available, it nonetheless indicates on the indexing control path that its assigning turn is over and waits till the next assigning period.

Communication networks are being developed which operate in the asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) in which relatively short packets of data, called cells, propagate across the network from source to destination. An ATM switch, illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 1, is located at each node of the network and includes a switch fabric 10 which must transfer a particular cell coming from any of the input channels 12 to a selected one of multiple output channels 14. In the simple illustrated switch, data contained in the cell determine which output channel 14 is selected for that cell. The input channels 12 are not synchronized with each other, but the switch achieves synchronous operation by temporarily storing cells arriving on a particular input channel 12 in an associated input buffer 16. The filled elements of the buffers 16 are marked by X's in the figure. On the other hand, an ATM switch does not have output buffers, but the cell is transmitted as soon as it routed to the correct output channel 14.
The ATM switch performs each of a set of operations in a repetitive period called the transmission cell slot. One of the cells waiting in each of the buffers 16, usually the oldest cell in the queue, is transferred to an empty corresponding transfer register 18. In the simple and conceptual illustrated switch fabric 10, transfer channels 19 (only some of which are illustrated) extend from each of the transfer register 18 to each of multiple output ports 22. Each of the transfer channels 19 has a gate 21 controlled by a scheduler 20 through gate control lines 23. In operational systems, the physical details of the transferring mechanism may be significantly different, for example, as disclosed in the later cited reference to Lee et al. The scheduler 20 examines all the cells waiting in the transfer registers 18 through query lines 25, determines from reading the cells' destinations to which output ports 22 they should be transferred, resolves any contentions when cells in two or more transfer registers 18 should be transferred to the same output port 22, and transfers as many as possible of the cells to the proper output ports 22 consistent with the contention resolution. That is, if contention exists, not all cells are transferred and the transfer registers 18 of the unselected cells remain filled into the next transmission cell slot. Any filled output port 22 has its cell transmitted onto the associated output channel 14. In the following discussion, each transfer register 18 and its associated buffer 16 will be referred to as an input port. In the simple architecture of FIG. 1, the scheduler 20 interacts with the input ports only through the transfer registers 18.
The scheduler 20 resolves the contention so that no more than one cell is transferred to a particular output port 22 in any transmission slot. Excessive contention or poor resolution of contention will result in overflow of one or more buffers 16 and the resulting loss of cells. Ideally, the scheduler 20 optimally schedules the transfers within time constraints imposed by the switch architecture while also incorporating priority and fairness. Additionally, it should schedule for a mixture of different types of transmission requests. The scheduler 20 needs to read the destination address in the input port.
Transmission requests can be divided into three types relevant to the scheduling problem: unicasts, non-atomic multicasts, and atomic multicasts. For unicasts, an input cell requests transmission to only one output port. For multicasts, an input cell requests transmission to at least two output ports. In a non-atomic multicast transmission, the switch may transfer the cell to multiple output ports in different transmission slots. In an atomic multicast transmission, the switch must transfer the cell to all the requested output ports in a single transmission slot. That is, the cell is either successfully transmitted to all requested output ports in that slot or it is not transmitted at all. Scheduling unicasts and non-atomic multicasts are special cases of scheduling atomic multicasts. A unicast is an atomic multicast to a single destination. A non-atomic multicast can be scheduled as a sequence of atomic multicasts to subsets of the set of requested output ports. Hence, a system capable of scheduling atomic multicasts will also have the ability to handle mixes of different types of requests.
Lee et al. have disclosed a multicasting scheduler in "A broadband optical multicast switch," Proceedings of the XIII International Switching Symposium, 1990, volume 3, pages 7-13. Their switch fabric involves optical wavelength-division multiplexing over a star coupler with the output ports being frequency tunable to the different input ports, but contention over output ports still requires resolution. A token is serially passed between the input ports. The token allocates for each output port an availability bit and a source address (ultimately the wavelength associated with that source). An input port examines the token. If all the output ports it needs are available, it changes the desired availability bits to indicate unavailability and writes its address into all the associated source addresses. If all the desired output ports are not available, it passes the token on unchanged. After the token has passed through all input ports, it passes to the output ports, each of which examines the source address allocated to it and which now determines the optical frequency to which it must tune for the next cell transmission cycle. Thereafter, all input ports transmit through the star coupler at their dedicated optical frequencies. Such sequential operation on both the input and output sides is considered to be too slow.

Scheduler for multicast cell transmission


Method and apparatus for the batchwise simultaneous treatment of several substrates by chemical vapor deposition. The method is carried out in a closed system and before the deposition treatment, the substrates are subjected to a cleaning treatment in the same system.

Such a method, is known from "SOLID STATE TECHNOLOGY, Volume 30, No. 10, pages 49-50. According to that method deposition is realized in a process chamber in which several wafers are positioned on the same horizontal plane adjacent to each other. For loading and unloading, it is necessary to rotate the wafers on a horizontal table to position them before a pick-up device. Except for the considerable floor requirement of such a device, the transport path of the several wafers is relatively long. This impairs the effectiveness and cleanliness of the processes in the process chambers.
In the solid state technology there is a continuous tendency to increase wafer size. Because of the increased wafer size at a given space for a horizontal table the number of wafers which can be processed simultaneously decreases, increasing processing costs. Increasing table size has structural limits. Furthermore problems have been encountered during evacuating the above chamber, because of the relatively large sealing surfaces.
The invention aims to provide a method in which deposition can be realized in an effective way both with regard to time and costs, and wherein cleanliness of several processes in the system can be guaranteed by shortening the transport path.
According to the invention this is realized with the characterizing features recited in the claims.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,461 a method is described for depositing a layer on a substrate by sputtering. After being introduced into a loading/unloading station, the substrate is transferred to a treatment chamber. After a layer has been deposited, it is then subjected to an etching procedure in order to achieve the required configuration. Characteristic is the fact that the treatment stations can hold and treat only one substrate at the same time.
Sputtering has a number of advantages and disadvantages. Characteristic of sputtering is the ballistic nature of the process. As a result of this, it is ultimately impossible to provide deep narrow holes and grooves, which are typical of the structure in, for example, megabit patterns, uniformly with a layer or to remove a layer. For this reason, chemical vapour deposition of materials at elevated temperature is also used in the prior art. Such a method is described, for example, in GB-A 2,190,345. In that case, the substrates are transferred directly into a processing furnace. In doing so, however, problems arise in relation to contaminants present on the surface. Metal ion contaminants left behind may be regarded in the first place as contaminants, but the substrate oxide, which is always produced when the substrate is exposed to the air, must also be perceived as such. A final contaminant is represented by molecules adsorbed on the substrate (primarily hydrocarbons).
In the case of sputtering, any contaminants present are removed from the surface by a bombardment with high-energy (50 eV and higher) atoms before the sputtering treatment is started, the so-called sputter etch. A disadvantage of this etching process is the production of damage to, and defects in, the crystal lattice of the substrate as a result of the incidence of the bombarding atoms. The incident atoms penetrate the substrate and, together with a certain fraction of the contaminants, are trapped in the top layer of the substrate. The more the technology advances and increasingly higher requirements have to be imposed on the integrity of the increasingly thinner layers, the more the above-mentioned sputter etch is increasingly inadequate and a search has to be made for methods in which the substrate oxide and the atoms adsorbed on the substrate are removed without undesirable atoms being incorporated in the top layer of the substrate and without defects in the crystal lattice of the substrate being the result of the cleaning process. In addition, it is necessary to ensure that the cleaned surface is not exposed to the air again. In the case of chemical vapour deposition, there is the advantage that structures can be uniformly provided with a layer, but there is the disadvantage that such a cleaning does not take place in the same apparatus. This is one of the big disadvantages of chemical vapour deposition in which use has hitherto been made of separate apparatuses for the removal of contaminants and the application of layers.

Method and apparatus for depositing a layer on a substrate


A CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) modulation and demodulation method and a communication system using the same which simultaneously transmits a pilot signal and a data signal through the same channel, thereby being capable of not only greatly the complexity of its transceiver, but also achieving an improvement in performance where a large number of multipaths are used. The method includes the steps of (a) generating a pilot signal and a transmission data signal; (b) spreading the pilot signal and the transmission data signal, by multiplying the pilot signal by an inphase pseudo noise sequence and by multiplying the transmission data by a quadrature pseudo noise sequence, respectively; (c) generating an inphase signal and a quadrature signal, by multiplying the spread pilot signal by an inphase walsh data sequence and by multiplying the spread transmission data by a quadrature walsh data sequence, respectively; (d) modulating the inphase signal and the quadrature signal, by multiplying the inphase signal and the quadrature signal by carrier signals; and (e) transmitting a composite signal created by adding the modulated inphase signal to the modulated quadrature signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) modulation and demodulating method and a communication system using the same, and more particularly relates to a CDMA modulation and demodulation method and a communication system using the same which simultaneously transmits a pilot signal and a data signal through the same channel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a CDMA QPSK modulator in accordance with a conventional techniques.
Multipliers 101A and 101B multiply the inphase data signal d.sub.I (t) and the quadrature data signal d.sub.Q (t) by the walsh code Wd(t). Then, adders 102A and 102B add each signal from multipliers 101A and 101B to the pilot signal Wp(t). Multipliers 103A and 104A multiply the inphase data signal from the adder 102A by the inphase pseudo noise sequence and carrier signal cos(.omega.ct+.phi.), which generates an inphase signal. Multipliers 103B and 104B multiply the quadrature data signal from the adder by the quadrature pseudo noise sequence and the carrier signal sin(.omega.ct+.phi.), which generates a quadrature signal. The carrier signal multiplied by the quadrature signal has a 90.degree. phase difference from the carrier signal multiplied by the inphase signal. The adder 105 adds the inphase signal to the quadrature signal and generates transmission signal. Here, the QPSK modulation and demodulation method is used as a signal modulation and demodulation method.
FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a CDMA QPSK demodulator in accordance with a conventional technique.
The demodulator consists of a pilot signal detecting part and a data signal recovering part.
The transmitted signal is received by the antenna (not shown in FIG. 2). The multiplier 201A multiplies the received signal from the antenna by cos (.omega.ct+.phi.) and then undergoes low pass filtering by the LPF (Low Pass Filter) 202A, which generates a baseband inphase signal. Also, the multiplier 201B multiplies the received signal by sin(.omega.ct+.phi.) and then undergoes low pass filtering by LPF (Low Pass Filter) 202B, which generates baseband quadrature signal.
Multipliers 203A and 203C multiply the inphase signal I(t) by the inphase and the quadrature pseudo noise sequence P.sub.I (t) and P.sub.Q (t), which generate despreading inphase signals. Multipliers 203B and 203D multiply the quadrature signal by the inphase and the negative quadrature pseudo noise sequence P.sub.I (t) and P.sub.Q (t), which generates despreading quadrature signals. The adder 204A adds the despread inphase signals. The adder 204B adds the despread quadrature signals. The multipliers 205A and 205B multiplies result values from the adders 204A and 204B by the pilot walsh sequence Wp(t). Then, the integration circuits 206A and 206B integrate the resulting values from the multipliers 205A and 205B, which generates phase difference compensation signals. The squaring circuits 207A and 207B squares the resulting value from the integration circuits 206A and 206B. Pilot signal is recovered by combining the resulting values from the squaring circuits 207A and 207B.
Multipliers 211A and 211B multiply the baseband inphase signal and the baseband quadrature signal by the walsh data sequence Wd(t). Multipliers 212A and 212C multiply the resulting value from the multiplier 211A by the inphase pseudo noise sequence P.sub.I (t) and the negative quadrature pseudo noise sequence -P.sub.Q (t). Multipliers 212B and 212D multiply result value from the multiplier 211B by the inphase pseudo noise sequence P.sub.I (t) and the quadrature pseudo noise sequence P.sub.Q (t). Integration circuits 213A through 213D integrate the resulting values from the multipliers 212A through 212D. Multipliers 214A and 214D each multiply the resulting values from the integration circuits 213A and 213D by Acos.phi.. Multipliers 214B and 214C each multiply the resulting values from the integration circuits 213B and 213C by Asin.phi.. An adder 215A adds the resulting value from the multiplier 214A to the resulting value from the multiplier 214B. which recovers the inphase data signal. An adder 215B adds result from the multiplier 214C to result from the multiplier 214D, which recovers the quadrature data signal.
A general DS/CDMA communication system needs a pilot signal for the establishment and tracking of synchronization. Using the pilot signal, it is easy to implement receiver because of easy extraction of the phase difference compensation signal. However, it needs electric power and radio channel for transmitting the pilot signal, which reduces a accommodation capacity of the communication system.
To overcome these problems, in the conventional system, the pilot signal is used only in the forward channel transmission from the base station to the mobile station, and not in the backward channel transmission from the mobile station to the base station. This does not cause a reduction in the accommodation capacity. However, there is a problem in performance and a difficult implementation of the receiver.

CDMA modulation and demodulation method reducing interference and a communication system using the same


This invention relates to methods and compositions for selectively reactivating or downregulating certain genes, e.g., genes regulated by zinc-finger protein CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) on autosomes (e.g., imprinted genes, tumor suppressors, cancer) and the inactive X chromosome (Xi), e.g., genes associated with X-linked diseases, e.g., Rett Syndrome, Factor VIII or IX deficiency, Fragile X Syndrome, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and PNH, in heterozygous females carrying a mutated allele, in addition to a functional wildtype or hypomorphic allele.

The zinc-finger protein CCCTC-binding factor, CTCF, is a ubiquitous gene regulator that is frequently mutated or aberrantly expressed in cancer and other human diseases (Lobanenkov et al., 1990; Ohlsson et al., 2001; Kim et al., 2007; Ohlsson et al., 2010; Chen et al., 2012; Nakahashi et al., 2013). CTCF binds throughout the genome via combinatorial subsets of its 11 zinc fingers, serving as chromatin insulator, activator, or repressor depending on the epigenetic context (Filippova, 2008; Ong and Corces, 2014). One mechanism by which CTCF exercises its gene regulatory function occurs through mediation of long-range intra- and inter-chromosomal interactions that bring distant genetic elements into close proximity. In the case of intra-chromosome interactions, formation of "active chromatin hubs" (ACH)(Palstra et al., 2003; Splinter et al., 2006) results in "loop-outs" of regions that are excluded from expression.
Some of the best-studied cases of intra-chromosomal regulation by CTCF can be found in the imprinted gene cluster, H19-Igf2, where CTCF binds to an imprint control region (ICR) on the maternal allele to block the enhancer from engaging the Igf2 allele in cis, involving the formation of intrachromosomal loops between the ICR and Igf2 promoter (Bell and Felsenfeld, 2000; Hark et al., 2000; Kanduri et al., 2002; Li et al., 2008; Wan and Bartolomei, 2008; Zhang et al., 2011). Genome-wide chromosome interaction studies indicate that CTCF is often enriched at interaction boundaries at sites between genes and their distal regulatory elements (Handoko et al., 2011; Dixon et al., 2012; Sanyal et al., 2012; Shen et al., 2012; DeMare et al., 2013; Phillips-Cremins et al., 2013). CTCF may also aid inter-chromosomal associations between maternal H19-Igf2 ICR (Chr. 7) and paternal Wsb1-Nf1 (Chr. 11)(Ling et al., 2006), though the function of this interaction is unclear.
CTCF's role in epigenetic regulation has also been studied intensively for X-chromosome inactivation (XCI), the dosage compensation mechanism in mammals in which one of the two Xs in females is heterochromatinized and silenced early in development by the long noncoding Xist RNA (Heard and Disteche, 2006; Starmer and Magnuson, 2009; Wutz, 2011; Disteche, 2012; Lee and Bartolomei, 2013). During XCI, CTCF plays a number of different roles and binds a large number of sites within concentrated regions of the X-inactivation center. Here CTCF acts both in cis and in trans. In trans, CTCF-mediated inter-chromosomal interactions play a role in X-chromosome pairing, a process that has been proposed to ensure mutually exclusive choice of active versus inactive X chromosomes (Bacher et al., 2006; Xu et al., 2006; Xu et al., 2007; Donohoe et al., 2009; Masui et al., 2011). In cis, CTCF-binding sites have been correlated with intra-chromosomal interactions (Tsai et al., 2008; Spencer et al., 2011) and topologically associated domains (Nora et al., 2012) around the X-inactivation center. For example, CTCF binds the RS14 element between Xist and its antisense repressor, Tsix, to form a presumptive border between two ACH's, with one ACH involving physical interactions between promoter regions of Xist and its activator, Jpx, for the inactive X, and the other ACH centering on interactions between Tsix and its enhancer, Xite, for the active X.

CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) RNA interactome


Two preferred embodiments for an alternative body contact are disclosed for fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator transistors. In one preferred embodiment, body contact is made by extending the mesa ends of the body ties down to, and merging them with, mesa regions of an nFET source and using self-aligned silicide (commonly known as salicide) to make a connection to an underlying nFET well. In this first embodiment, the mesas of the body ties merge with the mesa of the source and salicide is used to short out these regions. In another preferred embodiment, body contact is made by extending the mesa ends of the body ties down to the nFET source; however, the mesas are not merged. In this second embodiment, metal routing, which is commonly used to electrically connect circuit elements, is extended to connect to the mesa regions of the body ties. In both embodiments, the body ties are active until the onset of full depletion; however, at the onset of full depletion, the body ties are electrically severed.

The present invention relates to the field of integrated circuit fabrication. More specifically, the present invention relates to the field of transistor fabrication in silicon-on-insulator structures.
Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology has become increasingly important in the field of integrated circuits. In SOI fabrication, a layer of semiconductor material overlies an insulating layer; typically, a single crystal layer of silicon overlies a layer of silicon dioxide, which itself overlies a silicon substrate. When sapphire is substituted as the insulating layer, replacing silicon dioxide, a similar technology results, commonly known as silicon-on-sapphire (SOS). Both SOI and SOS devices offer inherent radiation hardness, better high temperature performance, and reduced parasitic capacitance. Consequently, SOI or SOS technology is well suited for high performance and high density integrated circuits.
One problem presented by the use of silicon-on-insulator structures is the effect of the floating body node on the characteristics of field effect transistors. In particular, SOI devices exhibit various floating body effects due to the lack of an effective contact to the body or well region. This floating body, however, provides some advantages to the operation of the device. For example, a floating body region provides higher drive current through the channel region, which provides for faster operation of integrated circuits.
At some point in the operation of the device, it is necessary to contact the floating body of an SOI device. One departure from typical techniques used to contact the floating body was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,348 to Houston. Houston reveals a method and structure which allows for a floating channel region when a voltage is applied which turns the main transistor on and a body-contacting transistor, also referred to as a channel transistor, off. On the other hand, when a voltage to turn off the main transistor is applied, the body-contacting transistor is turned on, thus tying the well to the reference voltage. This tying of the well can only be accomplished, however, if the threshold voltage, V.sub.T, of the body-contacting transistor is carefully set. Unfortunately, carefully setting the appropriate threshold voltage is not easy. Setting this threshold voltage can become an even more complex processing problem if the threshold voltage necessary to tie the well differs from the threshold voltage desired on other channel devices. Furthermore, because the Houston device includes both a main transistor and a body-contacting transistor, it covers a large area.
Bipolar snapback is another problem that reduces the effectiveness of these SOI and SOS transistors. In transistor operation, electrons move across the channel and possess enough energy such that they cause impact ionization of other lattice sites, creating an additional electron-hole pair. This newly created hole attempts to recombine at the source; in the meantime, however, it raises the well potential. This raised potential causes more electrons to be injected. As impact ionization occurs and more electron-hole pairs are created, these holes continue to raise the well potential. Eventually, the transistor enters the snapback state and latches on; in this state, the transistor cannot be shut off unless the power supply is removed.
Accordingly, it is the primary object of this invention to provide contact to a floating body of a silicon-on-insulator transistor which involves less complicated processing and design considerations.
It is another object of this invention to provide a contact to the body which does not require the user to carefully set a threshold voltage.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a transistor that can sufficiently remove the holes so as not to raise the well potential, thus, preventing the device from entering the snapback state.
It is still another object to provide a transistor which covers a smaller area, thus reducing the overall size of the transistor.
It is yet another object to provide a transistor that takes advantage of the fact that when the transistor is fully depleted, this fully-depleted condition can act as a switch for connecting the floating body.
The above and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent when the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Alternative body contact for fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator transistors


An optical filter (1a) includes a light-absorbing layer (10). The light-absorbing layer absorbs light in at least a portion of the near-infrared region. When light with a wavelength of 300 to 1200 nm is incident on the optical filter (1a) at an incident angle of 0°, the optical filter (1a) satisfies given requirements. When light with a wavelength of 300 to 1200 nm is incident on the optical filter (1a) at incident angles of 0°, 30°, 35°, and 40°, the optical filter (1a) satisfies given requirements related to a normalized spectral transmittance. The normalized spectral transmittance is determined by normalization of a spectral transmittance for each incident angle so that the maximum of the spectral transmittance for each incident angle in the wavelength range of 400 to 650 nm is 100%.

Imaging apparatuses including an optical filter such as a near-infrared cut filter are conventionally known. For example, Patent Literature 1 describes a near-infrared cut filter including a laminated sheet having a near-infrared-absorber-including resin layer provided on at least one side of a glass sheet substrate. For example, this near-infrared cut filter has a dielectric multilayer film provided on at least one side of the laminated sheet. For this near-infrared cut filter, the absolute value |Ya−Yb| of the difference between a wavelength value (Ya) and a wavelength value (Yb) is less than 15 nm. The wavelength value (Ya) is a value of a wavelength which lies in the wavelength range of 560 to 800 nm and at which the transmittance measured in the direction perpendicular to the near-infrared cut filter is 50%. The wavelength value (Yb) is a value of a wavelength which lies in the wavelength range of 560 to 800 nm and at which the transmittance measured at an incident angle of 30° to the near-infrared cut filter is 50%. As just described, the dependence of the transmission characteristics of the near-infrared cut filter according to Patent Literature 1 on the incident angle of light is adjusted to be small.
Patent Literature 2 describes a near-infrared cut filter including a near-infrared-absorbing glass substrate, near-infrared-absorbing layer, and dielectric multilayer film. The near-infrared-absorbing layer includes a near-infrared-absorbing dye and transparent resin. Patent Literature 2 describes a solid-state imaging apparatus including this near-infrared cut filter and a solid-state imaging device. According to Patent Literature 2, the influence of the incident angle dependence which dielectric multilayer films inherently have and in which a blocking wavelength shifts depending on the incident angle can be almost completely eliminated by laminating the near-infrared-absorbing glass substrate and near-infrared-absorbing layer. For example, in Patent Literature 2, a transmittance (To) at an incident angle of 0° and a transmittance (T30) at an incident angle of 30° are measured for the near-infrared cut filter.
Patent Literatures 3 and 4 each describe an infrared cut filter including a transparent dielectric substrate, an infrared-reflecting layer, and an infrared-absorbing layer. The infrared-reflecting layer is formed of a dielectric multilayer film. The infrared-absorbing layer includes an infrared-absorbing dye. Patent Literatures 3 and 4 each describe an imaging apparatus including this infrared cut filter. Patent Literatures 3 and 4 each describe transmittance spectra shown by the infrared cut filter for light incident at incident angles of 0°, 25°, and 35°.


A method and system to contact a provider are described. The system may include a communication module to detect a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) call to a seller; a suitable representative associated with the seller; a decision module to determine, utilizing the detected VoIP call to the seller; and a call routing module to route the VoIP call to the suitable representative.

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) marketplace may provide a powerful online platform for the sale of goods and services by a community of individuals and small businesses. On any given day, there may be a great number of items available through auction-style and fixed-price trading. A buyer may search for items that may be available in the e-commerce marketplace and that satisfy certain criteria. In response to a search request, the buyer may be presented with a plurality of listings, from which the buyer may select a specific item. Information related to the selected item may then be displayed to the buyer via an associated user interface. The information related to the selected item may include an image representing the item, a description of the item, and an information associated with the seller.

Method and system to route a VoIP call to a representative at a provider's site


A pressure switch including a pressure chamber and a moving disc. The moving disc is moveable in response to a pressure in the pressure chamber to cause contact between a moveable contact and a fixed contact. An orifice communicates a fluid pressure into the pressure chamber. The orifice provides a tortuous path for a fluid flow to reach the pressure chamber. An oil supply system and a generator are also disclosed.

This application relates to a pressure switch that utilizes an orifice including a tortuous flow path.
Pressure switches are known and utilized in any number of applications to monitor the pressure of an associated system.
In one example, oil is provided to a generator such as a generator associated with a gas turbine engine on an aircraft.
The pressure switch monitors the pressure. Typically, when the oil supply is initially started, the pressure will be relatively low and the switch may be in a closed position. At some point, the pressure reaches a predetermined amount and the switch will move to an open position. Then, the switch continues to be in the open position, unless the oil pressure drops. If the oil pressure drops, then the switch will move to the closed position. Should this occur, a signal may be provided that the oil pressure has dropped. The signal may be provided, as an example, as a light to be seen by the pilot in the cockpit of an associated aircraft.
The pressure switches as known include an orifice that connects a switch pressure chamber to the pressure line. There may be pressure pulsations on the line. If the orifice is too large, then those pulsations can damage the switch components as they will not be adequately damped.
On the other hand, if the orifice is made too small, then it may clog too often or delay opening and closing times.


In an integrated circuit chip, a conductive line is formed in a first IMD layer. The conductive line is formed of a conductive line material that tends to form an oxide when exposed to an oxygen-containing substance. A glue layer is formed on the conductive line. The glue layer is formed of a non-oxygen-containing material capable of providing an oxygen barrier over the conductive line. The glue layer has a hardness greater than that of the conductive line. The glue layer preferably has a thickness between about 15 angstroms and about 75 angstroms. The etch stop layer is formed on the glue layer. The etch stop layer has a hardness greater than that of the glue layer. A second IMD layer is formed on the etch stop layer. The etch stop layer and/or the second IMD layer may be formed with a material comprising oxygen without oxidizing the conductive line.

Integrated circuit (IC) chips are often electrically connected by wires (e.g., gold or aluminum wires) to a leadframe or a substrate in a packaging assembly to provide external signal exchange. Such wires are typically wire bonded to bond pads formed on an IC chip using thermal compression and/or ultrasonic vibration. A wire bonding process exerts thermal and mechanical stresses on a bond pad and on the underlying layers and structure below the bond pad. The bond pad structure needs to be able to sustain these stresses to ensure a good bonding of the wire.
During a wire bonding process and as the wire is pulled (after being bonded to the bond pad), this process also exerts large pulling or tension forces on the bond pad structure. These forces are translated downward into the intermetal dielectric (IMD) layers. If there is a weak point in the structure of the chip below the bond pad or near the bond pad that cannot withstand the pulling forces, peeling or delamination may occur. Recent innovations have strengthened the bond pad structures so that the bond pad structures can reliably endure the forces of wire bonding. However, now it has been found that certain interfaces in the IMD layers are becoming weak links causing peeling failure during wire bonding. In particular, it has been found that the interface between an etch stop layer and a copper line may be have insufficient adhesion strength (i.e., tensile strength), especially when copper oxide is formed on the copper line.
FIG. 1 is a simplified cross-section schematic of a prior art structure 20 showing copper lines 22 located below a bond pad (not shown). In FIG. 1, the two copper lines 22 shown are formed in an intermetal dielectric (IMD) layer 24. Typically, the insulating material of the IMD layer 24 is a low-k dielectric material (e.g., k<3.9). A barrier layer 28 is formed between the copper lines 22 and the surrounding dielectric materials, as is typical. Another IMD layer 30 is formed over the copper lines 22. An etch stop layer 32 is located between the upper IMD 30 and the copper lines 22. The etch stop layer 32 usually will have a stronger adhesion with the copper lines 22 than to a low-k dielectric material of the IMD layer 24.
As shown in FIG. 1, a copper oxide 34 is formed on the top surface of the copper lines 22. As noted above, the presence of the copper oxide 34 at this interface between the etch stop layer 32 and the copper lines 22 lessens the adhesion strength. Thus, it is preferable to remove the copper oxide 34 and/or prevent the formation of the copper oxide at this interface.
But in many current processes, the etch stop layer 32 is formed using an oxygen-containing precursor and/or the etch stop layer itself includes oxygen in its chemical structure (e.g., SiCO, Blok II by Applied Materials). In such cases, copper oxide 34 may develop at the interface between the etch stop layer 32 and the copper lines 22 during the formation of the etch stop layer 32, even if the copper 22 is precleaned prior the etch stop layer formation. Also, low-k dielectric materials for the IMD layer 30 are often formed using an O2 plasma and often these low-k dielectric materials include oxygen in their chemical structure. During the formation of an IMD layer 30 over an etch stop layer 32 and copper lines 22 (see e.g., FIG. 1), the oxygen may penetrate through the etch stop layer 32 and add to the formation of or cause the formation of copper oxide 34 on the copper lines 22. Thus, there is a need for a process and structure that will reduce or prevent the formation of a copper oxide 34 on the copper lines 22.

Glue layer for adhesion improvement between conductive line and etch stop layer in an integrated circuit chip

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


In an optical information recording-reproduction apparatus, a focus servo control circuit generates a focus error signal and a light beam is accurately converged on a surface of an optical disk according to a focus servo control signal based upon the focus error signal. In accordance with the present invention, the focus error signal is compensated by selecting a land section focus offset amount by a switch when land sections are tracked, and it is compensated by selecting a groove section focus offset amount when groove sections are tracked. As a result, since the land sections and the groove sections are controlled by different focus servo control signals, recording and reproducing operations are carried out at the most optimal focusing positions respectively obtainable, thereby making it possible to significantly improve the quality of a reproduced signal.

As an optical information recording-reproduction apparatus records or reproduces information to or from a track on an optical disk, the apparatus performs tracking operations wherein a spot of light, produced by converging a laser beam emitted from a semiconductor laser by means of an objective lens, is irradiated to the track.
Conventionally, a light beam guiding track of the optical disk is composed of "groove" sections and sections between grooves (hereinafter, referred to as "land" sections).
In a conventional optical information recording-reproduction apparatus arrangement, where if an attempt is made to record information on both land sections and groove sections of an optical disk, whether information recorded on the land sections is reproduced, leakage of the information recorded on the adjacent groove sections (i.e., "crosstalk") increases. Likewise, when information recorded on the groove sections is reproduced, crosstalk from information recorded on the adjacent land sections increases. This adversely effects the quality of the reproduced signal. For this reason, information was conventionally only recorded on or only reproduced from either the land sections or the groove sections of optical disk media. Therefore, in the above-mentioned conventional optical information recording-reproduction apparatus, it was necessary to perform focusing and tracking on only one section of a track, i.e., either the land sections or the groove sections.
However, this arrangement imposed a serious limitation on the amount and density of information which could be stored on optical disk media, present, various alternative methods have been proposed to comply with demands for an optical disk having higher recording density to capabilities. One such method is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-81717/1993 (Tokukaihei 5-81717), in which a magneto-optical disk (i.e., one utilizing magneto-optical effects) is utilized for storing and reproducing information at greater densities than that capable of being read using other conventional optical techniques. The proposed method makes use of what is known as magnetic super resolution properties. Using these properties crosstalk between adjacent tracks can be decreased by using "masking information", which is recorded on a magnetic layer formed on a perpendicular magnetization film, and thereby allowing a higher density of stored information.
In another approach, an apparatus which records or reproduces information on or from both the land sections and groove sections by switching the polarity of a tracking servo circuit is disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 4-27610/1992 (Tokukohei 4-27610).
The methods and apparatus disclosed in the above Publications decrease crosstalk between adjoining tracks even when information is recorded on or reproduced from both the land sections and the groove sections. As a result, since information can be recorded on or reproduced from both the land sections and the groove sections, at least twice the conventional amount of information can be recorded and recording with high information density becomes possible.
In a conventional optical information recording-reproduction apparatus, since focusing is performed on only either the land sections or the groove sections, the apparatus can perform suitable recording or reproduction using an independent focus servo control signal. However, in an optical information recording-reproduction apparatus for recording and reproducing information on or from both the groove sections and the land sections that uses the same focus servo control signal for recording/reproducing signals for both the land sections and the groove sections, it is not possible to achieve a satisfactory recording or reproduction. With reference to FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b), the following reasons describe why the most suitable focus servo control signal is different for the tracking of land sections and the tracking of groove sections.
On an optical disk 6, groove sections 6a and land sections 6b, which are depicted as convex sections between groove sections 6a, are formed on a disk substrate. The waveforms shown in FIG. 6(a) represent a focus error signal, F, and a tracking error signal, T, which are servo error signals obtained from an optical pickup when only a single focus servo is actuated. With respect to focus error signal F, upward peaks of the depicted waveform are formed when a spot of a semiconductor laser beam converged on optical disk 6 by an objective lens comes to land sections 6b. Likewise, when the spot of the semiconductor laser beam comes to groove sections 6a, the bottom peaks of the depicted waveform are formed. Focus error signal F is usually affected by a track of the optical disk 6 and it has a period same as that of the tracking error signal T shown in FIG. 6(a). Moreover, the focus error signal F has 90 degrees phase difference from the tracking error signal T and is modulated. Such a change in the focus error signal F is referred to as crosstalk between error signals in the present invention.
A reason that the crosstalk between error signals shown by waveforms in FIG. 6(a) is disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 5-68774/1993 (Tokukohei 5-68774). The crosstalk between error signals occurs because in the photo detector apparatus, which generates a servo error signal, light reflected from the optical disk is affected with aberrations due to the optical components of the optical pickup and, in particular, to the objective lens. Consequently, an asymmetrical property is attributed to the reflected light and, thus, the tracking error signal leaks into the focus error signal. Due to this crosstalk, the focus error signal F acquires a periodic form same as tracking error signal T, but its phase is delayed by 90 degrees due to the asymmetric properties of the light reflected from the optical disk.
As is clear from FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) in the case where the tracking servo is turned ON after the focus servo, when the land section 6b is tracked by the spot of the semiconductor laser beam, its focusing point is on line L and when the groove section 6a is tracked, its focusing point is on line G due to the crosstalk between error signals F and T.
Since the focusing point at the time of tracking the land section 6b is different from that at the time of tracking the groove section 6a, whenever focus servo control is implemented using a the focus servo control signal generated according to the sole focus error signal F for both land section 6b and groove section 6a, deviation in the optical axis direction between. the objective lens and the optical disk 6 (i.e., focus offset) occurs. As a result, shapes of the converged light spot on the optical disk 6 become different, such that information respectively recorded on land section 6b and groove section 6a cannot be satisfactorily recorded or reproduced. Referring to FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b), it is evident that if the deviation between GND and line L for the land section focus offset is amount "1" and the deviation between GND and the line G for the groove section focus offset is amount "g", then the total deviation amount of the focusing point between the tracking of the land section 6b and the tracking of the groove section 6a is represented by 1+g.
A method for controlling crosstalk between the error signals by adjusting rotation of the objective lens about its optical axis is disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 5-68774/1993 (Tokukohei 5-68774). However, using that method requires a lot of time to adjust the objective lens. Moreover, since there exists not only the aberration of the objective lens but also aberration of other optical parts, the crosstalk between error signals cannot be completely eliminated by that method. Consequently, deviation of the focusing point along the optical axis between tracking land sections and tracking groove sections cannot be completely eliminated, thereby making it impossible to achieve optimum recording and reproducing when using that prior art method in controlling crosstalk.

Optical information recording/reproducing apparatus having focus servo control compensation for lands and grooves


A new Concrete Corner Form for expediting the process of laying out and setting up concrete forms. The inventive device includes a pair of corner support wall members integrally joined at one end and orthogonally oriented relative to one another, and a pair of cross braces each fixedly mounted to a bottom edge of each of the pair of corner support wall members and diagonally oriented thereto. Each of the pair of cross braces extend beyond the pair of corner support wall members so as to form a ledge for supporting a concrete form placed against one of the pair of corner support wall members. Each of the pair of corner support wall members has a plurality of holes therethrough for receiving fasteners. As such, a concrete form placed against one of the pair of corner support wall members is secured thereto by a fastener driven through one of the plurality of holes and into the concrete form.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to corner braces and more particularly pertains to a new Concrete Corner Form for expediting the process of laying out and setting up concrete forms.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of corner braces is known in the prior art. More specifically, corner braces heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art corner braces include U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,931; U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,781; U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,977; U.S. Pat. No. D307,078; U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,770; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,520.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new Concrete Corner Form. The inventive device includes a pair of corner support wall members integrally joined at one end and orthogonally oriented relative to one another, and a pair of cross braces each fixedly mounted to a bottom edge of each of the pair of corner support wall members and diagonally oriented thereto. Each of the pair of cross braces extend beyond the pair of corner support wall members so as to form a ledge for supporting a concrete form placed against one of the pair of corner support wall members. Each of the pair of corner support wall members has a plurality of holes therethrough for receiving fasteners. As such, a concrete form placed against one of the pair of corner support wall members is secured thereto by a fastener driven through one of the plurality of holes and into the concrete form.
In these respects, the Concrete Corner Form according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of expediting the process of laying out and setting up concrete forms.


An electric activating circuit for an occupant safety device in an automotive vehicle contains an acceleration sensor arranged in a vehicle door and a door switch for interrupting the electric circuit if the door is open.

This invention relates to electric circuits for activating an occupant safety device responsive to an acceleration sensor in an automotive vehicle.
It is well known to activate a safety device such as a safety-belt tightener or an airbag, for example, only when a collision of the vehicle with another vehicle or an obstacle occurs. As a rule, acceleration sensors are used to detect such collisions by responding to the deceleration of the vehicle upon impact with the obstacle and then closing an electric circuit which causes the activation of a belt tightener or inflation of airbags.
Particular importance is attributed to protection in the event of a lateral collision, since there is insufficient space to provide a satisfactory path for energy-absorbing vehicle deformation in the region of sidewalls and/or doors, in contrast to the vehicle's front or rear area. Accleration sensors arranged to detect lateral collisions must respond very quickly so that the corresponding occupant safety device can become fully effective within the short period of time between the first contact of the sidewall with the obstacle and penetration of the sidewall into the passenger space. On the other hand, the electric activating circuit for the device should be designed so that it only activates the occupant safety devices if a collision which would imperil the occupants in the absence of such device actually occurs. If an acceleration sensor provided as a component of the activating circuit is located in the door of the vehicle, this means that any acceleration caused by other factors should not be effective to trigger the occupant safety device, which, in such cases, is generally a lateral airbag. Such noncollision-related accelerations are produced not only during normal operation of the vehicle, for example, by irregularities in the rolling surface, but also by forceful slamming of the door, or by the door hitting a lightpole or tree when opened. Such events may indeed produce accelerations having a magnitude which approaches those caused by collisions.
It is true that such accelerations are of very short duration, but detection of the duration of the acceleration cannot be used to differentiate such accelerations from those caused by collisions, since the time delay required for such detection would also delay the response of the occupant safety device in the event of an actual collision, with extremely harmful consequences.

Electric circuit for activating an occupant safety device in an automotive vehicle


An oral pharmaceutical composition for targeted transport of a platinum complex into the colorectal region, includes a mixture of platinum complex of general formula I

Colorectal carcinoma is a malignant tumor of the colon, in Europe belonging to the most widespread types of tumor diseases. Annually, almost 7 500 new cases of this disease are diagnosed and each year more than 4 000 of patients die of this disease. Over 50% of these tumors are localized in the rectum and 20% of them attack sigmoideum. Only about 15% of tumors were found in the colon proper, of them about 6 to 8% in the colon transversum and about 6 to 7% in the colon descendens. Despite differences in their anatomic location, the mentioned tumors are regarded as affection of one organ and are denoted as the colorectal carcinoma. Women suffer from colorectal carcinoma more often in the region of colon whereas men are more often affected in the rectal region. Clinical symptoms of colorectal carcinoma are manifested by its localization, magnitude of the mechanical obstruction and the overall response of the organism. The enterostenosis manifests itself by meteorism, change in defecation habits, colical pain, and in some cases by sudden ileus. An exulceration of the tumor manifests itself by microscopic or macroscopic bleeding and subsequent anemia.
Treatment of many tumor diseases makes use of platinum complexes. So far, the therapeutic practice uses only complexes of bivalent platinum, such as cisplatinum, carboplatinum and oxaliplatinum. However, these bivalent platinum complexes are unstable in the gastrointestinal tract and/or they are poorly absorbable by the organism. These properties of bivalent platinum complexes make their use in an oral dosage form impossible. Recently, it has been found that some of the new prepared complexes of tetravalent platinum retain their antitumor activity even when administered orally. Such complexes have been described in patent documents EP 0 328 274, EP 0 423 707 and PCT/CZ99/00015 as new substances for oral application.
Another possible application of platinum complexes is the rectal administration in which the platinum complex avoids the aggressive medium of the gastrointestinal tract and after absorption by the rectal mucosa it passes via the portal system directly into the systemic blood circulation. The possibility of rectal application of a tetravalent platinum complex has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,683.
In comparison with other application methods, oral administration of platinum complexes represents the most comfortable way for the patient and therefore oral application of a solid dosage form of a platinum complex, enabling release of the platinum complex only in the region of colon appears as very prospective and promising. Such oral colonic application of drugs has its history in application of antirheumatics or in protection of mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract by administration of peptides and proteins. In the mentioned cases, drugs or protective substances are applied orally in the form of their conjugates with auxiliary substances, particularly in the form of azo conjugates, cyclodextrin conjugates, glycoside conjugates, glucuronate conjugates, dextran conjugates, polypeptide conjugates and conjugates with polymers, or in a form protected by degradable polymer coating, particularly by a pH-sensitive or biodegradable polymer coating, or in a form sealed in capsules of a biodegradable polymer, preferably sealed in hard capsules, or in the form of a system of anchored drug or protective substance, preferably in the form of a biodegradable polymer and hydrogel matrices, or in the form of a pH-sensitive polymer matrices. All these systems protect the orally applied drug or protective substance from the aggressive medium of the gastrointestinal tract before it enters the large intestine.
Complexes of tetravalent platinum in general exhibit very poor solubility in water, low bulk density, low tap density, and a very high electrostatic charge. These properties represent a significant problem in the preparation of an oral solid dosage form. Moreover, complexes of tetravalent platinum are chemically unstable in contact with metals or with many currently used pharmaceutical excipients, which poses a great problem for keeping stability of the active substance in the oral solid dosage form. These problems have been partially solved by an oral dosage form of a tetravalent platinum complex, described in PCT/CZ99/00015 which provides preparation of an oral solid dosage form containing a complex of tetravalent platinum in the form of its soluble inclusion complexes with cyclodextrins, and subsequent lyophilization. However, this method of preparation is complicated and expensive, and the limited capacity of cyclodextrin significantly limits the content of the tetravalent platinum complex present in the cyclodextrin inclusion complex. The possibility of manufacturing a stable oral dosage form containing a complex of tetravalent platinum has been disclosed in patent application CZ 2004-235 which specifies excipients compatible with tetravalent platinum complexes.
The possibility of enterosolvent application of platinum complexes, i.e. their targeted application in the region of small intestine and their possible controlled release in this region, in an oral application has been described in PCT/CZ2004/000017. However, the possibility of oral application of a solid dosage form of platinum complexes, that would allow their colonic release, has not been hitherto described.
Therefore, this invention discloses an oral pharmaceutical composition for a targeted transport of a platinum complex into the colorectal region.

Oral pharmaceutical composition for targeted transport of a platinum complex into the colorectal region, method for producing and use as medicament thereof

Abstract: wherein A each independently is an —NH3 group or an amino group containing 1 to 18 carbon atoms, B each independently is a halogen atom, a hydroxy group or a —O—C(O)—R group wherein R each independently is hydrogen atom or an alkyl, alkenyl, aryl, aralkyl, alkylamino or alkoxy group containing 1 to 10 carbon atoms or functional derivatives of these groups, and X each independently is a halogen atom or a monocarboxylate group containing 1 to 20 carbon atoms, or X together form a dicarboxylate group containing 2 to 20 carbon atoms, and at least one excipient selected from the group including a saccharide, oligosaccharide, polysaccharide, modified polysaccharide mucopolysaccharide, protein, oligoprotein, polyprotein, mucoprotein, peptide, oligopeptide and polypeptide, and optionally a lubricant and/or disintegrant, which mixture is optionally compressed into a tablet or contained in a capsule, and this tablet or capsule is optionally coated with a biodegradable layer and/or an outer pH-sensitive colonic layer, and a method of manufacturing and using the composition for treatment of colorectal carcinoma.


A bidirectional connection between a multimedia stream distribution system and a user is used to communicate operational data to and from the user. The bidirectional connection is separate from a multimedia connection that transfers a multimedia stream from the multimedia stream distribution system to the user. Providing a bidirectional connection separate from the multimedia connection is advantageous, among other reasons, because the operational data can be collected effectively at the multimedia stream distribution system independent of any limitations in the multimedia connection. To organize users and reduce processing load, the multimedia stream distribution system assigns users to user groups based on shared characteristics. Groups may be used to propagate information to the users as well as analyze information collected from the users in an efficient manner.

1. Field of Art
The disclosure generally relates to the field of live multimedia broadcasting, and more particularly to live communications between consumers and multimedia broadcast providers.
2. Description of the Related Art
The presence of high-speed internet connections on desktop computers and mobile computing devices like smartphones and tablets has made live multimedia streams accessible to millions of users. Live multimedia streaming over the internet has made it possible for events like concerts, sporting competitions, and political rallies to be broadcast to large worldwide audiences in real time without the range limitations of television or radio broadcasts. Existing methods of delivering live multimedia to users consist of a one-way multimedia connection between a streaming server and the user client devices. The multimedia connection is devoted to delivering the multimedia stream, either directly or through a content delivery network (CDN), and the multimedia connection is not capable of transferring any telemetry information about the stream such as viewership data or connection quality.
Conventional methods of transferring this telemetry information are based on polling requests, which means a broadcaster must periodically query user clients to obtain important statistics such as the number of users receiving a given broadcast or the average connection quality for those users. This requires a significant amount of network traffic overhead that increases networking costs as the system is scaled up to accommodate more users and increase the frequency of polling requests. User clients are also limited by a poll-based system because they must repeatedly send requests to the streaming servers for crucial information like whether a broadcast of interest has come on-air or whether a closer or faster server is available for that broadcast. The delay and network load associated with poll-based communication systems also make it difficult for broadcasters and users to engage in two-way interactions like sharing user comments or collecting, aggregating, and distributing the results of a user poll in real-time.

Bidirectional communication on live multimedia broadcasts


A load clamp has two selectively openable and closable opposing clamping assemblies, one of which comprises at least a pair of clamp arms movable separately from each other toward and away from the other clamping assembly. Separate actuators for the respective clamp arms are controlled automatically by a regulator in such a way that the respective closure movements of the arms are simultaneous. A selective adjuster assembly enables the operator to select alternate different maximum magnitudes of clamping force to be imposed by the clamp arms on different loads. An override assembly overrides the regulator to permit nonsimultaneous clamp arm movement, automatically in response to resistance to closure by one of the clamp arms, independently of selective variation of such adjuster assembly. Such independence is achieved by overriding the regulator automatically in delayed response to a magnitude of clamping force which is less than the different maximum magnitudes selectable by the adjuster assembly, the delay in response being sufficient to enable such different magnitudes to be attained in accordance with the operator's selection.

The present invention is directed to a lift truck-mounted load-handling clamp adapted for handling stacked loads of different sizes simultaneously, such as two stacked paper rolls of abbreviated length and different diameters. More particularly, the invention is directed to an improvement in the clamp disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,931, which is hereby incorporated by reference, in order to facilitate the selection by the operator of different maximum magnitudes of clamping force to prevent damage to the loads from overclamping.
A common requirement in the paper industry is the handling of half-length paper rolls, which are normally handled by a lift truck roll clamp in pairs having different diameters, stacked one atop the other. Lift truck paper roll clamps specially adapted for handling such stacked rolls have been available in the past and normally consist of a pair of separately-actuated clamp arms on one side of the clamp, in opposed relation to a single, larger clamp arm assembly on the opposite side of the clamp. The separately-actuated arms give the clamp the ability to apply clamping force to two cylindrical objects of different diameters stacked one atop the other. Similar clamping capabilities can be useful with respect to other types of loads, such as stacked pairs of bales or cartons of different sizes.
The above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,931 provides a solution to a problem previously experienced by clamps of this type due to their inability to attain the required clamping force on one of the separately-actuated clamp arms without attaining it also on the other separately-actuated arm. For example, such clamp structures have the separately-actuated clamp arms powered by separate hydraulic cylinders connected in parallel to a source of pressurized fluid, requiring that the pressure buildup in the two cylinders during clamping be identical. The problem with such a structure is that, if only a single half-length roll or other load is to be handled, clamping pressure on the load-engaging arm cannot be attained until the other arm is closed to its maximum extent, which is very time-consuming. Conversely, on opening of the clamp arms to release a load, the release of both clamp arms is not usually simultaneous due to different frictional resistances in the respective arm mechanisms, sometimes requiring full opening of one clamp arm before the other can release sufficiently to disengage the load.
The above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,931 offered a solution to these prior problems by providing a flow regulator of the divider/combiner type which required the respective movements (or lack thereof) of the pair of clamp arms to be simultaneous until the regulator was overridden by an override assembly automatically in response to the attainment of a predetermined clamping force by one of the clamp arms, after which nonsimultaneous movement of the clamp arms was enabled by the override assembly.
However, a significant drawback to the system of U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,931 developed when it became important for clamping systems to have easily-operable selectively-variable clamping force adjustment systems, usually of the multipressure relief type, so that the operator could quickly select a different predetermined maximum magnitude of clamping force for each different load to prevent damage to the load from overclamping. The override assembly of the '931 patent, due to its automatic responsiveness to the attainment of a predetermined clamping force and its inability to change its responsiveness to accommodate higher or lower clamping forces without time-consuming adjustment, could not operate properly independently of the operator's alternating selections of different maximum clamping forces for each different load. For example, if the override assembly were adjusted to operate in response to the attainment by one of the clamp arms of a clamping force lower than the maximum force selected by the operator, the override assembly would operate prematurely to shunt pressurized fluid to the other clamp arm before the operator's selected maximum clamping force could be attained. Alternatively, such override assembly would not operate at all if it were adjusted to operate in response to a clamping force higher than the maximum force selected by the operator, since such clamping force would not be attained in view of the operator's selection.
Another drawback to the system of U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,931 was that, when opening the clamp arms, the maximum opening force attainable by each clamp arm was limited by the pressure limit of the divider/combiner flow regulator valve in its combining mode, unless the other clamp arm had been opened completely. This was because fluid pressure tending to open the clamp arms in parallel was limited to that which opened the clamp arm having the least resistance to opening. If it were desired to push a load with the back of a first clamp arm, referred to as "backhanding" the load, while the second clamp arm encountered no such loading, the only resistance to opening of the second clamp arm, unless it were fully opened, was that imposed by the pressure of the fluid exhausted from the second clamp arm's fluid actuator during opening. Such exhaust pressure was dependent upon the pressure limit of the flow regulator.

Clamp for handling stacked loads of different sizes at different maximum clamping forces


Provided is an excellent residual gas analyzer, which can perform measurements while being suitably arranged even in small areas, such as those in semiconductor equipments, and can perform measurements for display of measurement results without an external personal computer. The analyzer is provided with a sensor unit having a sensor section for detecting a residual gas; an operating section for receiving operation for controlling the sensor section; a residual gas analysis processing section for processing analysis of the residual gas based on the output from the sensor section; and an analysis processing result screen display section for displaying on a screen the analysis processing results obtained from the residual gas analysis processing section. The analyzer is also provided with a device main body which can be in a mounted status wherein the sensor unit is mounted or in a removed status wherein the sensor unit is removed.

In recent years, as semiconductor devices are increasingly integrated and functionalized, deposition and etching processes are rapidly switched to corresponding dry processes.
To stably provide high quality products, real-time control is crucial to accurately grasp a state inside a chamber and keep a process in an optimum state. For this reason, a residual gas analyzer (RGA) is strongly desired.
Specifically, it is known that this type of residual gas analyzer is configured to include: a sensor unit integrally provided with a sensor part including an ion source, a mass analyzing part, and a detection part, and a spectraconverter part; and an interface part that is provided between the sensor unit and an external personal computer and cable-connected to them (see, for example, Non-patent document 1).
According to the residual gas analyzer, a residual gas introduced into the ion source first collide with thermal electrons emitted from a high temperature filament, and is consequently ionized. The generated ions are accelerated and converged by a lens to be introduced into the mass analyzing part. In the mass analyzing part, DC and AC voltages are applied to four cylindrical electrodes (quadrupole) to separate the ions by mass. The separated ions are detected as a current by a Faraday cup. The ion current is proportional to an amount of the residual gas (partial pressure), and therefore the residual gas can be measured with accuracy.    Non-patent document 1: Ultracompact residual gas analyzer "PresssureMaster RGA series", (Toru Ikeda, Special issue paper, Horiba Technical Reports, No. 28, p. 12-15, March 2004, Horiba, Ltd.)


Establishing communication with a device includes detecting, at a first device, a physical interaction between the first device and a second device; at least one of obtaining at the first device and providing to the second device, a network address usable for establishing communication between the first device and the second device, the network address identified based on information associated with the detected physical interaction; and automatically wirelessly transferring content using the network address, wherein transferring content includes at least one of receiving content at the first device from the second device and providing content from the first device to the second device.

Distributed sensing techniques for mobile devices using synchronous gestures are known. Synchronous gestures may be defined as patterns of activity performed on two or more devices in a distributed system that have a certain meaning when they occur together in time. The patterns may occur in parallel and synchronously, or they may partially overlap or even occur in a particular sequence. Example implementation and uses of synchronous gestures include the following.
One example is described in a paper by Holmquist et al., Smart-Its Friends: A Technique for Users to Easily Establish Connection between Smart Artefacts, Ubicomp 2001, Atlanta, Ga., September 2001. This paper describes a technique that allows a user to connect a pair of accelerometer-augmented handheld devices by holding the two devices together and shaking them to get common movement data. The movement data together with an ID is broadcast to all devices in listening range. When a device receives movement data from another device, the device compares the data to its own most recent movement pattern and establishes a dedicated connection based on the comparison.
Another example is described in US Patent Application No. 20040215815 to Rekimoto et al. (see also Rekimoto et al., SyncTap: An Interaction Technique for Mobile Networking, MOBILE HCI 2003). This approach describes a user interface device for specifying a network connection between information apparatuses. When a user wishes to connect two apparatuses, connection buttons on each apparatus are pressed down and released at the same time. Each apparatus then transmits packets containing the IP address of the source device and timing of the press and release of the connection buttons across the network using multicasting. The times included in the packets are then compared with those recorded within the apparatuses to enable both apparatuses to correctly identify each other.
Another example of synchronous gestures is described in US Patent Application No. 20050093868 to Hinckley et al. This application describes distributed sensing techniques for mobile devices that allow the coordination of resources of mobile computing devices to jointly execute tasks. In this method, a first gesture input is received at a first mobile computing device, and a second gesture input is received at a second mobile computing device. In response, a determination is made as to whether the first and second gesture inputs form one of a plurality of different synchronous gesture types. If it is determined that the first and second gesture inputs form the one of the plurality of different synchronous gesture types, then resources of the first and second mobile computing devices are combined to jointly execute a particular task associated with the gesture type. The devices are already connected or have previous connectivity information to enable joint execution of the task. The task that is jointly executed is determined by the gesture. An example task is the sharing of a displayed pictured between two devices, where half is displayed on each device.
Although the techniques described by the references provide gesture-based user interface for devices, these techniques have drawbacks. One drawback is that none of the described methods are scalable such that devices using the internet as their communication means can utilize them for synchronous-gesture based device-device interfacing. Some of the above mentioned methods require the devices to already be communicating with each other prior to a synchronous gesture causing an action, and other methods require that information regarding a detected gesture be multicast/broadcast to every other device within listening range. Multicasting/broadcasting gesture information by each device across the network is not scalable, is less secure than directed communications, and unnecessarily increases network traffic and processing overhead when communication is intended to be directed between two devices. In addition, prior uses of synchronous gestures require that some form of gesture information be contributed by each device and brought together for comparison. This necessary comparison step adds unnecessary processing overhead to the device or devices performing the comparisons.
As discussed above, several advantages can be obtained by eliminating the need to multicast/broadcast gesture information across the network and the need to compare the gesture information between devices in order for communication to occur between two devices. What are needed are methods and systems for determining a network address based on the physical interaction and directing communication to that network address (and therefore to the specific device assigned that network address).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Establishing directed communication based upon physical interaction between two devices


A method of controlling an automated step-down transmission, arranged in a drivetrain between an engine and a drive axle, which includes a multi-stage main transmission and a range group. The main transmission has an intermediate transmission style with a countershaft having a transmission brake and an input shaft connected, via a clutch, to the engine. The main transmission shifts, without being synchronized, and the range group shifts, after synchronization, such that the engaged gear ratio of the main transmission remains engaged during a range shift operation. The range shift is accomplished by firstly reducing drive engine torque; secondly, disengaging the existing gear ratio of the range group; thirdly, remotely synchronizing the target gear ratio in the range group; fourthly, engaging the target gear ratio in the range group; and fifthly, increasing the drive engine torque.

Step-down transmissions with a multi-stage main transmission and, downstream from it, a range group and sometimes also with a splitter group in drive connection upstream or downstream of the main transmission, have been known for a long time and are preferably used in commercial vehicles. By means of, for example, a two-stage splitter group with a gear ratio interval corresponding to approximately half of an average gear ratio interval between two successive ratio steps of the main transmission, the gear ratio intervals of the main transmission are halved and the total number of gears of the step-down transmission available is doubled. By means of a usually two-stage range group with a gear ratio interval over the overall ratio interval of the main transmission by approximately an average ratio interval between two successive ratio steps of the main transmission, the spread of the transmission gear ratios as a whole is approximately doubled and the total number of gears of the step-down transmission available is again doubled.
From this, in combination with a three-step main transmission (with three forward transmission ratio steps and one reverse ratio step) a 12-gear step-down transmission is obtained, having a total of twelve forward gears and a maximum of four reverse gears, and in combination with a four-step main transmission (with four forward ratio steps and one reverse ratio step) a 16-gear step-down transmission is obtained, having a total of sixteen forward gears and a maximum of four reverse gears.
Compared with a single transmission having a comparable number of gears and similar gear intervals and ratio spread, a step-down transmission of the above type has substantially more compact dimensions and is lighter. However, since many shifts in a step-down transmission require a change of gear ratio steps in a plurality of partial transmissions and thus take place with a relatively complex sequence, most known step-down transmissions are made to be shifted in a partially or fully automated manner.
From the model series of automated shift transmissions known as the AS-Tronic family, produced by the present applicant, the transmissions of the AS-Tronic mid-series, designed for medium-weight commercial vehicles, and the transmissions of the AS-Tronic series, provided for heavy commercial vehicles, are all made as step-down transmissions with a multi-stage main transmission HG, i.e. one having three or four forward ratio steps, with a two-stage splitter group GV upstream from the main transmission HG, and with a two-stage range group GP downstream from the main transmission HG. In each case, the main transmission HG is made as a transfer structure and can be shifted unsynchronized, i.e. with unsynchronized claw-type clutches, and in the case of the AS-Tronic mid-series they have a single countershaft while in the case of the AS-Tronic series, for reasons relating to weight and structural space optimization, they have two countershafts. In both series the main transmission HG is optionally available in a direct-gear version (iHG—min=1) or in a rapid-gear version (iHG—min<1). The splitter group GV is in each case made as a step-down transmission with two synchronized input constants for the main transmission, i.e. ones that can be shifted by means of friction-synchronized shift clutches. In each case the range group GP is made as a synchronously shifted, two-stage planetary transmission with a shiftable direct connection (iGP=1) and an alternatively switchable high ratio (iGP>>1).
A typical method for controlling shifts in a step-down transmission is known from DE 197 54 726 B4. This known method, however, relates to a semi-automatically shiftable step-down transmission with a manually shifted main transmission H and, downstream therefrom, a combination of an automated-shift, two-stage splitter group S and an automated-shift, two-stage range group R, whose gear and shift clutches are all friction-synchronized. The method concerned provides that for a gear change, first the main transmission H, then the splitter group S and then the range group R are shifted to a neutral position, and then first the range group R and after it the splitter group S are shifted to their respective target ratio stages, and finally the main transmission H is shifted to its target ratio. This makes for rapid shift processes and relatively low shift and load forces during the shifting of the gear and shift clutches of the partial transmissions.
In contrast, DE 101 52 857 A1 describes a method for controlling shifts in an automated step-down transmission, i.e. one that can be shifted fully automatically. This known method relates to a step-down transmission with a multi-stage, claw-shifted main transmission, i.e. one that can be shifted without synchronization, a synchronized splitter group upstream therefrom with two ratio steps and, downstream from the main transmission, an unsynchronized range group with two ratio steps. Essentially this method provides that for a range shift, i.e. a shift that entails a change of the ratio step in the range group, the splitter group and the range group are each first shifted to their neutral position in order to interrupt the force flow, the main transmission is then braked by means of a transmission brake, and a change of the speed of the drive engine to the synchronous speed of the target gear begins. When the target ratio step of the main transmission has been engaged the splitter group is synchronously shifted to its target ratio step. When the drive engine reaches the synchronous speed, the target ratio step of the range group is then engaged.
Since the above-mentioned methods each relate to a special design form of a step-down transmission that is different from the step-down transmission considered above, these known methods cannot without further ado be transferred to an automated step-down transmission that comprises a multi-stage unsynchronized main transmission HG and a downstream synchronized range group GP, sometimes also with a synchronized splitter group GV upstream or downstream from the main transmission HG. In an automated step-down transmission of such structure a range shift usually takes place in such manner that after reducing the load on the drive engine and if necessary also after disengaging the separator clutch, the main transmission HG is first shifted to its neutral position, then the range group GP and, if needs be, also a splitter group GV if present, are synchronously shifted to their respective target ratio steps, and finally the main transmission HG is separately synchronized, i.e. the shift clutch of the target ratio step concerned is synchronized for example by means of a transmission brake and/or, with the separator clutch at least partially engaged, by corresponding speed control of the drive engine, before the target ratio step of the main transmission HG is engaged.
Having regard to a shift sequence as rapid and with as little wear as possible, however, the above process sequence has the advantage that a shift within the main transmission HG also takes place when the ratio step engaged in the main transmission HG before and after a range shift is identical, i.e. no ratio step change ever takes place in the main transmission HG. This problem relates in particular to shifts between several reverse gears which, when only one reverse ratio step R of the main transmission HG is present as usual, are formed by the ratio steps of the range group GP and perhaps of a splitter group GV if there is one. When the range group GP downstream from the main transmission HG is shifted, then if the reverse ratio step R is engaged the associated shift clutches are affected by the additional problem that by virtue of the configuration concerned the interlock synchronizations involved usually only function when the input shaft (output shaft of the main transmission) is rotating in the forward direction and are not effective, or only to a limited extent, when the input shaft is rotating backward.

Method for controlling shifts in an automated step-down transmission


A window enclosure strip is provided for a window mounted in a vehicle door. The strip includes a mount channel which cooperates with a mount member on the door. The strip also includes a glass run portion having an exterior glass contacting member and an interior glass contacting member which form a seal with the window pane when the window pane is in a closed position in the vehicle. Further, the seal strip includes a self-trim for the door interior and exterior. The mount channel is formed of a relatively stiff material so as to eliminate the need for an additional stiffening member. On the other hand, the interior and exterior glass sealing members are relatively soft for the purposes of sealing against water, air, and noise. A continuous cut-line seal is provided to bridge the gap between the door and the body and reduce wind noise and water intrusion.

Heretofore, the structure of automotive doors above the belt line of the door, or the door glass frame, has been trimmed, sealed, and styled with numerous components which have been combined to form the window seal. The door glass has been sealed with a separate glass run assembly, and inner and outer belt strip assemblies. The glass run and belt strip assemblies have been trimmed on the interior of the automobile or other vehicle with separate trim components or the glass run assembly itself has provided the trim effect. The glass run on the exterior of the vehicle has been likewise trimmed with separate assemblies, escutcheons or separate appliques designed to meet the specific styling requirements of the vehicle. However, construction of the sealing, trimming and styling article for the upper window frame of an automotive door has been relatively expensive and particularly cumbersome to accomplish given the numerous components comprising the assembly. In the instance where an integral cutline seal/glass run/channel sealing strip has been used, it has failed since the function of the cutline seal often interferes with the sealing strip.

Window enclosure for an automotive upper door frame