A method in a plasma processing chamber for etching through a selected portion of a borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) layer of a wafer layer stack. The method includes the step of introducing an etchant source gas into the plasma processing chamber, which consists essentially of CO, CHF.sub.3, and C.sub.4 F.sub.8. The method further includes the step of striking a plasma in the plasma processing chamber from the etchant source gas. Additionally, there is included the step of etching at least partially through the BPSG layer with the plasma.

The present invention relates to the fabrication of semiconductor integrated circuits. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for etching through a layer stack of an integrated circuit, including a borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) layer, during integrated circuit fabrication.
In the fabrication of semiconductor integrated circuits, devices such as component transistors are typically formed on a semiconductor substrate, which may be made of silicon. During the fabrication process, various layers such as BPSG, polysilicon, metal, and the like, may be deposited on the wafer substrate and patterned with a photoresist process. Thereafter, portions of the layers, including the BPSG layer, may be etched away to form interconnect lines, trenches, and other features. The deposition and etching processes may be repeated until the desired circuit is obtained.
To facilitate discussion, FIG. 1 illustrates a cross section view of a pre-etch wafer 100. Wafer 100 is shown having a layer stack 102 disposed above the surface of a substrate 104. An oxide layer 106, typically comprising SiO.sub.2, is shown disposed above silicon substrate 104. Above oxide layer 106, there may be disposed a polysilicon layer 108. A BPSG layer 110, which represents, e.g., a dielectric layer of the wafer stack, may be disposed above polysilicon layer 108.
It should be noted that there may be present other additional layers above, below, or in between the layers shown in layer stack 102. Further, not all of the shown layers need necessarily be present and some or all may be substituted by other different layers. The layers of layer stack 102 are readily recognizable to those skilled in the art and may be formed using any of a number of suitable and known deposition processes, including chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), and a physical vapor deposition (PVD), such as sputtering.
To form the various interconnect lines, trenches and other component regions that may be required in an integrated circuit, portions of certain layers of the layer stack, including, for example, the BPSG layer, may be etched using suitable etchant chemicals. Prior to etching, the wafer is typically prepared using a suitable photoresist technique. By way of example, one such photoresist technique may involve the patterning of the photoresist layer 112 by exposing the photoresist material in a contact or stepper lithography system, and the development of the photoresist material to form a mask to facilitate subsequent etching.
To illustrate, there is shown in FIG. 1 masked photoresist regions 112a and 112b, representing regions of photoresist layer 112 that have been left behind following the photoresist patterning step to protect the underlying regions. Areas 118 and 120 represent respectively an unetched contact region and an open field region through which portions of the underlying target layer(s), e.g., layer 110, are exposed for etching.
Once properly masked for etching, the wafer may then be etched using an appropriate etchant. During etching, the areas of the target layer(s) that are left exposed to the etchant, e.g., portions of layer 110 in areas 118 and 120, may be etched away. The areas underlying the protective photoresist mask regions are left behind, forming features which may extend through the etched layer(s).
To achieve greater circuit density, modern integrated circuits are scaled with increasingly narrower design rules. As a result, the feature sizes, for example the width of the contact areas, trenches, and lines, have steadily decreased. By way of example, while a line width of approximately 0.8 microns (.mu.m) may be considered acceptable in a 4 megabit (Mb) dynamic random access memory (DRAM) integrated circuit, 256 Mb DRAM integrated circuits preferably employ interconnect lines as thin as 0.25 .mu.m or even thinner.
As the feature sizes shrink, the process with which the etching step is performed becomes increasingly critical. By way of example, as the features become finer, it becomes increasingly difficult to achieve a uniform etch rate across the wafer. In some cases, the etch rate in the narrow spacings, e.g., area 118, may be slower than that in the wider regions, e.g., area 120. This phenomenon, referred herein as the loading in etch rates, may be a consequence of microloading and aspect ratio-dependent etching (ARDE). Microloading or RIE lag refers primarily to the situation wherein the etch rate is reduced in smaller contacts or trenches when compared to larger contacts or trenches in the same location on the wafer. It can also be said that the aspect ratio of large or small contacts or trenches are different and therefore the etch exhibits ARDE. The loading in etch rates causes trenches to be formed in the layer stack at different rates.
For illustration purposes, FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of post-etch wafer 200, including wafer stack 102 after a conventional BPSG etching step is performed. Even though both areas 118 and 120 were exposed to the same etch chemistries and conditions, the depth of the etch in open field area 120 may extend much further into the underlying polysilicon layer 108 relative to the depth of the etch in the narrow spacing area 118. The difference in etching depths may be caused, in part, by the aforementioned etch rate loading phenomenon.
The loading in etch rates may become more severe when trench widths fall below about 0.5.mu., and especially when trench widths fall below about 0.35.mu.. As a result of the etch rate variations, areas having a higher etch rate, such as open field region 120, may become susceptible to over-etching. As the term is used herein, over-etching is the inadvertent removal of materials from the layer(s) underlying the target layer, e.g., polysilicon layer 108 if BPSG layer 110 is the target layer for the etch. If the etch rate variations are sufficiently large, it may not be possible, for some geometry, to etch through the target layer, e.g., BPSG layer 110, in the narrower spacings without causing undue damage to the underlying layers in open field regions. Such damage may render the wafer undergoing processing unsuitable for use in integrated circuit fabrication. Consequently, the minimization of the etch rate loading may represent an important consideration in the design of a BPSG etch process, particularly in etch processes designed for submicron contact etching.
Another important consideration in the design of a BPSG etch process is the overall BPSG etch rate. In generally, the higher the BPSG etch rate, the greater the throughput, i.e., the higher the number of wafers processed per unit of time. Consequently, all things being equal, a higher BPSG etch rate is generally desirable.
The selectivity of BPSG to other layers during a BPSG etch step may represent another potentially important consideration in the design of a BPSG etch process. As the term is used herein, the selectivity of BPSG to another layer represents the ratio of the etch rate of the BPSG layer relative to the etch rate of the other layer during a BPSG etch. Since a polysilicon layer may be disposed under the BPSG layer in the fabrication of many important electronic devices, e.g., metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors, a high BPSG to polysilicon selectivity is generally desired.
Another potentially important variable may be the profile angle that results from the etch. With reference to FIG. 2, the etch profile angle represents the angle made by the etch sidewall, e.g., the sidewall of BPSG feature 110a for a BPSG etch, to the wafer plane. In general, it is desirable to design an etch process to achieve as vertical an etch profile angle as possible. Still further, uniformity represents another potentially important process result. Uniformity, as the term is used herein, describes how uniform an etch process is across the entire wafer. If the uniformity is poor, some areas of the wafer may be etched severely while other areas may be inadequately etched, possibly rendering some of these areas unsuitable for circuit fabrication. As is apparent, an etch process that can provide a good level of etch uniformity across the wafer surface is highly desirable.
In the prior art, there exist many BPSG etch processes. However, these processes were typically optimized for a particular set of requirements, e.g., high BPSG to titanium silicide or titanium nitride or for different geometries. As technology changes, however, IC chip manufacturers continually search for ways to improve BPSG etch results. In view of the foregoing, what is desired are improved methods and apparatus for etching a BPSG layer in a wafer layer stack.

Methods for etching borophosphosilicate glass


An outer joint member has first and second track groove portions located respectively on depth and opening sides. The first track groove portions each have a circular-arc ball-raceway center line having a curvature center that is not offset in an axial direction with respect to a joint center. The second track groove portions each have a ball-raceway center line including a straight part to increase an effective track length at a maximum operating angle. Track grooves of an inner joint member each have a ball-raceway center line that is mirror-image symmetrical with a ball-raceway center line of the paired track groove of the outer joint member with respect to a plane passing through the joint center at an operating angle of 0°.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a fixed type constant velocity universal joint, and more specifically, to a fixed type constant velocity universal joint that is used in a power transmission system for automobiles and various industrial machines and allows only angular displacement between two shafts on a driving side and a driven side.
2. Background Art
For example, a plunging type constant velocity universal joint that is capable of axial displacement while forming an operating angle including a relatively low maximum operating angle is assembled normally on an inboard side (differential side) of a front drive shaft of an automobile. On an outboard side (wheel side), a fixed type constant velocity universal joint that is capable of forming high operating angles but is not displaced in the axial direction is assembled in consideration of steering of the wheel.
FIG. 14 illustrate a Rzeppa type constant velocity universal joint 101 as an example of the fixed type constant velocity universal joint used on the outboard side. FIG. 14a is a vertical sectional view illustrating a state in which an operating angle is set to 0°, and FIG. 14b is a schematic view illustrating a state in which a maximum operating angle is formed. As illustrated in FIG. 14a, the constant velocity universal joint 101 includes, as main components, an outer joint member 102, an inner joint member 103, balls 104, and a cage 105. The outer joint member 102 has a spherical inner peripheral surface 106 including eight track grooves 107 formed equiangularly along an axial direction. The inner joint member 103 has a spherical outer peripheral surface 108 including track grooves 109 formed equiangularly along the axial direction so as to face the track grooves 107 of the outer joint member 102. Eight balls 104 for transmitting torque are interposed between the track grooves 107 of the outer joint member 102 and the track grooves 109 of the inner joint member 103. The cage 105 for holding the balls 104 is arranged between the spherical inner peripheral surface 106 of the outer joint member 102 and the spherical outer peripheral surface 108 of the inner joint member 103. An outer periphery of the outer joint member 102 and an outer periphery of a shaft coupled to the inner joint member 103 are covered with a boot, and grease as a lubricant is sealed inside the joint (none of which is shown).
As illustrated in FIG. 14a, the cage 105 has a spherical outer peripheral surface 112 fitted to the spherical inner peripheral surface 106 of the outer joint member 102, and a spherical inner peripheral surface 113 fitted to the spherical outer peripheral surface 108 of the inner joint member 103. The spherical outer peripheral surface 112 and the spherical inner peripheral surface 113 each have a curvature center formed at a joint center O. On the other hand, a curvature center Oo of a ball-raceway center line x of the track groove 107 of the outer joint member 102 and a curvature center Oi of a ball-raceway center line y of the track groove 109 of the inner joint member 103 are offset in the axial direction by equal distances with respect to the joint center O. With this, when the joint forms an operating angle, the balls 104 are always guided in a plane obtained by bisection of an angle formed between axial lines of the outer joint member 102 and the inner joint member 103. As a result, rotational torque is transmitted at a constant velocity between the two axes.
As illustrated in FIG. 14b, a maximum operating angle θmax, which may be set as a main function of the fixed type constant velocity universal joint 101, depends on an angle at which an inlet chamfer 110 provided at an opening rim of the outer joint member 102 and a shaft 111 interfere with each other. In order to secure permissible torque to be transmitted, the shaft 111 has an axial diameter d set on a joint-size basis. When a large inlet chamfer 110 is formed, a length of the track groove 107 of the outer joint member 102, on which the ball 104 is brought into abutment (hereinafter referred to as "effective track length"), is insufficient. As a result, the ball 104 drops off the track groove 107, and rotational torque cannot be transmitted. Thus, how the inlet chamfer 110 is formed while securing the effective track length of the outer joint member 102 is an important factor in securing the operating angle. In the Rzeppa type constant velocity universal joint 101, the curvature center Oo of the ball-raceway center line X of the track groove 107 of the outer joint member 102 is offset to an opening side, and hence there is an advantage in terms of the maximum operating angle. However, the maximum operating angle θmax is approximately 47°.
Further, in comparison with a conventional six-ball constant velocity universal joint, the Rzeppa type constant velocity universal joint 101 of an eight-ball type has a smaller track offset amount, a larger number of balls, and a smaller diameter. Thus, it is possible to provide a high-efficient constant velocity universal joint that is lightweight and compact, and suppresses torque loss. However, at the operating angle of 0°, wedge angles formed between the track grooves 107 and 109 of the outer joint member 102 and the inner joint member 103, which face each other, are opened toward the opening side of the outer joint member 102. Thus, due to forces applied in the axial direction from the track grooves 107 and 109 to the balls, loads to be applied to the spherical contact portions 106 and 112 of the outer joint member 102 and the cage 105 and the spherical contact portions 108 and 113 of the inner joint member 103 and the cage 105 are generated in a certain direction. Thus, this configuration leads to restriction on a further increase in efficiency and suppression of heat generation.
In order to achieve much higher efficiency and less heat generation than those can be achieved by the Rzeppa type constant velocity universal joint 101 of the eight-ball type described above, there has been proposed a fixed type constant velocity universal joint of a track groove crossing type (Patent Document 1). This constant velocity universal joint is illustrated in FIG. 15. FIG. 15a is a vertical sectional view illustrating a state in which the operating angle is set to 0°, and FIG. 15b is a schematic view illustrating a state in which a high operating angle is formed. As illustrated in FIG. 15a, a constant velocity universal joint 121 includes, as main components, an outer joint member 122, an inner joint member 123, balls 124, and a cage 125. The constant velocity universal joint 121 is a constant velocity universal joint of the track groove crossing type. Although not shown, planes each including the ball-raceway center line x of corresponding one of eight track grooves 127 of the outer joint member 122 are inclined with respect to a joint axial line n-n, and inclination directions of the planes defined in the track grooves 127 that are adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction are set opposite to each other. Further, track grooves 129 of the inner joint member 123 each have the ball-raceway center line y formed to be mirror-image symmetrical with the ball-raceway center line x of corresponding one of the paired track grooves 127 of the outer joint member 122 with respect to a plane P including the joint center O at the operating angle of 0°.
In the vertical cross-section illustrated in FIG. 15a, the track grooves 127 formed in a spherical inner peripheral surface 126 of the outer joint member 122 each extend in a circular-arc shape along the axial direction, and have a curvature center located at the joint center O. In a spherical outer peripheral surface 128 of the inner joint member 123, the track grooves 129 that face the track grooves 127 of the outer joint member 122 each extend in a circular-arc shape along the axial direction, and have a curvature center located at the joint center O. Eight balls 124 for transmitting torque are interposed in intersecting portions between the track grooves 127 of the outer joint member 122 and the track grooves 129 of the inner joint member 123. The cage 125 for holding the balls 124 is arranged between the spherical inner peripheral surface 126 of the outer joint member 122 and the spherical outer peripheral surface 128 of the inner joint member 123. The cage 125 has a spherical outer peripheral surface 132 fitted to the spherical inner peripheral surface 126 of the outer joint member 122, and a spherical inner peripheral surface 133 fitted to the spherical outer peripheral surface 128 of the inner joint member 123. The spherical outer peripheral surface 132 and the spherical inner peripheral surface 133 each have a curvature center formed at the joint center O. In the constant velocity universal joint 121, the curvature center of each of the ball-raceway center lines x and y of the respective track grooves 127 and 129 of the outer joint member 122 and the inner joint member 123 is not offset in the axial direction with respect to the joint center O. However, the track grooves 127 and 129 that are inclined and face each other intersect with each other, and the balls 124 are interposed in those intersecting portions. With this, when the joint forms an operating angle, the balls 124 are always guided in a plane obtained by bisection of an angle formed between axial lines of the outer joint member 122 and the inner joint member 123. As a result, rotational torque is transmitted at a constant velocity between the two axes.
In the fixed type constant velocity universal joint 121 of the track groove crossing type described above, the track grooves 127 and 129 of the outer joint member 122 and the inner joint member 123 that are adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction are inclined in the directions opposite to each other. Thus, forces in the opposite directions are applied from the balls 124 to pocket portions 125a adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction of the cage 125. Due to the forces in the opposite directions, the cage 125 is stabilized at a position of the joint center O. Therefore, a contact force between the spherical outer peripheral surface 132 of the cage 125 and the spherical inner peripheral surface 126 of the outer joint member 122, and a contact force between the spherical inner peripheral surface 133 of the cage 125 and the spherical outer peripheral surface 128 of the inner joint member 123 are suppressed. Thus, the joint is smoothly operated under high load and in high speed rotation, and torque loss and heat generation are suppressed. As a result, higher durability can be achieved.
The fixed type constant velocity universal joint 121 described above is excellent as a joint that suppresses heat generation. However, there is a problem as follows. As illustrated in FIG. 15b, when a large inlet chamfer 130 is formed in the outer joint member 122 in a structure in which the curvature center of the track groove 127 matches with the joint center O, the effective track length of the track groove 127 of the outer joint member 122 is insufficient. Thus, when a high operating angle θ is formed, the ball 124 drops off the track groove 127, with the result that higher operating angles may not be formed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A material for a semiconductor substrate is composed substantially of tungsten and/or molybdenum mixed with 5-30 wt. % copper, 0.002-0.07 wt. % phosphorus, and 0.1-0.5 wt. % one or two materials selected from among cobalt, nickel, and iron. The material is manufactured by mixing together tungsten powder and/or molybdenum powder of 1 .mu.m in particle size, copper powder of 7 .mu.m in particle size, and small amounts of an iron-group metal and phosphorus or phosphorus compound, molding the mixture at a pressure of 1.0 ton/cm.sup.2, and then, sintering the molded body at a temperature which allows solid and liquid to coexist below the melting point of copper.

As a material for a package for a semiconductor and a heat sink material, a copper-tungsten alloy having a thermal expansion coefficient close to that of semi-conductor and a high thermal conductivity has popularly been used.
Because copper and tungsten are not mutually dissolved into a solid-solution state, the copper-tungsten alloy is manufactured by powder metallurgy. The manufacturing methods based on powder metallurgy are broadly classified into the infiltration method and the powder mixing method. The infiltration method comprises compacting and sintering tungsten powder alone to form a porous tungsten skeleton, and impregnating the resultant skeleton with molten copper. The powder mixing method comprises compacting a powder mixture prepared by mixing copper powder and tungsten powder at a prescribed ratio, and sintering the resulting mixture at a temperature of at least the melting point of copper. While a material having similar properties is available also by using molybdenum or a mixture of tungsten and molybdenum in place of tungsten which is a refractory metal, tungsten is actually employed more often.
However, the infiltration method and the powder mixing method described above have the following problems. First, the infiltration method has drawbacks in that the necessity of the infiltrating step after the sintering step results in a long production line and the swollen copper deposit on the surface after infiltration requires machining of the entire surface, thus resulting in a high manufacturing cost. The powder mixing method has problems in that, because the material is sintered at a temperature higher by 200 to 300.degree. C. than the melting point of copper, copper of a low viscosity in a liquified state excessively exudes onto the surface, resulting in an increase in surface roughness, occurrence of surface irregularities and a decrease in size accuracy. In the case of a stepped product, furthermore, leaching copper accumulates at the step corner which is thus rounded. In the powder mixing method, therefore, machining to the same order as in the infiltration method is required.
The present invention has therefore at object to provide a method of manufacturing a copper-bearing semiconductor substrate material, which solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and which permits alleviation of a finishing operation.

Method of manufacturing a semiconductor substrate material


A multi-function peripheral including: a printing portion; a scanning portion reading an image from a document; a discharge portion disposed between the printing portion and the scanning portion, and loading sheets of print media on which images are formed; and a finisher installed on the discharge portion to post-process the print media, on which the image is formed. The finisher includes: a plurality of fixing units including a first fixing portion disposed on a lower portion of the finisher in order to prevent the finisher from moving upward and a second fixing portion that can rotate so as to prevent the finisher from moving in an attaching direction on the discharge portion.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a multi-function peripheral, and more particularly, to a multi-function peripheral including a finisher performing a post-process such as classification of a discharging document after forming an image thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, image forming apparatuses, such as copying machines, printers, and multi-function peripherals, can include a finisher performing aligning, classifying, stapling, or other post-processes of documents on which images are formed. The finisher is installed on a portion of a main body where the documents are discharged. However, in order to install the finisher on the discharging portion of the main body, a structure of the discharging portion of the main body may be significantly changed, and, if necessary, an upper structure of a scanning portion may be disassembled, or the outer appearance of a conventional discharge tray may be altered. As a result, the process of installing the finisher may be too complex for an ordinary user, and thus, may require a technician.
In particular, in a front input side output (FISO) type multi-function peripheral, when a built-in type finisher is installed, an outer appearance substantially changes and many processes are required to connect the finisher to the main body. Therefore, an external finisher is mainly used.
When the built-in finisher is installed in the multi-function peripheral, many elements connecting the main body and the finisher are complex. Thus, the user may not be able to install the finisher easily.

Multi-function peripheral including finisher


A sheet presser including two pivot shaft portions fixedly disposed substantially coaxially with each other and parallel to a sheet of a document conveyed in a direction; a pressing member mounted on the shaft portions; a biasing member biasing the pressing member around the shaft portions in a direction to press the sheet; the pressing member having two elongate bearing bores each long in a direction substantially perpendicular to a surface of the sheet, which are formed in respective portions which are distant in a lateral direction of the pressing member to bear the shaft portions; and the biasing member biasing the pressing member such that at least one of the shaft portions is held in contact with one end of the bearing bore which is away from the sheet, so that an acute angle formed between the conveyance direction and the pressing member is within a predetermined range.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet presser and an image scanner or a facsimile machine, a copy machine, and a character recognizer, and others.
2. Discussion of Related Art
There is conventionally known a document reader for a copy machine or facsimile machine, for example, which has a contact image sensor (CIS) or line CCD scanner. In the document reader, the CIS or CCD scanner is disposed between a pair of feed rollers for feeding in each sheet of document on which is formed an image to be scanned, and a pair of paper ejection rollers, such that the CIS or CCD scanner is oriented in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the sheet is fed or conveyed. A surface of the sheet conveyed is irradiated by a light and reflects the light and the reflected light is sensed by the CIS or CCD scanner.
To scan the image on the sheet with sharpness, a distance from a focus of an optical system of the CIS or CCD scanner to the surface of the sheet should be held constant, and therefore a sheet pressing member for pressing the sheet onto a scanning portion of the document reader is disposed at an appropriate position.
The sheet pressing member is disposed such that the pressing member is pivotable with respect to a main body of the machine and is biased by a spring member in a direction to be held in contact with a scanning surface of the document reader. Such a document reader is disclosed in JP-A-11-341220.


This water respirator filter will allow the individual who is working in dangerous environments to be able to filter air through a water and solid filtering media. The first stage allows the air to pass through the liquid filtering media, such as water, and then pass through a solid filtering media, such as cotton or cellulose.

A. Field of the Invention
This relates to the filtering of air particularly in areas such as chemical plants, where the concentration of chemicals, fumes or other airborne hazards are present.
B. Prior Art
There are many other prior art references to masks and masks that filter. Representative examples of these include Montalvo, U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,026, Muto U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,080 and Halfpenny U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,033.
In the present application the device uses both a water or liquid filtration media as well as a solid filtration media. None of the prior patents use those particular media combinations. Montalvo does employ the use of water as does Poliniak, U.S. Pat. No. 2,088,720.
The combination liquid filtration media as well as the solid filtration media give it an added filtration quality to the user.
As such the structural differences between the two are significant.


[Object] To realize processing for switching a reproduction state from broadcast data to network data and resuming the reproduction of the original broadcast data.

In recent years, a specification called HBBTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV) in Europe is being discussed. In HBBTV, videos and applications are delivered via transmission media including broadcast and the Internet. Here, the video refers to A/V content data that is to be subjected to reproduction processing by a player of a terminal apparatus, and the application refers to document data, image data, script data, and the like that can be processed by a browser of the terminal apparatus.
In HBBTV, the terminal apparatus acquires a table called AIT (Application Information Table) and manages an application based on control information on a life cycle that is described in the table.
In the AIT, for example, "AUTOSTART", "PRESENT", and "KILL" are described as the control information on a life cycle of an application. "AUTOSTART" means that the terminal apparatus immediately and automatically executes reproduction of an application, "PRESENT" means that the terminal apparatus does not automatically execute the reproduction, and "KILL" means that terminal apparatus stops the reproduction of an application. Based on the control information on a life cycle in the AIT as described above, the terminal apparatus acquires and reproduces an application that has been set to be immediately and automatically reproduced, for example.
Patent Document 1 discloses a technique that uses the AIT as synchronization information of an application program that an information processing apparatus has downloaded.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-94702 (paragraphs [0106]-[0108])

Information processing apparatus, data management method, and program

Abstract: [Solving Means] A browser (241) acquires, via a network, an XML-AIT having a content equivalent to a broadcast AIT defining a life cycle of a broadcast application while a VoD content is reproduced after being switched from the broadcast application. The browser (241) manages the broadcast application based on the XML-AIT and resumes the reception of the broadcast application after the reproduction of the VoD content is ended. With this structure, processing of separating two transport streams at the same time becomes unnecessary, and one demultiplexer (23) only needs to be provided.


There is provided a tampon pledget that expands without the aid of moisture or menses. The tampon pledget has a plurality of high resiliency, non-absorbent fibers and a plurality of absorbent fibers. The tampon pledget has improved comfort as compared to conventional fully compressed tampon pledgets.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved tampon or tampon pledget. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tampon pledget that expands rapidly when ejected from a tampon applicator, without the need for the tampon pledget contacting moisture or menses. Furthermore, the tampon pledget has improved comfort and good absorbency.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Tampon pledgets are typically compressed and set during either manufacture or placement of the pledget in a tampon applicator prior to use. In conventional tampon pledgets, the pledget's fibers will expand significantly upon initial contact with moisture, or menses once placed in a user's body. During expansion, the tampon pledget would conform to the user's body contours. Heretofore, it was thought that the tampon pledget needed to be ejected from the applicator and positioned within the user's body before expansion in order to achieve comfort.
Non-absorbent fibers have been used in a tampon pledget to provide expansion to the pledget. However, such tampon pledgets have not achieved the unexpected comfort of the tampon pledget of the present invention. Frankly, one would not think to improved comfort, and have comparable absorbency and sufficient bypass leakage protection, in a tampon pledget by combining non-absorbent and absorbent fibers. In addition, there has been a lack of appreciation that the correct ratio of non-absorbent fibers to absorbent fibers, including conventional absorbent fibers, provides improved comfort, and absorbency that is as good or better than known tampon pledgets.


A hydraulic control apparatus of an automatic transmission estimates the possibility of there being a demand for a shift into a gear lower than the current gear during a power-off downshift operation. If there is a possibility that there will be a demand for a shift into the next gear during the shift, the hydraulic control apparatus starts an operation for supplying an apply preparation hydraulic pressure in preparation for the shift into that next gear.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a hydraulic control apparatus for performing shift control in an automatic transmission provided in a vehicle or the like. More particularly, the invention relates to a hydraulic control apparatus and a hydraulic control method for an automatic transmission, which suppresses shift shock when a shift operation is performed in the transmission.
2. Description of the Related Art
One type of known transmission that transmits torque and rotation speed generated by the engine to the driving wheels appropriately according to the running state of the vehicle is an automatic transmission which automatically establishes the optimum gear ratio between the engine and the driving wheels.
Two examples of such known automatic transmissions that are used in vehicles are planetary gear type transmissions that establish a gear (hereinafter also referred to as "speed") using a planetary gear set together with clutches and brakes, and belt-type continuously variable transmissions (CVT) that adjust the gear ratio continuously (i.e., in a stepless manner).
In a vehicle provided with a planetary gear type automatic transmission, a shift map having shift lines (i.e., gear shift lines) for establishing the optimum gear according to vehicle speed and accelerator operation amount (or throttle opening amount) is stored in an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) or the like. The ECU calculates a target gear based on the vehicle speed and the accelerator operation amount referencing the shift map, and automatically shifts gears (i.e., speeds) by selectively applying and releasing the clutches and brakes, which are friction apply elements, in a predetermined combination to establish that target gear.
Also, a vehicle provided with this kind of automatic transmission has a shift lever which is operated by a driver. Operating this shift lever enables the automatic transmission to be switched between various ranges or modes, such as a P-range (parking range), an R-range (reverse running range), an N-range (a neutral range), and a D-range (forward running range or drive range). Moreover, in recent years, automatic transmissions with a manual shift function (so-called automatic transmissions with a sequential mode or sequential mode automatic transmissions) have also come into practical use. These transmissions also enable the driver to change gears in the transmission at will by operating the shift lever.
Also, among these kinds of transmissions there are some which perform a so-called coast downshift in which the transmission downshifts according to a preset shift condition with the vehicle speed as a parameter when decelerating while the accelerator is off. The shift control apparatus described in Japanese Patent No. 2917601 is one such example. This shift control apparatus shortens the shift time by performing a "skip shift" in which it downshifts by skipping over a gear or gears when a multiple gear downshift (i.e., a downshift through multiple gears) is necessary, i.e., when a shift into a gear that is two or more gears lower than the current gear (i.e., into a gear with a larger gear ratio) is necessary, when the vehicle is decelerating.
However, depending on the type of downshift, when this skip shift is performed, the release and apply timing of the friction apply elements (i.e., clutches and brakes) of the automatic transmission may be off (i.e., an apply operation or the like may end up being performed before the torque capacity is obtained in the apply-side friction apply element), and as a result, the engine may race and there may be a loss of torque, and shift shock may result.
To avoid this problem, it is desirable to perform a multiple downshift operation, i.e., a downshift operation through multiple gears, by repeatedly downshifting one gear at a time (i.e., an operation referred to as "sequential shifting") as described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-344773 (JP-A-2005-344773).
However, in transmissions that perform this kind of sequential shifting, there is a possibility that the gear suitable for the vehicle speed may not be able to be established in cases such as when the vehicle is decelerating relatively quickly, for example, because the total shift time increases.
More specifically, the shift timing of the downshift in a power-off state (i.e., when the engine is being driven by the driving wheels) is typically set with only the vehicle speed as the parameter, as described above.
Therefore, for example, when a shift signal for a shift into 4th gear has been output based on a shift map but the vehicle has already decelerated below the vehicle speed corresponding to 4th gear in the transmission, the 4→3 shift line on the shift map is crossed such that a shift signal for a shift into 3rd gear is output. At this time, a shift operation is started by the clutches and brakes starting to be released and applied (i.e., by the start of a clutch-to-clutch shift operation) so that 3rd gear will be established in the transmission.
In this case, if the vehicle continues to decelerate relatively rapidly, the 3→2 shift line on the shift map will be crossed before the shift operation into 3rd gear is complete (i.e., while the clutches and brakes are in the middle of being released and applied) such that a shift command for a shift into 2nd gear will be output. Incidentally, because the shift operation into 3rd gear in the transmission is not yet complete, the shift operation into 2nd gear (i.e., the release and apply operations of the clutches and brakes to establish 2nd gear) must wait to be performed until the shift operation into 3rd gear is complete. That is, a shift operation is performed into a higher gear (i.e., a gear with a lower gear ratio) than the gear that is appropriate for the vehicle speed.
In such a situation, the turbine speed (i.e., the input rotation speed of the transmission) is low as a result of the falling vehicle speed so an increased amount of torque multiplication is being produced by the torque converter. During the shift operation into 2nd gear after the shift operation into 3rd gear is complete, the turbine speed increases (races), and it is at this time that the apply operation of the clutches and brakes to establish 2nd gear would be performed. As a result, a phenomenon similar to that of a so-called power-on downshift may occur which produces shift shock that pulls the vehicle forward. In this way, the sequential shifting of the related art leads to a delay of a shift operation into the appropriate gear, as well as a deterioration in drivability from shift shock. These kinds of problems become more evident as the number of gears (i.e., speeds) in automatic transmissions increases. In particular, automatic transmissions in recent years are being made to have more and more gears (i.e., speeds), which makes them increasingly susceptible to these kinds of problems.
Even if an automatic transmission shifts into a lower gear in response to an operation of the shift lever while the vehicle is decelerating (i.e., even if there is a downshift operation in the sequential mode), the foregoing problems when the gear appropriate for the vehicle speed is unable to be established may still occur, just as described above.
Incidentally, the problems with a transmission that performs sequential shifting are not limited to a case in which a shift command to shift into the next gear is output while a shift operation such as that described above is being performed. That is, those problems may also occur with the shift timing (i.e., the timing at which there is a shift demand when a shift operation is not being performed) when the vehicle is in the power-off state (i.e., when the engine is being driven by the driving wheels) and the vehicle is decelerating relatively rapidly.

Hydraulic control apparatus and hydraulic control method for automatic transmission


A setting up operation for connecting a number of speakers can be easily executed by a system in which setups and pattern numbers are stored in a memory. When the user operates an operation input unit and selects an easy setup, a default setting pattern number is read out from the memory and displayed on the display. The user operates encoders by watching display contents on a display. When the pattern number corresponding to his own speaker construction obtained by a chart or the like is displayed, he determines it by a key operation. A microcomputer stores the determined pattern number in a memory and the speaker setup corresponding to the pattern number is read out from a ROM in the microcomputer. Each unit of an acoustic apparatus is controlled on the basis of the read-out speaker setup, thereby performing the speaker setup. The user can perform the speaker setup merely by inputting the pattern number using the encoders.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a setting method and an acoustic apparatus, in which when a number of speakers for constructing a sound field are connected, an acoustic setup for the speakers which are connected can be easily made.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Hitherto, for example, in a movie theater or the like, in order to provide a three-dimensional sound field to the listener, what is called a surround system in which speakers are arranged not only in the front right and left positions of the listener but also in the front center position and the rear right and left positions of the listener and, further, a sub woofer for exclusively reproducing a mid-bass sound is arranged has been used. In the case of such a speaker layout, since a band width of a signal which is supplied to the sub woofer is almost equal to 1/10 of that of each of signals which are supplied to the other speakers, such a surround system is called "5.1ch surround" (abbreviated to "5.1ch") or the like.
In recent years, in association with the realization of a large display screen of a display apparatus, the realization of high picture quality of a video reproducing system, the realization of broadcasting by multichannel audio sounds such as BS (Broadcasting Satellite) digital broadcasting, or the like, such a multichannel surround system has been also used at home. In the case of realizing the multichannel surround system at home, what is called an AV (Audio Video) acoustic apparatus (an AV amplifier, an AV receiver obtained by providing a tuner function for the AV amplifier, or the like) which is constructed by providing multichannel speaker outputs for one audio amplifier and corresponds to inputs of multichannel audio signals is frequently used.
Such a technique that when audio sounds are reproduced in multichannel like BS digital broadcasting, the user is visually notified of an audio mode in which sounds are at present being reproduced has been disclosed in JP-A-2002-221928.
When an AV acoustic apparatus having such a multichannel reproducing function as mentioned above is used, a speaker setup is certainly necessary as initial setting. As a multichannel reproducing system which is generally used, the foregoing 5.1ch surround system exists. This is mainly because an audio format of a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) video is a 5.1ch surround format. In the 5.1ch surround system, six speakers comprising left and right front speakers (referred to as FL and FR), a center speaker (referred to as C), left and right surround speakers (referred to as SL and SR), and a sub woofer (referred to as SW) are used. Ordinarily, for the listener, the speakers FL and FR are arranged in the front left and right positions, the speaker C is arranged in the front center position, the surround speakers SL and SR are arranged in the left and right positions or the rear left and right positions, and the speaker SW is arranged in an arbitrary position, respectively.
In recent years, there is also an AV acoustic apparatus corresponding, by the standards, to a surround back speaker (referred to as SB) for reproduction of 6.1ch such as "DOLBY DIGITAL EX" (registered trademark), "dts-ES" (registered trademark), or the like. Further, an AV acoustic apparatus corresponding to a system of 7.1ch in which two surround back speakers (referred to as SBL and SBR) are arranged in the rear left and right positions of the listener or a system of 9.1ch in which four surround speakers (referred to as SL1, SL2, SR1, and SR2) are arranged, or the like also exists.
When an AV acoustic apparatus in which a number of speakers are connected in accordance with each application and sounds are reproduced as mentioned above is used, the user needs to perform a setup for the speakers which are connected. Such a speaker setup is performed every channel of the speakers which are connected to the AV acoustic apparatus with respect to items such as presence/absence, large/small (whether the speaker is used for full-range reproduction or mid-high band reproduction), and the like of the speakers which are connected. If necessary, a sound volume and a sound quality balance of each speaker in the AV acoustic apparatus, delay time of an audio signal output for constructing a surround environment, and the like are set. Therefore, if such a setup is not performed in accordance with a construction of the speakers which have actually been arranged, the optimum multichannel reproducing environment cannot be constructed.
However, the above speaker setup has such a problem that since a state is determined every arranged speaker, a number of items have to be set one by one and it is very troublesome to the user.
As the number of channels increases like 2ch<5.1ch<6.1ch<7.1ch<9.1ch, the number of items and patterns to be set also increase. Such a setting operation is difficult for the user in a manner similar to the connection of the speakers and other apparatuses, or the like. There is also such a problem that since a user interface is ordinarily limited for the AV acoustic apparatus, in the case of setting a number of items as mentioned above, the setting operation often becomes complicated and cannot be easily executed by everyone.

Acoustic apparatus and acoustic setting method


In a DPLL circuit used in a receiver for radio data communication employing the GMSK modulation system, a data latch circuit 23 and subtractor 24 find the phase information difference for each symbol from the incoming phase data. A modulation component removal circuit 25 removes the modulation component from the phase information difference. A frequency error calculating circuit 26 integrates the phase information difference over an interval of n symbols, multiplies this integrated value by 1/n, and takes the result as the mean frequency error value for the interval of n symbols, and then outputs this to loop filter 32. A phase error calculating circuit 27 further integrates over an interval of n symbols the integrated value from the frequency error calculating circuit, and multiplies the result by 2/n. Adder 28 adds an initial phase latched by a data latch circuit 22 to the output of the phase error calculating circuit, and outputs the result to NCO 33 as the phase error value. Operation of loop unit 36 is commenced with a timing that is preset by the mean frequency error value and phase error value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital PLL circuit, and more particularly relates to a method of initial setting of a digital PLL circuit employed in digital communication using for example GMSK (Gausian filtered Minimum Shift Keying).
2. Description of the Related Art
In multi-directional communication systems in which communication is performed in bursts, systems using PSK (Phase Shift Keying) modulation are common. In such PSK systems, drift of the frequency of the carrier wave (i.e. frequency offset) produces phase demodulation distortion, which severely impacts the symbol error rate characteristic. A device is therefore necessary to automatically compensate for the amount of phase rotation produced by frequency offset.
A receiver having means for removing the effect of frequency offset, such as phase synchronization detection devices etc. have been proposed including phase-locked loop (PLL) type devices. In these devices, the frequency of oscillation of a phase-locked oscillator is made to automatically track the input frequency by regenerating the carrier wave and performing phase comparison between the regenerated wave and the input wave. The relationship of input signal to noise ratio, and error rate in such a synchronized detection device is said to be superior to that of differential detection.
A type of PLL type phase-locked detection devices that has recently attracted attention is the digital PLL (DPLL). This is due to the characteristic features of a digital PLL, namely that, compared with an analog PLL, it has a larger capture range, is less effected by oscillations of the input signal, and can easily be implemented as an integrated circuit IC.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a prior art DPLL circuit. This DPLL circuit is called a phase calculation signal processing type DPLL, and is constituted of an angle calculation circuit 111 that finds the phase angle .theta. of the signal from the in-phase component (I) and quadrature component (Q) from a sub-synchronous detection unit (not shown), a subtractor 112 adapted to function as a phase comparison circuit, a phase adjustment circuit (MOD) 113, a loop filter 114, and a numerically controlled oscillator (NCO) 115. Further characteristic advantages of this DPLL, circuit are that it has excellent noise characteristics and synchronization characteristics, and enables high carrier frequencies to be used. Such a DPLL circuit is described in "Examples of design of PLL control circuits" edited by M. Hata, published on 18 Dec. 1987.
Although such a digital PLL is superior to an analog PLL in many respects, it does have the drawback that it requires a lock-in time usually corresponding to a few tens of symbols. Various proposals have been made to reduce this lock-in time of a digital PLL.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. SHO 64-48519 entiled "DPLL circuit whose lock-in time can be automatically controlled" discloses a circuit, as shown in FIG. 2. It may be noted that the DPLL circuit of FIG. 2 differs from the DPLL circuit of FIG. 1 in that it represents a direct conversion of the analog PLL circuit form into a signal processing form.
In the DPLL circuit of FIG. 2, apart from the phase comparator 121 that compares the phases of the input timing signal and the reference clock, there is provided a phase difference detector 122 that detects the phase difference of these two signals. Reduction in the lock-in time is achieved by adjusting the rate by adding pulses to the pulse train from fixed oscillator 123 or removing pulses from this pulse train, in accordance with the phase difference detected by phase difference detector 122.
In more detail, the DPLL circuit shown in FIG. 2 comprises a phase comparator 121, phase difference detector 122, fixed oscillator 123, sequential loop filter 124, pulse addition or removal accelerator 125, pulse addition or removal circuit 126, and frequency divider 127.
Phase comparator 121 compares the phase of the timing signal that is received as input and the reference clock obtained by feedback. Binary quantization to -1 or +1 of the phase lead/lag with respect to the timing signal of the reference clock is then performed in each cycle of the carrier wave.
In accordance with the output of phase comparator 121, sequential loop filter 124 outputs a +1 pulse in a prescribed period whilst the reference clock lags the input timing signal and outputs a -1 pulse in a prescribed period whilst the reference clock leads the input timing signal.
Phase difference detector 122 detects the phase difference between the input timing signal and the reference clock. It then outputs a gate control signal corresponding to the detected phase difference to pulse addition or removal accelerator 125.
Pulse addition or removal accelerator 125 turns a gate on or off in response to a gate control signal from phase difference detector 122 to control the number of pulses from sequential loop filter 124. That is, pulse addition or removal accelerator 125 outputs all or some of the input pulses to pulse addition or removal circuit 126 depending on the gate control signal.
Pulse addition or removal circuit 126 receives pulses that are input from pulse addition or removal accelerator 125 and, in the case of +1 pulses, adds pulses of a number corresponding to the number of these pulses to the pulse train that is input from fixed oscillator 123. And in the case of -1 pulses, it removes pulses of a number corresponding to the number of these pulses from the pulse train that is input from fixed oscillator 123. The new pulse train that is thus obtained is then subjected to frequency division by frequency divider 127 and output as the reference clock.
Thus, in the DPLL circuit of FIG. 2, shortening of the lock-in time can be achieved if, when the phase difference between the timing signal and the reference clock is large, the number of pulses added or removed is made larger (i.e. if the frequency of operation is raised). Also, by raising the frequency of operation, jitter can be reduced.
A first problem with the conventional DPLL circuit is that attempts to shorten the lock-in time result in excessive increase in the size of the circuit.
The reason for this is that two phase comparators are necessary and, furthermore, a circuit such as a pulse addition or removal accelerator is required.
A second problem of the conventional DPLL circuit is that overshoot of the output phase of the phase comparator cannot be suppressed, so considerable time is required for lock-in.
The reason for this is that setting of the initial values etc. is not performed in the initial lock-in period.

Digital PLL circuit and actuating method


TAB1 protein having activity which activates factor TAK1 in the TGF-β signaling pathway, and having the amino acid sequence shown in FIG. 1.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to TAB1 protein which forms a part of the signal-transduction pathway of Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGFβ), and to a gene coding therefor.
2. Related Art
TGF-β is a multifunctional factor which regulates various cellular functions. As one of those functions, TGF-β is responsible for the repair and reproduction of tissues with various types of injury.
Abnormal production of TGF-β in cases of chronic injury sometimes results in an imbalance between the repair and the reproduction of tissues and thus pathological fibrosis. Hepatic fibrosis is known as one condition resulting from an imbalance in TGF-β production. In the liver, TGF-β accelerates production of extracellular matrix proteins which are responsible for fibrosis, while inhibiting synthesis of extracellular matrix protein catabolic enzymes and inducing catabolic enzyme inhibitors, and it thus acts as a major causative factor of hepatic fibrosis.
One of known members of signal-transduction pathway belonging to the TGF-β superfamily is the Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinase Kinase (MAPKKK) system.
The MAPK pathway is a conserved eukaryotic signal-transduction pathway which converts receptor signals into various functions, and the system comprises 3 different protein kinases, specifically MAPKKK mentioned above, MAPKK and MAPK, with MAPK being activated through phosphorylation by MAPKK, and MAPKK in turn being activated by MAPKKK (E. Nishida et al., Trends Biochem. Sci. Vol. 18, p. 128 (1993); K. J. Blumer et al, op. cit. Vol. 19, p. 236 (1994); R. J. David, op. cit. Vol. 19, p. 470 (1994); C. J. Marchall, Cell, Vol. 80, p. 179 (1995)).
TAK1, which is a member of the MAPKKK family which functions in signal-transduction pathways belonging to the TGF-β superfamily, has been identified by K. Yamaguchi (K. Yamaguchi et al., Science, Vol. 270, p. 2008 (1995)).
TGF-β transduces signal through a heteromeric complex of type I and type II TGF-β receptors, which are transmembrane proteins comprising cytoplasmic serine- and threonine-specific kinase domains (J. L. Wrana et al., Nature, Vol. 370, p. 341 (1994); D. M. Kingsley et al.,. Genes Dev., Vol. 8, p. 133 (1994)). However, little is known at the molecular level about the signal-transduction mechanism downstream from the TGF-β receptors.


A rechargeable battery including an electrode assembly, a case configured to receive the electrode assembly, a cap plate configured to be coupled to an opening of the case and comprising a fixing groove, and an insulation case between the cap plate and the electrode assembly and including a fixing protrusion configured to be inserted into the fixing groove.

1. Field
The described technology relates generally to a rechargeable battery. Particularly, the described technology relates to a rechargeable battery including a cap plate and an insulation case with an improved combination structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
The rechargeable battery repeatedly performs charging and discharging, unlike the primary battery. A low-capacity rechargeable battery is used in small and portable electronic devices, such as a mobile phone, a laptop computer, and a camcorder; and a high-capacity rechargeable battery is used as a power source for driving a motor in an electric bicycle, a scooter, an electric vehicle, and a fork lift.
A rechargeable battery includes an electrode assembly formed by spirally winding a positive electrode and a negative electrode stacked with a separator interposed therebetween in a jellyroll form, a case configured to receive the electrode assembly and an electrolyte solution, a cap plate configured to seal an opening at the top of the case, an electrode terminal installed in the cap plate and electrically coupled to the electrode assembly, and an insulation case located between the electrode assembly and the cap plate.
Further, the electrode assembly includes a positive lead tab connected to the positive electrode and a negative lead tab connected to the negative electrode.
The positive lead tab and the negative lead tab of the electrode assembly are passed through the insulation case and are coupled to the cap plate and the electrode terminal, respectively. Further, a space between the electrode terminal and the cap plate is insulated with an insulation member.
Therefore, a space for installing the positive lead tab, the negative lead tab, the electrode terminal, and the insulation member is needed between the cap plate and the insulation case.
Further, the electrolyte solution is supplied to the case through an electrolyte injection opening that is formed in the cap plate for sealing the opening of the case.
In this instance, the electrolyte solution is passed through the space in which the positive lead tab, the negative lead tab, the electrode terminal, and the insulation member are installed between the cap plate and the insulation case. The electrolyte solution is further passed through the electrolyte solution hole in which the insulation case is formed, and is then supplied inside the case in which the electrode assembly is installed.
Therefore, a time for supplying the electrolyte solution to the electrode assembly may be prolonged and the electrode assembly may be insufficiently impregnated by the electrolyte solution.
Also, as the space in which the positive lead tab, the negative lead tab, the electrode terminal, and the insulation member are installed becomes larger, the size of the electrode assembly is reduced, thereby restricting the capacity of the rechargeable battery.
The above information is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the described technology and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) can be delivered systemically in therapeutically or prophylactically effective amounts by pulmonary administration using a variety of pulmonary delivery devices, including nebulizers, metered dose inhalers and powder inhalers. Aerosol administration in accordance with this invention results in significant elevation of the neutrophil levels that compares favorably with delivery by subcutaneous injection. G-CSF can be administered in this manner to medically treat neutropenia, as well as to combat or prevent infections.

G-CSF is a hormone-like glycoprotein which regulates hematopoiesis and is required for the clonal growth and maturation of normal hematopoietic precursor cells found in the bone marrow; Welte et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., Vol. 82, pp. 1526-1530 (1985). More specifically, G-CSF, when present in low concentrations, is known to stimulate the production of neutrophil granulocytic colonies when used in vitro G-CSF is also known to enhance neutrophil migration; Gabrilove, J., Seminars in Hematology, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 1-4 (1989). Moreover, G-CSF can significantly increase the ability of neutrophils to kill tumor cells in vitro through antibody mediated cellular cytotoxicity; Souza et al., Science, Vol. 232, pp. 61-65 (1986).
In humans, endogenous G-CSF is detectable in blood plasma; Jones et al., Bailliere's Clinical Hematology, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp.83-111. G-CSF is produced by fibroblasts, macrophages, T cells, trophoblasts, endothelial cells and epithelial cells and is the expression product of a single copy gene comprised of four exons and five introns located on chromosome seventeen. Transcription of this locus produces a mRNA species which is differentially processed, resulting in the expression of two forms of G-CSF, one version having a mature length of 177 amino acids, the other having a mature length of 174 amino acids. The form comprised of 174 amino acids has been found to have the greatest specific in vivo biological activity. G-CSF is species cross-reactive, such that when human G-CSF is administered to another mammal such as a mouse, canine or monkey, sustained neutrophil leukocytosis is elicited; Moore et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., Vol. 84, pp. 7134-7138 (1987).
Human G-CSF can be obtained and purified from a number of sources. Natural human G-CSF (nhG-CSF) can be isolated from the supernatants of cultured human tumor cell lines. The development of recombinant DNA technology, see, for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,643 (Souza), incorporated herein by reference, has enabled the production of commercial scale quantities of G-CSF in glycosylated form as a product of eukaryotic host cell expression, and of G-CSF in non-glycosylated form as a product of prokaryotic host cell expression.
G-CSF has been found to be useful in the treatment of cancer, as a means of stimulating neutrophil production to compensate for hematopoietic deficits resulting from chemotherapy or radiation therapy. The effective use of G-CSF as a therapeutic agent requires that patients be administered systemic doses of the protein. Currently, parenteral administration via intravenous, intramuscular or subcutaneous injection is the preferred route of administration to humans and has heretofore appeared to be the only practical way to deliver therapeutically significant amounts of G-CSF to the bloodstream, although attempts have been made at oral delivery; see, for example, Takada et al., Chem. Pharm. Bull., Vol. 37, No. 3, pp. 838-839 (1989).
The pulmonary delivery of relatively large molecules is not unknown, although there are only a few examples which have been quantitatively substantiated. Leuprolide acetate is a nonapeptide with luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist activity having low oral availability. Studies with animals indicate that inhalation of an aerosol formulation of leuprolide acetate results in meaningful levels in the blood; Adjei et al., Pharmaceutical Research, Vol. 7, No. 6, pp. 565-569 (1990); Adjei et al., InternationaI Journal of Pharmaceutics, Vol. 63, pp. 135-144 (1990).
Endothelin-1 (ET-1), a 21 amino acid vasoconstrictor peptide produced by endothelial cells, has been found to decrease arterial blood pressure when administered by aerosol to guinea pigs; Braquet et al., Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Vol. 13, suppl. 5, s. 143-146 (1989).
The feasibility of delivering human plasma .alpha.1-antitrypsin to the pulmonary system using aerosol administration, with some of the drug gaining access to the systemic circulation, is reported by Hubbard et al., Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. III, No. 3, pp. 206-212(1989).
Pulmonary administration of alpha-1-proteinase inhibitor to dogs and sheep has been found to result in passage of some of that substance into the bloodstream; Smith et al., J. Clin. Invest., Vol. 84, pp. 1145-1146 (1989).
Experiments with test animals have shown that recombinant human growth hormone, when delivered by aerosol, is rapidly absorbed from the lung and produces faster growth comparable to that seen with subcutaneous injection; Oswein et al., "Aerosolization of Proteins", Proceedings of Symposium on Respiratory Drug Delivery II, Keystone, Colo., March, 1990. Recombinant versions of the cytokines gamma interferon (IFN-.gamma.) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-.alpha.) have also been observed in the bloodstream after aerosol administration to the lung; Debs et al., The Journal of Immunology, Vol. 140, pp. 3482-3488 (1988).

Pulmonary administration of granulocyte colony stimulating factor


A pillow is described herein. The pillow including an upper section, a lower section, and an interconnecting section that interconnects the upper section to the lower section such that a user in a first position can interpose the upper section between his or her arms and can interpose the lower section between his or her legs while his or her legs are bent at the hip at substantially a right angle. Also, the upper section, the lower section and the interconnecting section are dimensioned such that the interconnecting section separates the lower section from the upper section a distance sufficient to space the lower section from the user's crotch when the user is in the first position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a body pillow. More specifically, the present invention relates to body pillow shaped to substantially support and cushion a user lying on the user's side with his or her knees bent and can alternatively support a user's back when the user rests in a sitting position.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many people prefer to sleep laying on their side with their head slightly forward, their arms and legs bent in front of them at the shoulders and hips, and their knees bent, this position sometimes being referred to as the "fetal position." Many doctors and sleep experts believe this is a favorable position because it allows a person's muscles to relax. Also, many people simply find it a comfortable sleeping position.
The fetal position also relieves pressure from a person's spine allowing their back to relax more than other positions. Many people, including many doctors, believe it is ideal to have their legs held apart while sleeping such that a person's leg bones are generally parallel to each other with their feet approximately shoulder-width apart. To state it differently, this leg position is similar to the manner in which a person's legs appear when sitting with proper posture in a chair.
Pillows or other objects are needed, however, to support and position a person's body in the fetal position. One or more pillows placed beneath a person's head can support the head, allowing neck and shoulder muscles to fully relax. Also, another pillow placed between a person's knees can support a person's legs, allowing the hip and thigh muscles to fully relax, while at the same time cushioning the relatively hard, boney regions of the knees. Similarly, a pillow positioned between a user's ankles can support the ankles and cushion the boney regions of the ankles.
Additionally, many people generally find the fetal position to be the most comfortable and natural sleeping position. Often, two people sleeping together will both sleep in the fetal position, lying closely together and facing the same direction. This position is sometimes referred to as "spooning" and often gives people a sense of togetherness and security, as well as comfort. Sometimes people sleeping alone will sleep in the fetal position and clutch an extra pillow between their arms and chest, in some ways simulating the act of spooning.
One problem with using a traditional pillow to support the knees and/or ankles in such a position is traditional pillows are rectangular and cannot account for areas a person does not want support. In particular, a traditional pillow placed between a person's thighs often has the undesirable result of one corner of the pillow contacting a person's crotch which can be uncomfortable. Moreover, grasping a traditional pillow to a person's torso often results in the pillow being positioned in the person's crotch such that the width of the pillow is positioned between the crotch and knees. In this orientation, often the person's knees are not separated by the pillow which can be a less comfortable position for the person.
Further, today's pillows are typically suitable for supporting only one particular body part. For example, standard pillows on the market today support the head, but cannot support the legs and head at the same time. People instead often employ multiple individual pillows to support the head, knees, ankles, and other specific body parts. Thus, many people require an excess of pillows, each of which is typically purchased individually and requires an individual pillow case, totaling a significant cost.
It is therefore believed that a need exists for a pillow that substantially supports a person's body as they lie in the fetal position and allows the muscles to naturally relax, allows desirable spacing at a person's crotch region, and can also simulating the act of spooning by providing a cushion for the user to grasp.


A front end loader attachment with a deck of exaggerated length, low height, and narrow width which remains constant in proportion from the front to the back. The attachment has a backplate that has a tool engagement comprising a mechanical quick coupler that facilitates fast and convenient removal of the attachment that conforms to the articulating arms of the skid steer loader or other such front loading handling equipment. The attachment is designed to be used in inaccessible places due to limitations or safety reasons such as conveyor systems in mining operations.

1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to construction equipment and more particularly to front end loader attachments.
2. Background Art
The present invention is an elongated bucket type attachment that is used to remove material or debris from narrow, low or other hard to reach places. In addition, the present invention is designed to be used in inaccessible places because of space limitations or safety reasons. For instance, conveyor systems in mining operations are difficult to clean up from debris falling off the conveyor system. Typically, the system must be shut down to allow laborers to shovel the debris into piles, which are then removed by a loader.
A typical loader attachment is used for digging and carrying a load to a predetermined location or for moving a load form one location to another. The loader attachment is typically a scoop or bucket and can be of various sizes. A typical loader device of this type is described in U.S. Pat. No, 3,935,953. In addition, there are several other types of attachments for specialized uses.
Some of the prior art patents for the aforementioned specialized purposes are described below.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,418 describes a hydraulic loader attachment for removing and transporting trees, bushes or other plants. It consists of a digging attachment with a concave scoop.
U.S. Pat. No. 684,911 teaches a load and carry apparatus for removing coal or ore from low veins and dumping the material onto a truck or rail car. The device is self contained and is made up of several complex moving parts to dig into the material, move the entire bucket portion onto the center of the carriage where the carriage device is moved to a loading station and the bucket portion lifted to dump the material.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,914,884 describes a hydraulic shovel scoop. This device is specifically designed for digging purposes only.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,440,765 is a power loader device with increased leverage for lifting a load with the bucket device.
None of these prior art devices provide an apparatus or method of cleaning or removing debris from around conveyors or other moving machinery using an exaggerated length loading attachment, thus keeping workers at a safe distance from dangerous conditions.


A coupling element including a body for fastening to a support and a coupling member fitted with a closure valve member and mounted in the body such that the member can pivot, a sealing gasket is disposed between the body and the coupling member and the element also includes a spring which exerts a resilient force on a flange portion of the coupling member, which force is directed towards the rear of the coupling element and is suitable for pressing a first surface of the coupling element against a surface of the body, and the coupling member is provided with a second surface for bearing against an axial abutment in the event of the coupling member moves towards a front of the coupling element relative to the body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a quick coupling element for releasably connecting together two pipes. Such a male or female element is designed to be coupled to a complementary female or male element in order to put two pipes of fluid under pressure into communication. The invention also relates to a quick coupling including, amongst other elements, such a coupling element.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, the male and female elements of a quick coupling are coupled together by aligning a longitudinal axis of the male element on a longitudinal axis of the female element. In certain applications, these male or female elements are mounted on plates that are moved by robots. This applies in particular in applications for circulating cooling fluid, e.g. in the field of molding parts out of plastics material. Such a technique can also be used for coupling pipes together under water. It can happen that the longitudinal axes of the two elements of a coupling that are to be coupled together are laterally offset relative to each other. To mitigate that difficulty, it is known, e.g. from US 2005 164538, to use a coupling element that is mounted to pivot relative to a body, thereby enabling leaktight coupling to be obtained in spite of not being in alignment.
In certain couplings with a pivoting coupling member, the axial position of the coupling member in the corresponding body depends on the fluid pressure present in an upstream pipe connected to the coupling element, with a sealing gasket serving solely to bring the coupling element towards a middle position on uncoupling. While a male element is being coupled in a female element, torque is generated by friction, with such friction-generated torque increasing with increasing pressure of the fluid present in the pipes connected to the coupling element that includes the coupling member, said torque opposing pivoting of the coupling member. This friction torque is exerted via a contact zone between the coupling member and the body of the coupling element, which contact zone is formed on the front of the coupling member, i.e. on a portion of said member that faces towards the other coupling element. The friction force is thus exerted at an axial distance from the hinge point between the coupling member and the body, which distance is relatively long, such that the friction force exerts a considerable opposing torque. Thus, in the event of non-alignment between the end of the male element of a coupling and the female element a high level of torque needs to be exerted in order to enable the coupling member to pivot and coupling to take placed with the complementary female element, thereby leading to premature wear on the entry surface of the female element and on the peripheral surface of the male element. The reliability and the lifetime of the coupling are thus decreased. Furthermore, this limits the amount of misalignment that the quick coupling including such a prior art coupling is capable of accommodating.

Quick coupling element and a quick coupling including such an element


An attachment structure for a load-bearing fabric including an expandable carrier secured to an un-stretched load-bearing fabric. To attach the carrier to a support frame, the carrier and fabric are stretched together to desired shape and secured to the frame. An indexing system registers the carrier and frame and optionally stretches the fabric a predetermined amount. The present invention also provides a lip that flexes in one direction and maintains the fabric in a stretched condition in another. A tool that joins the carrier and frame generally includes a drive roller and a primary roller adapted to move toward one another and join a carrier and the support frame disposed therebetween. The tool may include alignment rollers near the primary and drive rollers to track along and align the carrier and frame.

The present invention relates to load-bearing fabric, and more particularly to components, tools and methods for securing a load-bearing fabric to a support structure.
The use of load-bearing fabrics continues to grow dramatically in various industries, including the automotive, office and home seating industries. The term "load-bearing fabric" is commonly used to refer to a class of high strength, highly durable textiles that are typically woven from elastomeric monofilaments and conventional yarns. Some of today's load-bearing fabrics have greater strength and durability characteristics than spring steel and other conventional load bearing materials. In addition to their strength and durability characteristics, load-bearing fabrics are lightweight and typically have a high modulus of elasticity. Therefore, they are well-suited for use in a variety of applications where a strong and durable yet lightweight or elastic load bearing surface is desired, for example, in seating, cots and wheelchair applications. Further, because load-bearing fabrics are aesthetically pleasing they can and often are exposed during use, for example, as the seat or back of an office chair. This eliminates the need to cover or trim conventional load bearing surfaces.
One particularly important challenge related to the use of load-bearing fabric is attaching the fabric to the support structure. Although load-bearing fabrics have high strength and durability characteristics, they must be properly attached to the support structure to provide an end product with the desired strength and durability. Conventional attachment methods often fail to provide the necessary strength and durability to withstand the forces applied to the fabric. As a result, the fabric separates from the support structure under conditions that the fabric is otherwise well-suited to survive. In some applications, the bond itself may fail and in other applications, the method of attachment may cause the fabric to unravel or separate along the periphery of the fabric. Accordingly, there is an ongoing effort to develop new and improved methods and components for securing the load-bearing fabric to the support structure.
Perhaps the most common use of load-bearing fabric is in the furniture industry, where load-bearing fabrics are used to form the seat and back of task seating, executive chairs and other office chairs. In the furniture industry, load-bearing fabrics are typically secured to a support structure by a carrier, often in the form of a peripheral frame. The fabric is first attached to the carrier and then the carrier is attached to the support structure, such as the seat frame or back frame. In such applications, the challenge is to secure the carrier in a way that provides a strong and durable bond without damaging or promoting unraveling of the fabric. One conventional method for addressing these issues is to secure the load-bearing fabric to a carrier through encapsulation. In general, encapsulation involves the molding of a carrier in situ about the peripheral edge of the fabric. During the molding process, the material of the carrier flows through and becomes intimately intersecured with the fabric. The carrier is then secured to the support structure using fasteners or other conventional techniques and apparatus.
Although encapsulation provides a strong and durable bond, it suffers from a number of disadvantages. To provide the chair with a firm seat and back, the fabric must typically be tightly stretched over the chair and back frames. The conventional method for providing the fabric with the desired amount of stretch is to hold the fabric in a stretched position while the carrier is molded in place about the fabric. This operation involves the use of expensive looms and stretching machinery. The stretching machinery stretches the fabric to the desired position. The stretched fabric is then mounted to the loom, which holds the fabric in the stretched position during the molding process. It may also be necessary to provide molding equipment that is specially configured to operate while the stretched fabric is held by the loom. Further, when the molded carrier and fabric emerge from the mold, the force of the stretched fabric can cause the carrier to deform, for example, to bow or "potato chip." This creates the need to return the carrier to the desired shape, typically using additional machinery, prior to attachment to the support structure. As can be seen, encapsulation requires a relatively complex manufacturing process that employs expensive looms and stretching machinery.

Carrier and attachment method for load-bearing fabric


Disclosed are methods and compositions for the recombinant preparation of Trichomonas vaginalis proteins and peptides, including recombinant DNA segments encoding such proteins or peptides. In particular, techniques are disclosed for the preparation of recombinant clones which comprise T. vaginalis DNA segments encoding proteins or peptides which are expressed essentially only in Type I or Type II isolates, such as protein P55, a protein which is uniquely expressed in Type II isolates. Additionally, techniques for the preparation of proteins or peptides encoding epitopes of protein P270 are disclosed, as well as a detailed characterization of the P270 protein based on the characterization of a recombinant clone encoding the epitope of the parent protein. The invention further discloses the fact that a protein, termed P230, is the immunodominant surface protein in which vaginal antibody is elicited in vaginitis associated with T. vaginalis infections, as well as techniques for preparing recombinant clones encoding such a protein. Associated aspects involve the application of immunological or hybridization based techniques involving one or more of the foregoing compositions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to genetic compositions and recombinant methodology from the preparation of Trichomonas vaginalis proteins and peptides, useful, e.g., in the detection, identification and characterization of Trichomonas vaginalis organisms, as well as in the development of vaccines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Trichomonas vaginalis remains one of the most poorly investigated infectious agents; yet it is the most prominent parasite causing an illness in developed countries. In all world societies trichomoniasis causes an economic and emotional burden equal to other devastating pathogens of microbial etiology.
Trichomoniasis is a non-self-limiting, gender-discriminating disease of women. Infection of men with T. vaginalis will mostly be asymptomatic and self-limiting. A major problem with this disease is the broad spectrum of symptomatology, ranging from asymptomatic carriers who are reservoirs for the parasite to patients with a foul-smelling bloody discharge, severe inflammation and discomfort. For reasons not known at present, asymptomatic women can become highly symptomatic, and host or parasite factors which help explain the susceptibility or resistance to T. vaginalis infection and/or trichomoniasis remain undefined.
The Trichomonas vaginalis parasite is a flagellated protozoan responsible for a world-wide sexually transmitted disease (Ackers, 1982; Honigberg, 1978; Krieger, 1981; Muller, 1983; Rein and Chapel, 1975). Yearly estimates of numbers of patients with trichomoniasis in the United States alone range from 4 million to as high as 10 million. Unfortunately, it is estimated that fifty percent of all patients will go undiagnosed using the standard procedure of visualization of wet-mount preparations (Spence et al., 1980). Alternative diagnostic methods, such as culturing of the parasite from vaginal swabs, are expensive, time consuming, and not readily available.
The differentiation among trichomonal isolates, based on pathogenicity levels inherent to individual isolates, have not been satisfactorily established (Krieger et al., 1990), even using rodent animal models (Honigberg et al., 1966) which do not mirror the human infection. This absence of an animal model remains a major impediment toward studying the extent and nature of sequelae caused by T. vaginalis parasitism. Recently, epidemiologic evidence points toward a possible predisposition of certain women with trichomoniasis for HIV infection (Laga et al., 1989; Laga et al., 1990). Finally, although nitroimidazoles used to treat trichomoniasis in humans are extremely efficacious, the drugs have toxic side-effects, and drug refractoriness by trichomonal isolates has been documented (Muller et al., 1980).
Independent investigations have demonstrated a dramatic variation in the antigenic structure of T. vaginalis isolated form patients (Krieger et al., 1985; Su-Lin et al., 1983; Teras, 1960). It has more recently been appreciated that the surface disposition of a repertoire of high molecular weight prominent immunogens may be responsible for some of this antigenic diversity (Alderete et al., 1985b; Alderete et al., 1986a; Alderete et al., 1987a). Through the application of immunological techniques, sera from patients with trichomoniasis have been classified as either Type I or Type II, depending on the presence or absence of various immunologic reactivities (Alderete et al., 1987b). For example, differential receptivity with an immunogen having a M.sub.r of .about.270 (P270) is one means of distinguishing Type I and Type II isolates, with Type I isolates being a homogeneous population lacking P270 expression or their surface (Alderete et al., 1986c; Alderete et al., 1986d). So-called Type II isolates generally comprise a heterogeneous population with regard to surface expression of the P270 immunogen (Alderete 1987b).
Indirect immunofluorescence using the pooled patient sera demonstrated the heterogeneous nature of parental trichomonal populations (Alderete 1985b). Those isolates, which gave strong reactions by the whole cell-radioimmunoprecipitation assay (Alderete 1983b) mentioned above, were comprised of subpopulations of parasites in which some were fluorescent and some were non-fluorescent with the patient sera (Alderete et al., 1985b; Alderete 1987a). This earlier work also revealed the fascinating aspect of changing proportions of fluorescent and non-fluorescent parasites during in vitro cultivation, and this now required clarification.
The generation of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) reactive to T. vaginalis surfaces was fortuitous, since one MAb (C20A3) gave cytofluorometric patterns among the various trichomonal isolates identical to those detected with the pooled sera from patients (Alderete et al., 1985b; 1986d; and 1987a). This MAb was a key reagent for confirming the property of protein phenotypic variation based on the surface expression of immunogens (Alderete et al., 1986c and 1987b), and the existence of two types of parental populations of T. vaginalis parasitizing humans was further demonstrated (Alderete et al., 1986c; 1986d; Alderete et al., 1987b).
Type I isolates are trichomonads that synthesize but do not undergo phenotypic variation for the surface expression of the immunogens. At the present time approximately 40% of women appear infected with Type I isolates. Type II isolates, then, are trichomonads capable of phenotypic variation. It is noteworthy that only 1/3 of women with Type II isolates harbor both fluorescent and non-fluorescent trichomonads in the vagina, but the numbers of fluorescent trichomonads are small in comparison to MAb non-fluorescent parasites (Alderete et al., 1987b). In other words, the in vivo environment apparently favors or selects for T. vaginalis organisms lacking the expression of the surface immunogen repertoire although upon in vitro cultivation the parasites readily revert to the opposite phenotype. This property was also in part experimentally demonstrated by showing the isolation of only non-fluorescent trichomonads after subcutaneous inoculation of mice hindquarters with only MAb C20A3-fluorescent parasites (Alderete 1987a). Nonetheless, the fact that 90% of women make antibody to the C20A3-reactive immunogen (Alderete et al., 1987b) showed the molecule was synthesized regardless of the Type or subpopulation designations of the infecting T. vaginalis isolate.
Of further interest is the delineation of three subpopulations of parasites among the Type II isolates (Alderete et al., 1986c). For example, in addition to the non-fluorescent organisms some, but not all, fluorescent trichomonads were readily killed in a complement-independent fashion after exposure to the C20A3 MAb (Alderete, 1986b). The lysis of some parasites expressing the C20A3-reactive immunogen might indicate an important biofunctionality for the molecule; however, T. vaginalis without surface immunogen are equally capable of in vitro and in vivo growth and multiplication.
The complexity of the surface immunogens with regard to antibody accessibility was further reinforced in these studies by the identification of another high molecular weight protein by a MAb called DM126. The protein was found on the surface of parasites of all isolates (Alderete et al., 1987b); however, flow cytofluorometry with DM126 again indicated the existence of homogeneous, non-fluorescent and heterogeneous populations as seen for the MAb C20A3. The accessibility of the immunogen to antibody binding was highly variable in spite of its presence on the trichomonal surface, indicating that conformational changes were occurring for this protein possibly depending upon the immediate microenvironment of the parasite. This property was termed epitope phenotypic variation.
More recently, the availability of monospecific antiserum to the purified immunogen has revealed the predominance of this molecule throughout trichomonal surfaces. Of particular interest, however, was the refractoriness of the parasites to complement-mediated killing in the presence of this monospecific antiserum. Although a precise chemical-molecular explanation for this property is unknown, it illustrates the overall resistance of the protozoan to killing by antibody against common, stable immunogens which might otherwise be targets for vaccine development strategies. These immune evasion capabilities certainly will allow the parasite to survive in the face of host antibody responses.
Curiously, Type II isolates predominate in vivo, a finding which suggests that Type II isolates may be more virulent. If this is the case, P270 may be an excellent molecular marker for virulent isolates. Importantly, the P270 immunogen elicits the highest levels of antibody in experimentally infected animals (Alderete et al., 1986d), and most, if not all, trichomoniasis patients make antibody to this molecule (Alderete et al., 1987b). The significance of the highly immunogenic nature of P270 and its role in host-parasite biology may prove important to an overall understanding of this major pathogen.
Other than the discovery of the P270 immunogen, little is known regarding the biology of T. vaginalis on a molecular level. Furthermore, very few molecular tools are presently available to the researcher or clinician which will allow the identification and characterization of T. vaginalis isolates. In particular, there are currently no reported methods for obtaining recombinant DNA agents for the direct identification and characterization of T. vaginalis isolates, or for use in producing T. vaginalis proteins or peptides, particularly antigenic or immunogenic proteins or peptides. Accordingly, there is currently a great need for recombinant methodology and genetic constructs which are applicable to T. vaginalis, particularly methodology directed to the identification of virulent isolates, or distinguishing between Type I and Type II isolates.

Methods and compositions for the preparation of recombinant Trichomonas vaginalis proteins and peptides

Board of Regents, The University of Texas System


The present invention comprises a semi-insulating layer of GaAs with p+ and layers of aluminum gallium arsenide AlGaAs grown on one side of the semi-insulating GaAs and with p and n+ layers of AlGaAs grown on the other side of the semi-insulating GaAs. Ohmic contacts are grown on both sides of the thyristor as well as low temperature GaAs to provide for surface passivity.

Thyristor switches are widely used in areas such as power integrated circuits, power supplies, high-power lasers, and high power microwave systems. Presently, commercial manufacture of thyristor switches has been based strictly on silicon technology. However, there has been some research directed toward gallium arsenide GaAs thyristors. This research is described in articles such as, "Electrically Controllable Three-electrode High-voltage Subnanosecond Switches Made From a Multilayer GaAs-AlGaAs Heterostructure," by Alferov et al, Sov. Tech. Phys. Lett., Vol. 12, No. 11, pgs. 529-530, 1986. The authors of this article report epitaxial grown AlGaAs/GaAs thyristors with hold off voltages up to 1000 V, and di/dt values of 5.times.10.sup.10 A/s with peak current close to 10 A.
GaAs based thyristors for other applications have been described in U.S. Patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,322 issued May 31, 1977 to Heinecke and entitled, "Zero point switching thyristor having an isolated emitter region," and U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,357 issued May 9, 1989 to Kasahara and entitled, "PNPN thyristor."

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army