A portable acoustical panel assembly is disclosed comprising a plurality of panels each including a soundproof member having rounded vertical edges for ease in rotating. Each vertical edge has at least a partial groove in its surface for receiving a flexible member for attaching the individual panels of the assembly. A supporting frame is provided, positioned about the perimeter of the soundproof member. A decorative fabric encases each panel which is provided with members for securing each panel at the top and bottom.

This invention relates to a partitioning device and more particularly to the construction of a visual ceiling to floor room divider, panel or privacy screen which is completely self-containined, easily installed and readily adaptable to generally any existing structural configuration.
It is extremely desirable to be able to provide partitioning devices that can be erected within the confines of any standard room configuration quickly and economically. Such a device should be adaptable to both commercial and domestic environments thus providing a broader scope of application. The use of room dividers or privacy screens is quite prevalent in office and lounge areas for the purpose of partioning larger areas into more efficiently useable space. It is important that the screen or panels be such that they can be arranged in a variety of positions with respect to each other and it is highly desirable for the same panels to be fabricated of sound absorbing material to give them an even broader field of use. If the wall or panel covering is such that it is removable from the basic structure then the system becomes even more flexible, allowing for a change in design or decorating effect or for just cleaning purposes without completely replacing the particular structure.
To these ends, various attempts have been made to provide partitioning devices of the nature described above. However, sufficient versatility has not been built into the known prior art structures so as to provide the most effective product. U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,827 discloses the use of fiberglass in the preparation of a soundproof panel but generally requires custom fabrication and does not allow for on-site adjustments and flexiblity in intallation. An important reason for using transportable screens or panel assemblies in work areas is so the defined work area may be redesigned and modified as the circumstances dictate.
Other problems encountered in using prior art partitions or panel assemblies include the lack of capability in adjusting the particular partition to any desired height, the inability to adjust the layout of the partitions such that they can be effectively utilized in the space provided, lack of a proper structural design to facilitate installation and the inherent aesthetically unappealing nature of the presently available structures.


The invention relates to a process for continuously preparing polyamide oligomers. This comprises continuous conveying of an aqueous solution of polyamide-forming monomers from a reservoir vessel into an oligomerization reactor, heating of the aqueous solution beyond a dissolution or storage temperature, the residence time of the monomer solution in the oligomerization reactor being limited and the pressure or the partial vapor pressure of the water being adjusted such that a conversion of monomers to polyamide oligomers does not exceed a maximum value and/or the polyamide oligomers formed do not phase-separate or spontaneously crystallize in solid form, and continuous discharge of the polyamide oligomers from the oligomerization reactor. A polyamide oligomer preparable by this process can be provided continuously in a mixture with water in a process for preparing a semicrystalline or amorphous, thermoplastically processible polyamide and then postcondensed to give a polyamide. This polyamide can be used for production of moldings by means of injection molding, multicomponent injection molding, injection molding/welding, extrusion, coextrusion, blow molding or thermoforming.

The present invention relates to a process for continuously preparing polyamide oligomers and to a polyamide oligomer preparable in this process. The invention further relates to a process for preparing semicrystalline or amorphous, thermoplastically processible polyamides from this polyamide oligomer, and also to a polyamide preparable by this process and to the use thereof.

Method for continuously producing polyamide oligomers and producing semicrystalline or amorphous polyamides that can be thermoplastically processed


Disclosed is a process for preparing a polyorganosilane which comprises subjecting a disilane compound having at least two substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbyloxy groups in one molecule to disproportionation reaction in the presence of a catalyst comprising a reaction product of an organic alkali metal compound represented by the formula (I): EQU RM (I). wherein R represents a substituted or unsubstituted monovalent hydrocarbon group; and M represents an alkali metal, PA1 wherein R.sup.3 represents a saturated or unsaturated chain or cyclic divalent hydrocarbon group or a divalent heterocyclic group, two or more R.sup.3 s may be the same or different and an ether oxygen atom may exist between two or more R.sup.3 s; p represents an integer of 1 or more; and M represents an alkali metal atom,. represented by the formula (III): EQU MR.sup.3.sub.p M (III). and at least one of a disilane compound and a silane compound both of which have a substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbyloxy group(s).

This invention relates to a process for preparing a polyorganosilane or a silicon-containing polymer, more specifically to a process for preparing a polyorganosilane, in which a polyorganosilane can be prepared with good efficiency, its molecular weight can be controlled easily and optional various organic groups can be introduced into a polyorganosilane easily.
It has been known that a polyorganosilane is useful as an organic conductive material, a non-linear optical material, a photolysis type reaction initiator, a silicon carbide precursor and a photoresist material (e.g., Miller, R. D.; Michl, J., Chem. Rev., 89, 1359 (1989)). As a process for preparing a polyorganosilane, the Wurtz method using an organohalosilane or an organohalodisilane as a starting compound has been used widely. However, the Wurtz method has drawbacks that danger is incurred because metallic sodium or metallic potassium having self-ignition property in the air is used; reaction conditions are severe; it is difficult to control a molecular weight so that a polymer having a bimodal molecular weight distribution is produced; and it is difficult to introduce substituents other than an alkyl group and an aryl group.
Some attempts have been made to solve the above drawbacks. For example, there have been obtained by Nagai et al. cyclic dodecamethylcyclohexasilane and .alpha.,.omega.-dialkoxydisilane having a low molecular weight by disproportionation reaction of 1,2-dialkoxytetramethyldisilanes in the presence of sodium alkoxide without using metallic sodium nor metallic potassium (Japanese Provisional Patent Publications No. 24874/1979 and No. 146790/1982). There have been also reported syntheses of a high molecular weight polysilane by using disproportionation reaction of a disilane having an alkoxy group in the presence of sodium alkoxide as described above (Japanese Provisional Patent Publications No. 59183/1993 (which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,307) and No. 59184/1993 (which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,075), Japanese Chemical Society, 61st Spring Meeting: IG328, IG329 (1991), H. Watanabe et al., J. Mater. Chem., 1,483 (1991) and Japanese Provisional Patent Publication No. 311727/1992).
In these reactions, an alkali metal hydrocarbyloxide synthesized from an alcohol or a phenol and an alkali metal such as sodium or synthesized from an alcohol or a phenol and an organic alkali metal reagent such as butyl lithium is generally used as a reaction catalyst. The reactions are achieved by adding a previously isolated solid alkali metal hydrocarbyloxide as a catalyst or by a catalyst previously prepared in a flask in which disproportionation reaction is carried out. However, synthesis of such a common alkali metal hydrocarbyloxide is complicated and should be carried out with care.
That is, in general, when an alkali metal hydrocarbyloxide is synthesized, an excessive amount of the above alcohol or phenol is used in many cases and, if necessary, an organic solvent is further used. In order to obtain a polysilane by subjecting a disilane to disproportionation reaction, it is necessary to completely remove the alcohol or phenol used in an excessive amount and the organic solvent used, if necessary. Further, a solid alkali metal hydrocarbyloxide is obtained by removing the alcohol or phenol and low boiling point compounds such as the organic solvent so that the solid alkali metal hydrocarbyloxide is required to be dissolved in the disilane for carrying out disproportionation reaction. However, solubility of the alkali metal hydrocarbyloxide which becomes solid once is not always good so that a time for resolving it is required in some cases. Further, the alkali metal hydrocarbyloxide after removing a solvent therefrom is easily changed in quality during storage for a long period of time. When it is changed in quality, solubility is further lowered so that a catalyst activity to disproportionation reaction is lowered greatly. Thus, handling in the case of using the alkali metal hydrocarbyloxide as a catalyst of disproportionation reaction is complicated.
Further, various methods of obtaining an organic silicon polymer having a polysilane chain have been attempted. For example, there has been obtained by Kashizaki et al. a polymer having a potysilane chain which is soluble in an organic solvent, by subjecting diorganodichlorosilane and .alpha.,.alpha.'-dichloroxylene to the Wurtz reaction simultaneously (Japanese Provisional Patent Publication No. 139216/1992). Also, there has been obtained by Asuke et al. a silicon-containing polymer in which a benzene ring is introduced into a main chain by reacting diorganodichlorosilane and dilithiobenzene at a ratio of 1:1 (Japanese Provisional Patent Publication No. 342726/1992).
On the other hand, there has been obtained by Shono et al. a silicon polymer having an organic group and a weight average molecular weight of about 5,000 to 18,000 in which an atom or atoms other than silicon is/are introduced into a main chain, by carrying out an electrode reaction using a bis(halosilyl) compound as a starting compound (Japanese Provisional Patent Publication No. 348128/1992). There has been obtained by Ishikawa et al. a polymer having conductivity in which a thienyl group is introduced into a main chain, by polymerizing a bis(5-halomagnesiumthienyl)silane derivative by a nickel catalyst (Japanese Provisional Patent Publication No. 218533/1992). Further, there has been obtained by Ishikawa et al. a polymer in which ethynylene is introduced into a main chain, by subjecting a cyclic silane derivative containing ethynylene to ring-opening polymerization ("Organometallics" 1992, 11, 1604 to 1618). There has been obtained by Yamashita et al. a silicon-containing polymer in which a quinone is inserted into a Si--Si bond, by reacting a disilanylene polymer and a quinone ("Macromolecules" 1993, 26, 2143 to 2144).
The disproportionation reactions using alkoxydisilane compounds as described above are excellent in the point that the reaction can be carried out under mild conditions without using metallic sodium nor metallic potassium. Heretofore, several straight silicon-containing polymers have been obtained. However, when application to a non-linear optical material and a photoresist, particularly a conductive material is taken into consideration by making a molecular skeleton have a branched or network structure, an energy band gap between HOMO and LUMO of a polymer is narrowed to heighten utilizability as a conductive material. Also, by heightening a three dimensional element of the structure, heat resistance of the polymer itself can be improved. When such application is taken into consideration, it has been demanded to synthesize various silicon-containing polymers having a branched or network structure and mainly comprising a polysilane bond easily.
It might be possible to obtain various silicon-containing polymers as described above by carrying out a reaction by introducing desired organic groups into a starting silane derivative as carried out by Ishikawa et al. described above. However, When such a silane derivative is obtained, there are problems that it is difficult to carry out a reaction in which organic groups are selectively introduced into the silane derivative and it is difficult to purify the resulting silane derivative. Further, in the reactions of Asuke et al. and Kashizaki et al. large amounts of metallic lithium and sodium should be used so that the reactions cannot be used for industrial mass production.
On the other hand, a chlorosilane compound having various organic groups is easily available, but there has not been known a method of obtaining a silicon-containing polymer having a branched or network structure and mainly comprising a Si--Si bond as described above from the chlorosilane compound safely and easily.
It has been known that in a silicon-containing polymer mainly comprising a Si--Si bond, its average molecular weight determines physical properties and characteristics of the silicon-containing polymer, and its control is extremely important. Particularly when good film-forming property is to be imparted, it is necessary to control its average molecular weight to 1,000 or more and also in such a range that said polymer has a solubility enough to prepare a 0.1 to 50% by weight, preferably 5 to 40% by weight solution. Therefore, there has been demanded a method of controlling the average molecular weight of such a silicon-containing polymer easily.
Also, organic groups bonded to a silicon atom of the silicon-containing polymer determine physical properties and characteristics of the polymer so that selection of the organic groups is important. Therefore, there has been demanded a method of introducing selected various substituents to such a silicon-containing polymer easily.
There has been obtained by Watanabe et al. a white powdery polysilane which has a methoxy group and is insoluble in toluene, by disproportionation reaction of 1,2-dimethyl-1,1,2,2-tetramethoxydisilane by using n-butyl lithium as a catalyst (see Japanese Chemical Society, 61st Spring Meeting: IG328, IG329 (1991)). However, there has not been described preparation of a catalyst further suitable for disproportionation based on such an organic alkali metal compound and also there have not been disclosed control of the average molecular weight of a polysilane and introduction of various organic groups demanded as described above, using such a catalyst.


A pneumatic vehicle tire having a radial carcass, the load-carriers of which are made of steel or of a material of comparable high strength, and the ends of which are anchored in the tire beads by being looped around pull-resistant bead cores. The tire has a centrally disposed tread strip with a recessed portion on each side, and a multi-ply belt, which to the sides extends into the recessed portions, and which has load-carriers made of steel or the like. A low-damping rubber layer can be disposed between plies of the belt. In order to achieve a further reduction of resistance to rolling, it is proposed to dispose a rubber layer, of soft, low-damping rubber, between the radially innermost ply of the belt and the radial carcass, with this rubber layer having a Shore A hardness in a range of from 50 to 65, and a rebound elasticity in a range of from 55 to 70%.

The present invention relates to a pneumatic vehicle tire, especially for commercial vehicles, having a radial carcass, the load-carriers of which are made of steel or of a material of comparable high strength, and the ends of which are anchored in the tire beads by being looped around pull-resistant bead cores. The tire has a centrally disposed tread strip that has a recessed portion on each side. The tire also has a multi-ply belt, which to the sides extends into the recessed portions, and which has load-carriers made of steel or of a material of comparable high strength. A low-damping rubber layer can be disposed between plies of the belt.
A tire of this general type without a low-damping rubber layer between plies of the belt is disclosed, for example, in German Offenlegungsschrift 33 13 535Rohde corresponding to co-pending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 233,834-Rohde filed Aug. 16, 1988, belonging to the assignee of the present invention, and with such a low-damping rubber layer in German Offenlegungsschrift 34 30 501 Rohde et al corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,333-Rohde et al dated June 9, 1987, belonging to the assignee of the present invention. Such tires have given best results when used with commercial vehicles. By providing a step in the shoulder region, and by having the belt plies extend laterally into the stepped portions, as well as by possibly introducing a low-damping rubber layer between plies of the belt, a tire having a reduced resistance to rolling was provided with which considerable savings in fuel could be obtained. The reduced resistance to rolling was primarily achieved by reducing the build up of heat due to unavoidable deformations of the tread strip zone during driving operation. The rubber cushions, which in the shoulder region shift in a wedge-like manner between the ends of the belt and the carcass, effect in this region a balancing-out between the stiff belt ply unit and the more flexible carcass.
German Auslegeschrift 10 07 644 Fletcher dated May 2, 1957 discloses a vehicle tire, especially for aircraft, where radially outwardly from an eight-ply diagonal carcass of textile fabric there is disposed a belt of steel cord fabric, with a resilient rubber underlayer of a carcass rubber mixture being disposed between them. The belt plies extend at an angle of 45.degree. relative to the circumferential direction of the tire. The rubber underlayer serves to prevent a detachment of the belt from the carcass due to the overall rigidity of the tire and the relative movement between the tread strip and the carcass resulting therefrom. This known rubber underlayer is at least 2 to 5 mm thick.
It is an object of the present invention with a pneumatic vehicle tire of the aforementioned general type, to further reduce the build up of heat in the area of the tread strip without the remaining driving properties suffering thereby.


Provided is staphylococcus protein A expressed by a mutational Staphylococcus aureus and its coding sequence, as well as a vector, host bacteria, composition or kit which contains the coding sequence of the mutational protein. Also provided is the use of the mutational protein and the composition thereof in the preparation of vaccines, therapeutic antibodies, diagnostic kits and the like, and for the prevention, treatment and detection of infections by Staphylococcus aureus. Also provided are methods for producing, fermenting and purifying the mutational protein.

Staphylococcus aureus (SA) is also called "flesh-eating bacteria". As a representative of gram-positive bacteria, SA is an important pathogen causing infections in hospitals and communities. SA infection is characterized by acuteness and purulency. Local infection may lead to purulent infections of skins and soft tissues etc, which are unhealed for a long period of time. Systemic infection may result in severe infections such as osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, endocarditis, pneumonia, septicopyemia and the like, and complications. The mortality rate of severe infections and the complications thereof is as high as 20%. Furthermore, exotoxins of Staphylococcus aureus will also give rise to fatal systemic infections, such as food poisoning, scalded skin syndrome and toxic shock syndrome etc.
With wide and long-term use of antibiotics, bacterial drug resistance is increasingly severe. As a typical representative, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become one of the pathogens with the highest hospital infection rate, such as ICU infection, post-operation infection, infection of burn wounds or infection of war wounds etc, since it was first found in 1961. Additionally, MRSA has also become difficulties in clinical treatment, due to its strong pathogenicity, wide transmission, easy outbreak and epidemicity, and multiple-drug resistance, MRSA is also called "the first super bacteria".
As reported by CDC of the United States, the average annual population of severe MRSA infections is about 90,000 in America, in which about 20,000 patients die. As shown by Report of the National Bacterial Resistance Surveillance of China in 2011: the average clinical detection rate of MRSA is 60%, in which the extensive drug-resistance rate is more than 40%. Currently, MRSA, together with hepatitis B and AIDS, become three major refractory infectious diseases all over the world, and MRSA takes the first place on the list. At present, vancomycin is the last effective medicine for MRSA infections. However, vancomycin-resistant MRSA has already appeared since 1997, and has overspread globally, leading to a challenge of "no effective medicine" for MRSA infections.
Due to the severe challenge of "no effective medicine" for drug-resistant SA infections, "a package plan of 6 policies" has been proposed by WHO in 2011 to address "drug-resistant bacteria", and priority will be given to research and development of novel products for immunological prevention and treatment, such as inventive vaccines in the future. Accordingly, for effectively controlling the spread of drug resistance of SA and wide SA infections in clinical practice, it is strategically and practically important to study the immunological prevention and treatment of SA infections, and to develop safe, effective and novel gene engineering vaccines for SA.


A product may include a pair of handles that may be foldable. A wedge may be engaged between the pair of handles and may lock the pair of handles in a first position. A release mechanism may be connected to the wedge. Operation of the release mechanism may move the wedge to disengage from and to unlock the handles and may enable moving the pair of handles to a folded position.

A variety of manually operated products may include handles that may be grasped to manipulate the product, or to provide manual input to affect operations of the product. The handles may take a number of forms that may be readily gripped, and that may include dual extending structures that enable two handed operation. The length and shape of the handles may be selected to provide a comfortable grip arrangement and/or to provide a mechanical advantage in moving components of the product, and as such may take up space.


Polyamide esters which can be prepared from tetracarboxylic dianhydrides and can be converted into polyimides by alcohol cleavage with cyclization, characterized in that the radicals OR of the ester groups --COOR which are substituted during the polyimide formation are alkoxy radicals having 2 to 5 C atoms which are monosubstituted or polysubstituted by fluorine.. Polyimides prepared therefrom are suitable as orientation layers in liquid-crystal display elements and in optical wave guides.

The invention relates to polyamide esters which can be prepared from tetracarboxylic dianhydrides and can be converted into polyimides by alcohol cleavage with cyclization, characterized in that the radicals OR in the ester groups --COOR, which are substituted during the polyimide formation, are alkoxy radicals having 2 to 5 C atoms which are monosubstituted or polysubstituted by fluorine.
Polyimides are known as orientation layers in liquid-crystal displays and have proven successful due to their good optical and thermal properties. They are also employed, in particular, in supertwist liquid-crystal display elements (SLC display elements). This is taken to mean relatively highly twisted display elements with a twist angle having a value in between 160.degree. and 360.degree., such as, for example, the display elements according to Waters et al. (C. M. Waters et al., Proc. Soc. Inf. Disp. (New York) (1985) (3rd Intern. Display Conference, Kobe, Japan), STN-LCDs (German Offenlegungsschrift 3,503,259), SBE-LCDs (T. J. Scheffer and J. Nehring, Appl. Phys. Lett. 45 (1984) 1021), OMI-LCDs (M. Schadt and F. Lennhouts, Appl. Phys. Lett. 50 (198U), 236), DST-LCDs (European Published Specification 0,246,842) or BW-STN-LCDs (K. Kawasaki et al., SID 87 Digest 391 (20.6)).
To produce supertwist display elements, orientation materials are required which induce a high tilt angle of the liquid crystal in the display; the angle should be at least about 3.degree..
It is known that polyimides prepared, for example, by reaction of the following components ##STR1## cause tilt angles of greater than 3.degree. (for example European Published Specification 231,781).
Polyimides of this type are usually prepared by first reacting tetracarboxylic acids with diamines to give polyamidocarboxylic acids, which are then cyclized with elimination of water to form polyimides (for example European Published Specification 0,249,881, European Published Specification 0,231,781 and European Published Specification 0,219,336). Alternatively, the tetracarboxylic anhydride can first be converted into another derivative, for example a dicarboxylic acid diester, after which the ester component is further reacted with an amine component to form the polyamidocarboxylic acid (U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,000).
European Published Specification 0,209,114 describes polyamide esters which can be converted into polyimides by alcohol cleavage. However, the invention relates to amphiphilic compounds, i.e. the alcohol component contains long alkyl chains.
Polyamide esters have furthermore been described in connection with photopolymerizable polyamide acid derivatives (for example European Published Specification 0,203,372).

Merck Patent Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung


The present invention relates to a for coupling Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) signals and Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) signals to a common line (TL). In order to avoid saturation of inductances (L1,L2,L3,L4) of a low pass POTS filter (LPF) located between the POTS transmitter/receiver (PTR) and this common line (TL) when the POTS signal is not sufficiently attenuated by this common line (TL), a variable impedance (SL) is inserted between the POTS transmitter/receiver (PTR) and this low pass POTS filter (LPF). The value of this variable impedance (SL) is controlled by a control signal (CS) supplied by the ADSL transmitter/receiver (ATR) which measures the attenuation caused by this common line (TL).

Such a coupler is already known in the art, e.g. from the contribution Doc. T1E1.4/94-043 to the ANSI/T1 Telecommunications Committee by John Cook, BT Laboratories (BTL). Therein, the first signal is an Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) signal, whereas the second signal is a Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) signal. The second signal means is a POTS receiver/transmitter, whereas the first signal means is an ADSL receiver/transmitter. The first bandpass filter is a highpass filter passing the ADSL signal but blocking the POTS signal. The second bandpass filter is a lowpass filter passing the POTS signal but blocking the ADSL signal.
It is not noted in the latter contribution that part of the first signal is lost via the second bandpass filter when the common line does not sufficiently attenuate the second signal, e.g. when the common line is too short. Indeed, when the second signal is too strong, the filter characteristics of the second bandpass filter change so that part of the first signal is lost via the second bandpass filter. Such a change of filter characteristics of the second band pass filter may occur due to changing characteristics of elements included therein e.g. saturation of an inductor due to a large current or saturation of a capacitor due to a large voltage or saturation of a resistor due to large power dissipation.

Signal coupler with automatic common line attenuation compensation


Improved conversion efficiency and lower output ripple are achieved by a DC-to-DC converter that uses an H-bridge driver to alternately energize first and second inductors. By alternately energizing the first and second inductors, a higher switching frequency can be maintained allowing for the use of smaller inductors while reducing ripple in the output voltage. The reduced ripple in turn reduces the need for filtering. Additionally, the first and second inductors are wound about a common core such that a mutual inductance exists therebetween. The mutual inductance results in trapezoidal currents in each inductor instead of the typical sawtooth waveforms. This results in still lower ripple in the output voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of DC-to-DC converters and more particularly, to a DC-to-DC converter that uses an H-bridge driver as the switching device for alternately energizing two inductors wound about a common magnetic core.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic systems typically draw power from an AC line source. A received AC voltage is then converted to a DC voltage by an AC-to-DC converter for powering system components requiring DC voltages. Generally, many components within an electronic system require different magnitudes of DC voltages, for example, a flat panel display might require 36 volts while semiconductor integrated circuits might require 5 volts. The different DC voltages can be provided by DC-to-DC converters. DC-to-DC converters generally rely upon the storage characteristics of inductors and capacitors while alternately switching the applied DC voltage between the storage network and a ground potential. Thus, a converted DC voltage is generally a sawtooth waveform, first charging towards the applied DC voltage, then discharging towards ground. The sawtooth waveform is then filtered to provide a substantially ripple free DC voltage.
Typical DC-to-DC converters include SEPIC, Buck, Boost, and Flyback converters. A SEPIC converter 10 is shown in FIG. 1. In the SEPIC converter 10, a DC voltage. V.sub.IN is applied at an input terminal 1, and a converted DC voltage. V.sub.OUT appears at an output terminal 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the SEPIC converter 10 requires at least four inductors and several parallel capacitors 4 and 7 which directly contribute to size and cost. A significant drawback associated with the SEPIC converter 10 is a direct result of using power Schottky diodes 9. The power Schottky diodes 9 typically have a forward voltage of approximately 0.5 to 0.6 volts. This forward voltage substantially adversely affects a conversion efficiency of the SEPIC converter 10 since all output current passes through the power Schottky diodes 9. As power requirements increase, the power loss due to the power Schottky diodes 9 increases accordingly. Additionally, the output current at node A is a sawtooth waveform requiring adequate filtering to remove ripple from a voltage at node A. Inductor 11 and capacitor 13 filter the voltage to provide the converted DC voltage, V.sub.OUT at the output terminal 2. The magnitude of V.sub.OUT is determined primarily by the magnitude of V.sub.IN and the frequency at which switch 6 operates (i.e. the time switch 6 remains open relative to the time switch 6 is closed).
Demand for improved power supplies requires decreasing cost and size while improving performance. Performance, in part, can be measured by the conversion efficiency of a DC-to-DC converter, that is, how much power is lost when converting voltages. The conversion efficiency is the ratio of the output current multiplied by the output voltage and divided by the input power. Another measure of performance is determined by the amount of ripple in the converted voltage, which in turn determines the extent filtering will be required. Good performance, then, can be improved by eliminating power consuming devices (switching elements and diodes) and typically requires using large inductors and capacitors both for developing the sawtooth waveform and for adequately filtering that waveform. Larger storage components necessarily increase cost and size. Performance can also be improved by increasing the frequency of the switching element. Switching elements, however, are physically limited to the switching speeds of currently available switching devices. The problems associated with DC-to-DC converter design are further exacerbated when larger output currents are required since larger (and hence slower) switching devices are required, the power losses in conversion are potentially large, and still larger inductors are required.
Thus what is needed is a DC-to-DC converter that provides a converted voltage requiring minimal filtering while maintaining a high conversion efficiency by eliminating power Schottky diodes and increasing the switching frequency with available switching devices for high current outputs.

H-driver DC-to-DC converter utilizing mutual inductance

International Business Machines Corporation


A columnar-type hydraulic tappet, provided with a housing, a plunger moving axially with respect to the housing being mounted in an inner cavity of the housing, a high pressure cavity used for a hydraulic medium extending between a lower end surface of the plunger and a lower side of the housing, a first ring groove being arranged below a head portion of the plunger, a second ring groove being arranged at a central portion of the plunger, a plunger central wall being between the first ring groove and the second ring groove, the second ring groove being a concave wide ring groove, wherein at least one plunger oil inlet hole being arranged on the plunger concave wide ring groove or the plunger central wall, a bottom portion edge of the plunger oil inlet hole containing flanging facing towards an inner cavity of the plunger.

The uses of roller rocker and hydraulic tappet valve mechanism in the overhead cam engine structure are increasingly widespread, compared with the mechanical tappet valve mechanism, it has the following advantages: 1) compensate the valve clearance in a timely manner, requiring no periodical manual adjustment; 2) reduce the engine noise and shock; 3) small volume and weight, small friction and small kinematic inertia, which can reduce energy loss and improve engine efficiency; 4) Long life of the parts of valve mechanism, reducing the maintenance costs.
A columnar-type hydraulic tappet has a tank-shaped housing, provided with a tank-shaped housing, a plunger moving axially with respect to the housing being mounted in an inner cavity of the housing, a high pressure cavity used for a hydraulic medium extending between a lower end surface of the plunger and a lower side of the housing, the high pressure cavity being sealed by a unidirectional valve opened towards the high pressure cavity; a reset spring is arranged in the high pressure cavity, being between the lower end surface of the plunger and the housing. An oil hole used for hydraulic medium circulation is arranged at the housing, the oil hole is connected to an oil inlet hole of the plunger at a radial inner side of the housing, and an oil chamber used for storage of hydraulic medium is formed between the plunger oil inlet hole and the unidirectional valve.
The Chinese patent document CN102767405 discloses a hydraulic support member, which is a split structure composed of an upper plunger body and a lower plunger body. It has the advantages of low difficulty of processing for individual parts and proneness to remove the wastes producing from the cavity of the plunger; but its two parts are required to processing separately, which adds the machining processes, with low machinery efficiency and high production costs; especially it has high requirement of runout of the contact end surfaces of two plunger bodies. If the runout is poor, it may produce a lateral force and cause stuck of plunger body in the housing, which may restrict the uses of the product. In addition, if a punching process is adopted for a plunger oil inlet hole, sometimes the wastes cannot be completely punched to adhere to the inner wall, and there will be burrs if separated, affecting the product performance when falling in use; and if drilling and milling process are adopted, burrs may be left in the hole of inner wall, having risks.
The Chinese patent document CN201228569 discloses a hydraulic support member whose plunger is an integrated-type structure, with a steering member inside. Its drawback is that the processing of plunger cannot be completed at one time, requiring multiple processes, time and labor consuming. With such a structure of plunger oil inlet hole, wastes will inevitably generated when processing oil inlet holes. The plunger cavity of this kind of structure does not have a large outgoing channel, so the wastes produced cannot be removed completely. In addition, the wastes generating from hole processing may not be completely cut off but attached to the inner wall of the plunger, increasing the difficulty of waste removal.


The invention relates to a method for forming a molded article during sterilization and under high pressure utilizing a supercritical fluid as a sterilization fluid, whereby the pressurization and depressurization rates are controlled to form molded articles.

The orthopedic device market has annual revenues in excess of a billion dollars in the United States alone. Biomedical companies produce orthopedic devices from polymeric and animal derived materials, such as DBM (demineralized bone matrix) powder and bone cement.
Such medical appliances are normally manufactured via chemical and thermal forming processes. Specifically, certain biological and polymeric materials are unable to withstand intense heat and their physical properties are significantly altered to a point where they are unstable, and in extreme cases, ultimately vaporize at elevated temperatures. Thus, when heat sensitive compounds are employed in the manufacture of medical devices, the use of heated molds, heated pourable forms and casts can be problematic.
Many medical devices, such as stents, catheters and endoscopes, are fabricated from, or coated with, sensitive polymers that cannot tolerate steam, irradiation, or ethylene oxide. Many new medical advances cannot be implemented because the sterilization industry is unable to provide a suitable sterilant as part of the manufacturing process. Plasma sterilization has been shown to be incompatible with some medical equipment and leaves toxic residues. Thus there is a need for a gentle and reliable sterilization method that results in greater than a 6-log reduction of microbial and viral contaminants in the material to be sterilized without deleteriously impacting the properties of the material being sterilized.
Recently, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,864 to Dillow et al. (the entire content of which is expressly incorporated hereinto by reference), the use of supercritical CO2 was disclosed as an alternative to existing technologies for sterilizing a wide range of products for the healthcare industry with little or no adverse effects on the material treated. Specifically, the Dillow '864 patent disclosed the inactivation of a wide range of vegetative microbial cells using supercritical carbon dioxide with agitation and pressure cycling. However, only one spore-forming bacterium was investigated in the Dillow '864 patent, specifically, B. cereus. No disclosure appears in Dillow et al. '864 patent regarding the efficacy of the therein suggested techniques using currently accepted bio-indicator standards used to judge sterilization (i.e., B. stearothermophilus and B. subtilis). Subsequently, however, other investigators achieved only a 3.5 log reduction in B. subtilis spores using the method disclosed in the Dillow et al. '864 patent.
Even more recently, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,108,832 to Christensen et al. (the entire content of which is expressly incorporated hereinto by reference), the use of supercritical CO2 was disclosed as an alternative to existing technologies for sterilizing a wide range of products for the healthcare industry with little or no adverse effects on the material treated.
Bacterial spores are more difficult to sterilize than vegetative cells. B. stearothermophilus and B. subtilis spores represent the greatest challenge to sterilization methods (FDA 1993) and are the currently accepted standards within the industry for validating sterilization methods. Sterilization is defined as greater than or equal to a 6-log (106) reduction in colony forming units (CFUs). Reproducible inactivation of these resistant microbes is required for commercialization of novel sterilization equipment and processes.
It would be highly desirable to develop a process for the manufacture of medical devices, such as implants, formed from green state materials utilizing a single step method resulting in the hardening of the material into a solid cast without exposure to the deleterious effects of heat. It would also be highly desirable to develop a process for the manufacture of medical devices, such as implants, formed from green state materials utilizing a single step method resulting in the simultaneous hardening and sterilization of the material into a solid cast. It is desirable to perform a simultaneous sterilization during the molding of the green materials to produce a formed medical device, such as an implant, that achieves a 6-log reduction in CFUs. The present invention is therefore directed to fulfilling such needs.

Preparation and sterilization of green state devices using a supercritical fluid sterilant


A hydraulic booster brake system includes a flow priority valve connected to a discharge portion of a hydraulic pump. To the flow priority valve are connected a brake booster and a power steering booster in parallel. The flow priority valve supplies a stipulated flow quantity of a hydraulic fluid in a total flow quantity of the hydraulic fluid discharged by the hydraulic pump to the brake booster by priority. A relief valve is provided between a brake port and a drain port. A valve body of the relief valve can adjust a relief pressure by turning a screw shaft for relief pressure adjustment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hydraulic booster brake system which energizes a leg-power of a brake pedal by utilizing a hydraulic pressure of a hydraulic pump for a power steering.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to energize a leg-power of a brake pedal in a medium-size or small-size truck, there may be adopted a hydraulic booster brake system which actuates a brake booster by utilizing a hydraulic pressure generated by a hydraulic pump for a power steering provided in the truck.
In an example of the hydraulic booster brake system, as disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 10-167090 published by Japan Patent Office, the brake booster is connected in series to a hydraulic circuit for the power steering. Usually, in this brake system, the brake booster is arranged on the upstream side of a power steering booster in order to give priority to actuation of the brake booster with the great importance. That is, a brake function is first assured by priority when a hydraulic fluid discharged from the hydraulic pump is supplied to the brake booster, and the hydraulic fluid which has passed through the brake booster then flows into the power steering booster, thereby demonstrating a power steering function.
Since the brake booster is arranged on the upstream side of the power steering booster as described above, an interference between the brake function and the power steering function, which is a so-called a system interference may occur on rare occasions depending on operating conditions. Specifically, if the brake booster is actuated by operating the brake pedal when the steering operation is assisted by the power steering booster, the hydraulic fluid required for assisting the steering operation is used for the brake booster, and hence a quantity of flow to the power steering booster becomes temporarily insufficient. As a result, a power required for the steering operation is temporarily increased, and a so-called a steering shock occurs.
Thus, in the prior art, provision of, e.g., suppressing means for suppressing a quantity of flow of the hydraulic fluid flowing into a servo chamber of the brake booster avoids an excessive reduction in a quantity of fluid of the hydraulic fluid flowing into the power steering booster. However, such suppressing means can be a factor of reducing the responsibility of the actuation of the brake booster, and hence it cannot be said that this means is the best countermeasure for avoiding the system interference.
In the brake booster, in order to assure the stable brake performance, a pressure of the hydraulic fluid is set so as not to exceed a predetermined maximum working pressure. The maximum working pressure of the brake booster is set lower than the maximum working pressure of the power steering booster in order to achieve both the brake function and the power steering function. The maximum working pressure of the power steering booster is determined by a relief pressure of the hydraulic pump. If the maximum working pressure of the brake booster is equal to the maximum working pressure of the power steering, the hydraulic fluid flows from a relief valve of the hydraulic pump to a drain side with a pressure lower than the maximum working pressure of the brake booster.
In the prior art, in order to set the maximum working pressure of the brake booster, a choking amount of an inner spool which performs a servo function of the brake booster is adjusted. Further, the maximum working pressure of the brake booster is set lower than the maximum working pressure of the power steering booster.
The hydraulic fluid used in the hydraulic circuit has the viscosity. The hydraulic fluid tends to hardly flow if the viscosity is high. Since the viscosity of the hydraulic fluid varies depending on a temperature, the maximum working pressure of the brake booster varies under the influence of the viscosity of the hydraulic fluid which changes depending on a temperature.
In order to assure a quantity of flow required for the power steering booster by changing a choking amount of the inner spool with respect to irregularities of the viscosity of the hydraulic fluid, a choking amount of the inner spool must be adjusted in such a manner that the maximum working pressure of the brake booster becomes lower than the maximum working pressure of the power steering booster in all temperature ranges in which the brake system is used. On the other hand, there is a demand to set the maximum working pressure of the brake booster close to the upper limit as much as possible in order to improve the brake performance.
However, the maximum working pressure for the brake booster must be set to a value which is far lower than the maximum working pressure of the power steering booster so as not to exceed the maximum working pressure of the power steering booster in all temperature ranges of the hydraulic fluid. Furthermore, since there is a demand to cause a stipulated quantity of the hydraulic fluid to flow into the power steering booster and the brake booster, it is difficult to increase the maximum working pressure of the brake booster.

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck And Bus Corporation


Provided are a display device and a method for measuring contact resistance thereof. A plurality of dummy bumps disposed on a driving circuit or a flexible circuit board are connected to shorting pads disposed on the display panel, and bonding resistance is measured by comparing an input voltage of a comparator input through bonding resistance between dummy bumps and shorting pads with a variable reference voltage.

Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a display device and a method for measuring contact resistance thereof.
Discussion of the Related Art
Various flat panel display devices such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting display device, a plasma display panel (PDP), an electrophoretic display (EPD), and the like, have been developed.
An LCD displays an image by controlling an electric field applied to liquid crystal molecules according to a data voltage. An active matrix type LCD has thin film transistors (TFTs) formed in every pixel.
A process of manufacturing an LCD includes a substrate cleaning process, a substrate patterning process, an alignment film forming/rubbing process, a substrate bonding and liquid crystal dropping process, a driving circuit mounting process, an inspection process, a repair processing, a liquid crystal assembly process, and the like.
During the substrate cleaning process, foreign materials contaminating surfaces of an upper glass substrate and a lower glass substrate of a display panel are removed with a cleaning solution. During the substrate patterning process, signal lines including a data line and a gate line, a thin film transistor (TFT), a pixel electrode, a common electrode, and the like, are formed on the lower glass substrate. Also, during the substrate patterning process, a black matrix, a color filter, and the like, are formed on the upper glass substrate. During the alignment film forming/rubbing process, an alignment film is coated on each of the glass substrates and rubbed with rubbing cloth or photo-aligned. Through the sequential processes, data lines to which a video data voltage is supplied, gate lines intersecting with the data lines, to which a scan signal, i.e., a gate pulse, is sequentially supplied, and a TFT array including TFTs formed at intersections of the data lines and the gate lines, pixel electrodes connected to the TFTs, a storage capacitor, and the like, are formed on the lower glass substrate. The common electrode is formed on the upper glass substrate in a vertical field driving mode such as a twisted nematic (TN) mode and a vertical alignment (VA) mode and formed on the lower glass substrate together with a pixel electrode in an in-plane field driving mode such as an in-plane switching (IPS) mode or a fringe field switching (FFS) mode. A polarizer is adhered to each of the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate.
During the substrate bonding and liquid dropping process, a sealant is drawn on any one of the upper and lower glass substrates of the display panel, liquid crystal is dropped, and thereafter, the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate are bonded with the sealant. A liquid crystal layer is defined as a liquid crystal region defined by the sealant.
During the driving circuit mounting process, a drive integrated circuit (IC) in which driving circuits are integrated is adhered to data pads of the display panel by an anisotropic conductive film (ACF) through a chip-on-glass (COG) bonding or a tape automated bonding (TAB) process. A gate driving circuit may be directly formed on the lower glass substrate through a gate-in-panel (GIP) process or may be adhered to gate pads of the display panel by an ACF in a tape automated bonding (TAB) process during the driving circuit mounting process. Also, during the driving circuit mounting process, ICs and printed circuit board (PCB) are connected by a flexible circuit board such as a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB), a flexible flat cable (FFC), and the like.
The inspection process includes inspection of a driving circuit, inspection of a line such as a data line and a gate line formed on a TFT array substrate, inspection performed after formation of a pixel electrode, electrical inspection performed after the substrate bonding and liquid crystal dropping process, inspection of lighting, and the like. The inspection process may include a process (hereinafter, referred to as a "bonding resistance inspection method) of inspecting contact resistance between a drive IC and the substrates of the display panel in the COG bonding process. During the repair process, a defect discovered during the inspection process is repaired.
When the display panel is completed through the aforementioned sequential processes, a process of assembling a liquid crystal module is performed. During the process of assembling a liquid crystal module, a backlight unit is aligned below the display panel and the display panel and the backlight unit are assembled using a device such as a guide/case member, or the like.
During the COG bonding process, an ACF is aligned on a substrate SUBS, and a drive IC DIC is aligned above the ACF. Bumps BUMP of the drive IC DIC face pads PAD formed on the substrate SUBS with the ACF interposed therebetween. Thereafter, the substrate SUBS is heated and the drive IC DIC is pressed and heated such that the bumps BUMP of the drive IC DIC are adhered to the pads PAD on the substrate SUBS. Here, conductive particles CP of the ACF electrically connect the bumps BUMP of the drive IC DIC and the pads PAD of the substrate SUBS. The pads PAD are connected to signal lines formed on the substrate SUBS. The drive IC DIC outputs an output signal through the bumps BUMP, and the output signal is supplied to the signal lines of the substrate SUBS through the pads.
Contact resistance between the bumps BUMP of the drive IC DIC and the pads PAD of the substrate SUBS adhered during the COG bonding process is also known as bonding resistance. A bonding resistance inspection method is essentially performed during the COG bonding process. High contact resistance indicates a defect COG bonding process, and thus, the drive IC DIC should be removed and bonded again. In order to perform bonding resistance inspection method, a dummy pad for resistant measurement connected to the pads on the substrate SUBS is separately provided. The bonding resistance inspection method is performed as a manual measurement method in such a manner that an inspector directly connects a terminal of a measurement instrument to the dummy pad for resistance measurement to perform measurement.

Display device and method of measuring contact resistance thereof


Methods, systems, and apparatuses for testing radio frequency identification (RFID) readers are described. A network communications capability of a first reader may be tested. A second reader may be instructed to perform testing of a radio frequency (RF) communications capability of the first reader. The second reader may include a reader test module. The reader test module includes a first logic module configured to test a forward link of the first reader, and a second logic module configured to test a backward link of the first reader.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to radio frequency identification (RFID) readers, and in particular, to diagnostic communications between RFID readers.
2. Background Art
Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are electronic devices that may be affixed to items whose presence is to be detected and/or monitored. The presence of an RFID tag, and therefore the presence of the item to which the tag is affixed, may be checked and monitored wirelessly by devices known as "readers." Readers typically have one or more antennas transmitting radio frequency signals to which tags respond. Since the reader "interrogates" RFID tags, and receives signals back from the tags in response to the interrogation, the reader is sometimes termed as "reader interrogator" or simply "interrogator".
With the maturation of RFID technology, efficient communication between tags and interrogators has become a key enabler in supply chain management, especially in manufacturing, shipping, and retail industries, as well as in building security installations, healthcare facilities, libraries, airports, warehouses etc.
Reading of tags often takes place in an environment where the readers and their antennas experience physical abuse, such as in a warehouse environment, where objects may impact the reader antenna. Determining whether a reader has failed, such as due to damage from an impact, can be difficult. Typically, first, it has to be noticed that the reader may not be operating properly. Next, an operator has to approach the location of the reader. The operator then places a tag in the vicinity of the reader to check whether the reader can read the tag, to verify operation of the reader. This process is manually intensive and time consuming.
Thus, what is needed are improved ways of detecting RFID readers that are not operating properly, and improved ways of diagnosing the particular problems.

Peer-to-peer radio frequency communications for management of RFID readers


Compounds are disclosed for treating AIDS, herpes, and other viral infections by means of lipid derivatives of antiviral agents. The compounds consist of nucleoside analogues having antiviral activity which are linked, commonly through a phosphate group at the 5' position of the pentose residue, to one of a selected group of lipids. The lipophilic nature of these compounds provide advantages over the use of the nucleoside analogue alone. It also makes it possible to incorporate them into the lamellar structure of liposomes, either alone or combined with similar molecules. In the form of liposomes, these antiviral agents are preferentially taken up by macrophages and monocytes, cells which have been found to harbor the target HIV virus. Additional site specificity may be incorporated into the liposomes with the addition of ligands, such as monoclonal antibodies or other peptides or proteins which bind to viral proteins. Effective nucleoside analogues are dideoxynucleosides, azidothymine (AZT), and acyclovir; lipid groups may be glycolipids, sphingolipids, phospholipids or fatty acids. The compounds persist, after intracellular hydrolysis, as phosphorylated or non-phosphorylated antiviral nucleosides. The compounds are effective in improving the efficacy of antiviral nucleoside analogues by prolonging the antiviral activity after the administration of the drug has ended, and in preventing retroviral replication in HIV infections which have become resistant to therapy with conventional forms of the antiretroviral agents.

The present invention relates generally to the treatment of viral infections using lipid derivatives of antiviral nucleoside analogues. More particularly, the present invention relates to lipid, and especially phospholipid, derivatives of modified antiviral nucleoside analogues which can be integrated into the structure of liposomes, thereby forming a more stable liposomal complex which can deliver greater amounts of drugs to target cells with less toxicity.
The publications and other reference materials referred to herein are hereby incorporated by reference, and are listed for convenience in the bibliography appended at the end of this specification.
There has been a great deal of interest in recent years in the use of nucleoside analogues to treat viral infections. A nucleoside consists of a pyrimidine or purine base which is linked to ribose, a five-carbon sugar having a cyclic structure. The antiviral nucleoside analogues closely resemble natural nucleosides and are designed to inhibit viral functions by preventing the synthesis of new DNA or RNA. Nucleosides are enzymatically assembled into DNA or RNA.
During DNA synthesis, free nucleoside triphosphates (nucleosides with three phosphate groups attached) react with the end of a growing DNA chain. The reaction involves the linking of the phosphate group at the 5' position on the incoming nucleoside triphosphate with the hydroxyl group at the 3' position of the sugar ring on the end of the forming DNA chain. The other two phosphate groups are freed during the reaction, thereby resulting in the addition of a nucleotide to the DNA chain.
Nucleoside analogues are compounds which mimic the naturally occurring nucleosides sufficiently so that they are able to participate in viral DNA synthesis. However, the antiviral nucleoside analogues have strategically located differences in chemical structure which inhibit viral enzymes such as reverse transcriptase or which prevent further DNA synthesis once the analogue has been attached to the growing DNA chain.
Dideoxynucleosides are antiviral compounds that lack the hydroxyl groups normally present at the second and third position of ribose. When a dideoxynucleoside is incorporated into a growing DNA chain, the absence of the 3--OH group on its ribose group makes it impossible to attach another nucleotide and the chain is terminated. Dideoxynucleosides are particularly useful in treating retroviral infections where viral replication requires the transcription of viral RNA into DNA by viral reverse transcriptase. Other nucleoside analogues include deoxynucleosides and nucleosides analogues having only a fragment of ribose or other pentose connected to the base molecule.
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV infects cells bearing the CD4 (T4) surface antigen, such as CD4+ helper lymphocytes, CD4+ monocytes and macrophages and certain other CD4+ cell types. The HIV infection of CD4+ lymphocytes results in cytolysis and cell death which contributes to the immunodeficiency of AIDS; however, CD4+ monocytes and macrophages may not be greatly harmed by the virus. Viral replication in these cells appears to be more prolonged and less cytotoxic than in lymphocytes, and as a result, monocytes and macrophages represent important reservoirs of HIV infection. It has recently been discovered that macrophages may serve as reservoirs of HIV infection even in certain AIDS patients who test negative for the presence of HIV antibodies. No effective cure is available for AIDS, although dideoxynucleosides have been shown to prolong life and to reduce the incidence of certain fatal infections associated with AIDS.
Certain monocyte-derived macrophages, when infected with some strains of HIV, have been found to be resistant to treatment with dideoxycytidine, azidothymidine, and other dideoxynucleosides in vitro as shown by Richman, et al. (1). The resistance may be due in part to the low levels of dideoxynucleoside kinase which result in a reduced ability to phosphorylate AZT, ddC or ddA. Clearly, it would be useful to have more effective ways of delivering large amounts of effective antiviral compounds to macrophages infected with HIV or other viruses and other cells having viral infections. It would also be useful to have more effective ways of delivering antiviral compounds which not only increase their potency but prolong their efficacy.
Dideoxynucleoside analogues such as AZT are the most potent agents currently known for treating AIDS, but in a recent human trial, serious toxicity was noted, evidenced by anemia (24%) and granulocytopenia (16%) (2,3). It is desirable, therefore, to provide a means for administering AZT and other dideoxynucleosides in a manner such that the toxic side effects of these drugs are reduced. Further, it is desirable to provide selective targeting of the dideoxynucleoside to monocyte/macrophages to enhance the efficiency of the drug against viral infection in this group of cells. One way to do this is to take advantage of the uptake of liposomes by macrophages.
In 1965, Alex Bangham and coworkers discovered that dried films of phosphatidylcholine spontaneously formed closed bimolecular leaflet vesicles upon hydration (4). Eventually, these structures came to be known as liposomes.
A number of uses for liposomes have been proposed in medicine. Some of these uses are as carriers to deliver therapeutic agents to target organs. The agents are encapsulated during the process of liposome formation and released in vivo when liposomes fuse with the lipids of cell surface membrane. Liposomes provide a means of delivering higher concentrations of therapeutic agents to target organs. Further, since liposomal delivery focuses therapy at the site of liposome uptake, it reduces toxic side effects.
For example, liposomal antimonial drugs are several hundred-fold more effective than the free drug in treating leishmaniasis as shown independently by Black and Watson (5) and Alving, et al. (6). Liposome-entrapped amphotericin B appears to be more effective than the free drug in treating immunosuppressed patients with systemic fungal disease (7). Other uses for liposome encapsulation include restriction of doxorubicin toxicity (8) and diminution of aminoglycoside toxicity (9).
As previously mentioned, it is now thought that macrophages are an important reservoir of HIV infection (10, 11). Macrophages are also a primary site of liposome uptake (12, 13). Accordingly, it would be desirable to utilize liposomes to enhance the effectiveness of antiviral nucleoside analogues in treating AIDS and other viral infections.
The use of liposomes to deliver phosphorylated dideoxynucleoside to AIDS infected cells which have become resistant to therapy has been proposed in order to bypass the low dideoxynucleoside kinase levels.
Attempts have also been made to incorporate nucleoside analogues, such as iododeoxyuridine (IUDR), acylovir (ACV) and ribavirin into liposomes for treating diseases other than AIDS. However, these attempts have not been entirely satisfactory because these relatively small water soluble nucleoside analogues tend to leak out of the liposome rapidly (14, 15), resulting in decreased targeting effectiveness. Other disadvantages include the tendency to leak out of liposomes in the presence of serum, difficulties in liposome formulation and stability, low degree of liposomal loading, and hydrolysis of liposomal dideoxynucleoside phosphates when exposed to acid hydrolases after cellular uptake of the liposomes.
Attempts have also been made to combine nucleoside analogues, such as arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C) and arabinofuranosyladenine (ara-A), with phospholipids in order to enhance their catabolic stability as chemotherapeutic agents in the treatment of various types of cancer (16). The resulting agents showed a decreased toxicity and increased stability over the unincorporated nucleoside analogues. However, the resulting agents exhibited poor cellular uptake (16) and poor drug absorption (17).
In order to use nucleoside analogues incorporated into liposomes for treating viral infections more effectively, it is desirable to increase the stability of the association between the liposome and the nucleoside analogue.
In order to further enhance the effectiveness of these antiviral liposomes, it would be desirable to target the liposomes to infected cells or sites of infection. Greater specificity in liposomal delivery may be obtained by incorporating monoclonal antibodies or other ligands into the liposomes. Such ligands will target the liposomes to sites of liposome uptake capable of binding the ligands. Two different approaches for incorporating antibodies into liposomes to create immunoliposomes have been described: that of Huang and coworkers (18) involving the synthesis of palmitoyl antibody, and that of Leserman, et al. (19) involving the linkage of thiolated antibody to liposome-incorporated phosphatidylethanolamine (PE).
The methods disclosed here apply not only to dideoxynucleosides used in the treatment of AIDS and other retroviral diseases, but also to the use of antiviral nucleosides in the treatment of diseases caused by other viruses, such as herpes simplex virus (HSV), human herpes virus 6, cytomegalovirus (CMV), hepatitis B virus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and varicella zoster virus (VZV). Thus, the term "nucleoside analogues" is used herein to refer to compounds that can inhibit viral replication at various steps, including inhibition of viral reverse transcriptase or which can be incorporated into viral DNA or RNA, where they exhibit a chain-terminating function.


A method for providing a lithographic light source is provided that includes producing a process fluid plume. A coaxial shielding fluid is produced around the process fluid plume. A plasma is generated by providing an energy source that impinges on the process fluid plume.

This invention relates generally to photolithography in semiconductor manufacturing and more particularly to a system and method for providing a lithographic light source for a semiconductor manufacturing process.
Photolithographic fabrication of semiconductor components, such as integrated circuits and dynamic random access memory chips, is customary in the semiconductor industry. In photolithographic fabrication, light may be used to cure or harden a photomask that is used to form a pattern of conductive, semiconductive, and insulative components in the semiconductor layer. The resulting pattern of conductive, semiconductive, and insulative components on the semiconductor layer form extremely small microelectronic devices, such as transistors, diodes, and the like. The microelectronic devices are generally combined to form various semiconductor components.
The density of the microelectronic devices on the semiconductor layer may be increased by decreasing the size or geometry of the various conductive, semiconductive, and insulative components formed on the semiconductor layer. This decrease in size allows a larger number of such microelectronic devices to be formed on the semiconductor layer. As a result, the capability and speed of the semiconductor component may be greatly improved.
The lower limit on the size, often referred to as the line width, of a microelectronic device is generally limited by the wavelength of light used in the photolithographic process. The shorter the wavelength of light used in the photolithographic process, the smaller the line width of the microelectronic device that may be formed on the semiconductor layer. Semiconductor component fabrication may be further improved by increasing the intensity of the light used in the photolithographic process, which reduces the time the photomask material needs to be radiated with light. As a result, the semiconductor components may be produced faster and less expensively.
Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light has a very short wavelength and is preferable for photolithographic fabrication of semiconductor components. Conventional systems for generating EUV light typically include an energy source impinging on a hard target. The energy source may be a high energy laser, an electron beam, an electrical arc, or the like. The hard target is generally a ceramic, thin-film, or solid target comprising materials such as tungsten, tin, copper, gold, xenon, or the like. Optics, such as mirrors and lenses, are used to reflect and focus the EUV light on a semiconductor layer.
Conventional systems and methods for generating EUV light suffer from numerous disadvantages. One of these disadvantages is that debris from the energy source/target interaction is produced along with the EUV light. The production of debris, which increases with the intensity of the energy source, results in the target being degraded and eventually destroyed. The debris may coat and contaminate the optics and other components of the system, thereby reducing efficiency and performance while increasing frequency of maintenance and length of down time.
Recent improvements in systems and methods for generating EUV light include an energy source impinging on a fluid target. However, these systems and methods also suffer from disadvantages. One disadvantage is the existence of plasma-induced erosion. The energy source impinging on the fluid target produces a plasma which can degrade the external surfaces of the components of the light source. This plasma-induced erosion releases contaminants that must be removed, adding cost and complexity to the system.
Another disadvantage is that the plasma is a major source of high heat loading on the components of the light source. Thermal particle or ion impact from the plasma further adds to the high radiative heat load on the components. This problem is compounded by the fact that the amount of heat that can be removed from the components is limited by their severe geometric restrictions.
Yet another disadvantage is caused by the collection optics needing a direct view of the plasma to collect the light rays being generated. This results in direct plasma interaction on the collection optics which causes erosion. The optics are sensitive to erosion and costly to repair.
In accordance with the present invention, a system and method for providing a lithographic light source are provided that substantially eliminate or reduce the disadvantages or problems associated with previously developed methods and systems. In particular, the present invention provides a coaxial shielding fluid 360xc2x0 around a process fluid.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing a lithographic light source is provided that includes producing a process fluid plume. A coaxial shielding fluid is produced around the process fluid plume. A plasma is generated by providing an energy source that impinges on the process fluid plume.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device is provided that includes depositing a photoresist layer over a semiconductor target. A process fluid is produced in a lithographic system. A coaxial shielding fluid is produced around the process fluid. A light is produced by focusing an energy source on the process fluid. A photoresist mask is formed by exposing at least a portion of the photoresist layer to the light.
In a third embodiment of the present invention, a system for providing a lithographic light source is provided that includes an energy source, a fluid system, and an optics system. The fluid system includes a diffuser, a holder assembly, and a nozzle system. The nozzle system is operable to produce a process fluid and a coaxial shielding fluid. The optics system is operable to focus the energy source on the process fluid and to transmit the photolithographic light generated by the plasma onto a semiconductor chip.
Technical advantages of the present invention include providing a coaxial shielding fluid for a lithographic light source. In particular, a coaxial shielding fluid is introduced in the same direction as the process fluid and 360xc2x0 around the outside of the process fluid outlet. As a result, a minimal quantity of shielding fluid is required and vacuum pumping needs for fluid separation are reduced. Improved shielding is provided because the shielding fluid is relatively dense close to the plasma, increasing the ability of the shielding fluid to absorb kinetic energy from the particles emanating from the plasma. The shielding fluid also reduces the lateral spread of the process fluid plume. This increases the efficiency of the diffuser, thereby lowering pumping costs.
Other technical advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, description and claims.

System and method for providing a lithographic light source for a semiconductor manufacturing process


An apparatus for prompting an operator in the performance of cardio pulmonary resuscitation. The apparatus comprises a casing housing, a keypad with input switches, a display with light emitting devices, audible buzzers and a control circuit embodiment in a programmed microprocessor and associated circuitry. Input prompting signals are controlled by the control circuit to prompt the operator to ascertain the presence of a pulse of the casualty, specify the number of rescuers performing the resuscitation, and specifiy the age status of the casualty. The control circuit prompts the operator to perform either or both heart compression and lung inflation on the casualty at a prescribed rate.

This invention relates to an apparatus for prompting the performance of cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
In this specification, CPR comprises the performance of expired air resuscitation (EAR) concurrently with external cardiac compression (ECC) in accordance with the specifications laid down by the Australian Resuscitation Council.
EAR is used on persons suffering from respiratory arrest, the essential signs of which are unconsciousness and absent respiration. On the other hand, ECC is used on persons suffering from cardiac arrest, the essential signs of which are unconsciousness, absent pulse and absent respiration.
The performance of EAR involves the following steps:
the rescuer pinching the casualty's nostrils between finger and thumb of the hand, and extending the head of the casualty to maintain the airway open; PA1 the rescuer opening his/her mouth wide and taking a deep breath; PA1 the rescuer placing his/her mouth firmly over the casualty's mouth making an air tight seal; PA1 breathing firmly into the casualty's mouth, watching to see that the chest rises; PA1 the rescuer removing his/her mouth, watching to see the chest of the casualty fall and listening for the breath exhaling; PA1 continuing rhythmically the breathing and watching procedure in accordance with a prescribed rate dependent upon the age of the casualty. PA1 placing the casualty on his back on a firm surface; PA1 kneeling beside the casualty's chest at right angles to the line of his body; PA1 locating the lower half of the sternum of the casualty; PA1 the rescuer placing the heel of one hand at this point, keeping the palm and fingers raised from the chest; PA1 covering this hand with the heel of the other hand; PA1 the rescuer keeping his/her arm straight, rocking forward over the casualty until the rescuer's shoulders are vertically above their hands; PA1 pressing briskly down to depress the sternum about five centimeters; PA1 rocking backwards releasing the pressure from the sternum; PA1 continuing rhythmically with the aforementioned depression and release of the sternum at a prescribed rate dependent upon the age of the casualty. PA1 input means for sensing an input signal input by the operator, in response to an input prompting signal output by said apparatus; PA1 display means for displaying a plurality of visual prompting signals to said operator; PA1 audible means for outputting an audible prompting signal to said operator; and PA1 control means for controlling the sequencing and operation of said input means, display means and audible means to generate said prompting signals in accordance with a prescribed protocol based on prescribed CPR techniques; wherein: PA1 (i) said input prompting signals are controlled by said control means to prompt the operator to ascertain the presence of a pulse of the casualty, specify the number of rescuers performing the resuscitation, and specify the age status of the casualty; PA1 (ii) said visual prompting signals are controlled by said control means to provide said input prompting signals and also to prompt the operator to perform either or both heart compression and lung inflation on the casualty at a prescribed rate in accordance with said CPR technique; and PA1 (iii) said audible prompting signal is controlled by said control means to supplement said visual prompting signals.
The performance of ECC involves the following steps:
In the case of cardiac arrest, it is necessary to use a combination of EAR and ECC, i.e. CPR. The performance of CPR varies depending upon whether one rescuer or two rescuers are available, whereby in the case of two rescuers one may perform EAR and the other ECC contemporaneously. In the case of there being only one rescuer, it is necessary for the one person to perform both EAR and ECC.
In practice, upon encountering a person who has suffered respiratory or cardiac arrest, the first symptom which can be readily ascertained is whether the person is unconscious or not. In accordance with the specifications set down by the Australian Resuscitation Council, at this stage the air way of the unconscious person should be cleared and opened to ensure that the person can breath.
The next obvious symptom which can be ascertained at this stage is whether the casualty is breathing or not. Accordingly, after the air way is cleared and opened, the casualty must be checked to determine whether they are breathing or not. In the event that they are not breathing, the rescuer must immediately enter into EAR technique, providing five inflations as rapidly as possible since time is vital at this stage.
After this, the characterising symptom for cardiac arrest can be checked, i.e. whether the pulse of the casualty is present or not, to ascertain whether the casualty is suffering from respiratory or cardiac arrest.
If the pulse is present, it can be ascertained that the casualty is suffering from respiratory arrest only and accordingly EAR procedure may be continued at the rate of twelve inflations per minute for an adult casualty and at the rate of twenty inflations per minute for a child or baby casualty.
This procedure is continued for one minute at which time the pulse is again checked, as the heart may have stopped beating. If the pulse is still present, EAR is continued at the prescribed rate for further periods of two minutes each, with the pulse being checked for five seconds at the termination of each two minute period, until the casualty recommences breathing.
If at any time during a pulse check it is determined that the pulse is not present, then the rescuer must immediately enter into ECC procedure and perform this in conjunction with EAR procedure. In view of the two discrete procedures involved, it is better for the performance of CPR at this stage to be performed by two rescuers, one performing EAR and the other ECC on the one casualty.
When two rescuers are available, CPR procedure should proceed at the rate of five compressions (ECC) to one inflation (EAR) for an initial period of one minute in the case of an adult, one operator performing ECC in five second cycles at the rate of one compression per second, and the other operator performing EAR timing his/her action to make one inflation of the chest between the fifth compression of one cycle and the first compression of the next.
After the first minute the pulse is checked and if the pulse is returned, ECC is dispensed with and EAR is continued as previously described in two minute periods, with the pulse being further checked after each period. If the pulse is not present, the combined ECC and EAR procedure is continued for two minute periods with the pulse being checked again after each period.
In the case of children, the compression and inflation rate is changed to suit so that 5 compressions are performed at the rate of 100 per minute followed by one inflation.
If only one rescuer is available, then CPR procedure must be altered to accommodate the one person performing both ECC and EAR. In this regard, upon the rescuer determining that the pulse is absent, ECC is performed continuously for 15 chest compressions at a rate of about 80 compressions per minute, whereinafter EAR is performed for two inflations of the lungs over a period of approximately 5 seconds. Thereafter, the cycle of 15 chest compressions and 2 lung inflations is continued at this rate again for an initial period of approximately 1 minute, whereinafter the pulse is checked. If the pulse is still not present, CPR is continued to be performed for periods of two minutes with the pulse being checked at the conclusion of each two minute period for a period of no more than five seconds.
It should be noted that the pulse checking procedure is very important and determines the subsequent procedure to be performed by the rescuer.
As can be appreciated from the above description of CPR procedure, although the procedure is logical, unless it is practised regularly, it is easily forgotten. Indeed, if it is remembered, it can be difficult to perform correctly and accurately, particularly in regard to the timing rates of chest compressions and lung inflation. In practical terms, the need for practising CPR arises only in emergency situations and in the majority of cases a person may never encounter an emergency requiring the performance of CPR technique, or may only encounter the same in an unexpected occasion once or twice in a life time.


A sound tube having two passages affords a compact arrangement for a combined receiver and ear-canal microphone assembly. The ear-canal microphone is positioned in line with the receiver but above the receiver's output port, and the sound tube connects both with the ear canal.

When a hearing instrument is inserted in the ear canal, the canal may be "occluded," i.e., blocked. This may cause the user to experience a hollow sound when speaking, a phenomenon called the "occlusion effect." One solution is to provide a vent that allows the sound pressure that develops in the ear canal to escape.
The occlusion effect may also be addressed by using the resulting sound to electronically cancel or minimize its effect. An ear-canal microphone captures that sound in the occluded ear and the signal is provided to circuitry in the receiver that uses the ear-canal microphone signal to cancel the sound. (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,937,738, issued on Aug. 30, 2005, for a "Digital Hearing Aid System," incorporated here by reference.)

Combined receiver and ear-canal microphone assembly for a hearing instrument


An improved annular shaped tire liner which is adapted to fit inside of, around and in contact with a casing of a pneumatic tire and in compression by the casing and a method for preparing the tire liner is described. The liner has a thickness which provides substantial protection against penetration of the tire to the inside of the casing. The tire liner is characterized by having a section which is an annular strip of high pressure and temperature vulcanized and molded rubber, preferably of the type used for bonding to the outside of a tire casing as a tread, with ends joined by a thin section of low temperature and pressure vulcanized rubber. The low temperature and pressure vulcanized rubber is preferably derived from a vulcanizable rubber used to bond the molded rubber to a tire casing and is sometimes referred to as "cushion rubber". Preferably sheets of flexible low temperature and pressure vulcanized rubber encase the annular strip of high pressure and temperature molded rubber and strips of low temperature and pressure vulcanized rubber are provided along the sides of the first annular strip. The low temperature and pressure vulcanized rubber preferably has been vulcanized in a mold cavity which has the shape and dimensions of the inside of a tire casing and preferably a tire casing is used as the mold cavity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved annular liner for pneumatic tires and to the method for preparation of the liner. In particular, the present invention relates to a tire liner which has an annular section of high temperature and pressure vulcanized and molded rubber, preferably prepared from a precured process retreading strip, adapted to be positioned opposite the tread and around the circumference of the inside of the casing of a tire.
2. Prior Art
Tire liners which fit inside a pneumatic tire casing adjacent to the tread area to provide puncture protection are well known to those skilled in the art. In general the tire liners are: (1) of the self-healing type which includes a material which flows into and/or cures in a puncture in a tire tread or other part of the casing and/or (2) the type that relies upon the thickness of the liner so that the object does not penetrate to the inside of the casing thereby allowing air to escape. The present invention is concerned with the type of liner which relies upon its thickness, although the self-healing components could be used with the tire liner of the present invention.
There are a number of patents showing the two types of the liners including U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,237,698; 1,390,249; 1,399,575; 1,462,117; 1,513,900; 1,683,454; 1,988,352; 2,550,773; 2,563,787; 2,802,505; 3,563,294; 3,993,114; 4,109,695 and 4,140,167 as well as Canadian Pat. No. 709,658; Belgian Pat. No. 510,001 and British Pat. No. 708,206.
One commercially available tire liner uses a foamed, flexible and elastic polymer, such as a polyurethane, to form the liner which is pre-cast in a mold to the proper shape and dimensions. The construction is similar to the liner described in Canadian Pat. No. 709,658. The problem is that the foamed liner does not provide any significant resistance to penetration by a foreign object and the liner relies only upon its thickness, rather than any inherent toughness, to prevent foreign objects from penetrating to the inside of the casing. Also such liners cause the tires to overheat and they break down under high speed operating conditions. Also the liner is not to be used with radial type tires. When the tire goes flat, the tire liner is severely damaged or destroyed.


The present specification relates to an oil-in-water type emulsion cosmetic composition containing an amphiphilic anisotropic powder and ceramide, wherein the amphiphilic anisotropic powder contains a first polymer spheroid which is hydrophilic and a second polymer spheroid which is hydrophobic, wherein the first polymer spheroid and the second polymer spheroid bind by at least partially penetrating the other polymer spheroid, wherein the first polymer spheroid has a core-shell structure, wherein the shell contains a functional group, and wherein the ceramide contains oil phase ceramide included in oil phase and ceramide particles included in water phase.

Intercellular lipids give a physicochemical barrier effect to the skin. Intercellular lipids mainly include ceramides, fatty acids, cholesterols, cholesterol esters, or the like, and the proportion of ceramides reaches about 40-60%. Ceramides play a very important role in forming a lipid structure and providing a barrier function. Ceramides have characteristics which are difficult to be handled in a cosmetic formulation due to the Wan der Waals attraction between non-polar tails and intermolecular hydrogen bonding occurring in the amino-carbonyl groups and hydroxyl groups of polar head groups. Pseudo-ceramides also have unique thermal behaviors due to their geometrical structures and hydrogen bonding of the head groups, and thus have a difficulty in designing a formulation and controlling a manufacturing process.
Spherical microparticles including polymers have a size and shape controllable depending on preparation methods thereof, and thus have high applicability. For example, there is provided Pickering emulsion which uses spherical microparticles to form stabilized macroemulsion particles. The contact angle (θ) between an aqueous phase and an oil phase varies with hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity of spherical particles. When a contact angle is larger than 90°, O/W emulsion particles are formed. Meanwhile, when a contact angle is smaller than 90°, W/O emulsion particles are formed.
In addition, some attempts have been made to impart amphiphilic property (i.e. both hydrophilic property and hydrophobic property) to spherical microparticles so that novel anisotropic powder may be obtained. This may be exemplified by Janus spherical particles. However, such spherical particles have a limitation in chemical anisotropy due to their morphological limitation. In other words, although the particles are morphologically anisotropic, they may be hydrophobic or hydrophilic as a whole, and thus have limited chemical anisotropy.
Therefore, some attempts have been made to obtain surface active anisotropic powder by controlling a geometrical shape and imparting chemical anisotropy. However, no method for mass production of amphiphilic anisotropic powder has been developed to date, although such amphiphilic anisotropic powder shows high applicability. Moreover, it is difficult to produce amphiphilic anisotropic powder uniformly in a large amount in an industrial scale, leading to a failure in practical application.

Emulsion cosmetic composition containing ceramide and method for preparing same