The pumping of arterial blood into the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) of a patient's brain creates cycle pressure undulations in the CSF and the brain itself. Brain injuries can create abnormal changes in this pressure waveform. Accordingly, the disclosed technology includes an ultrasound based device for monitoring this brain movement in the CSF (“pulsatility”) to diagnose and monitor brain injury.

The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
The brain is located within the intracranial cavity where it floats in cerebrospinal fluids (CSF). Its anchoring connections to the skull are primarily arterial and venous vessels entering through the skull and branching throughout the brain, the brainstem column leaving the skull base and forming the spinal cord as well as groups of nerve endings (cranial nerves) exiting from the brainstem to the face.
Because the brain lacks firm anchoring structures, the pulsatile inflow of pulsatile, arterial blood volume entering the CSF-suspended brain induces well-defined brain pulsations which lead to predictable, reflective (expansion) movements of the brain within the intracranial cavity; most pronounced as a cyclic downward (rostrocaudal) movement during arterial systole. While under physiologic conditions, arterial blood and reflective brain pulsations closely correlate, changes in brain tissue density or volume will restrict and distort the brain's normal movement response (pulsations) to systolic blood inflow.
Brain injury of any type and significance leads to brain tissue densities changes (i.e., commonly from swelling, blood, etc.). These density changes can be global, that is, involve most or all structures and regions of the brain as seen after cardiac arrest with a prolonged period of blood flow cessation to the brain, or regionally (focal), for example, occurring in patients with swelling of one brain hemisphere from a stroke or hematoma. As brain density changes invariably alter the brain's passive movement responses to the pulsating waves of arterial blood flow entering the brain monitoring for either focal or global changes in brain motion and pulsatility is useful for detection and progression of brain injury. Detecting such abnormalities has been attempted in some forms.
For example, insonation of brain arteries and parenchyma has been performed using some technologies. As one example, Transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound is employed to measure blood flow velocities within larger intracranial arteries (that is, within arterial segments located at the base of the skull and prior to entering into and branching throughout the brain tissue). The output of such TCD systems include calculations of blood flow velocities at different time points of the cardiac cycle (i.e., systolic and diastolic), derived means (i.e., mean velocity) and a parameter called "pulsatility index." This vascular PI is a calculated and frequently in the literature discussed and clinically used parameter which has no similarities with the herein disclosed "brain pulsatility."
The TCD-derived PI is a computed value derived from averages and ratios of systolic and diastolic mean velocities and it is obtained by insonating the intracranial arteries at the skull base level. The clinical value of TCD-derived PI is that systolic and diastolic flow velocities pattern of large (proximal) brain arteries close to the skull base (as only those can be examined by TCD) change to some degree with disturbances in brain density, i.e., from injury-induced swelling, as more downstream located, branched arterioles become increasingly compressed. Unfortunately, the vascular PI is not only an indirect measure of brain tissue changes but also subject to be influenced by a magnitude of unpredictable variables such as age-related rigidity or narrowing of the brain arteries and abnormal heart function. Therefore, the vascular PI is often a non-reliable marker for brain injury. Furthermore, obtaining PI measurements can be time consuming, requires technical expertise and is challenged by artifacts.
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) surrounds the brain parenchyma from within and around its structures and hence, arterial pulsations inducing not only successive brain pulsations but are also transmitted to the CSF. Therefore, CSF pulsation (=CSF waveform) and pressure (=absolute values) changes are common clinical parameters to diagnose and trend progression of brain injury. Unfortunately, to obtain CSF dynamics, invasive monitoring is needed such as inserting an external ventricular drainage (EVD) tube or pressure sensor through the skull bone and towards the center of the brain's fluid spaces which is commonly only indicated in moderate to severe brain injury patients cared for in the acute neuroscience setting.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MM) of the brain can detect brain and CSF motion and is currently used, among other uncommon indications, to understand treatment options for patients with (often congenital) CSF circulation abnormalities. However, this method provides only a brief snapshot of brain motion (minutes), has many limitations making it unrealistic for large-scale use (i.e., is restricted to dedicated imaging centers), and is very costly and cumbersome.

Detection and quantification of brain motion and pulsatility


Particular genes are aberrantly and consistently expressed in both adenomas and carcinomas of the colon. Products of such genes provide stool and serum markers for colorectal neoplasia. One particular tumor marker, Renal Dipeptidase (RDP), is expressed at high levels in tumors and at greatly reduced levels in normal tissues. The elevated expression of RDP occurs early and remains elevated during the neoplastic process. RDP may therefore be especially useful as a diagnostic tool for the early detection of colorectal neoplasia, even of presymptomatic colorectal neoplasia.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the early detection of colorectal adenoma and carcinoma. In particular it relates to the detection of secreted or cell surface markers in easily collectible bodily samples.
2. Background of the Art
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, with ˜130,000 patients diagnosed each year and ˜50,000 ultimately succumbing to the disease (1). Most colorectal cancers develop slowly, beginning as small benign colorectal adenomas which progress over several decades to larger and more dysplastic lesions which eventually become malignant. This gradual progression provides multiple opportunities for prevention and intervention. Indeed, benign adenomas can be detected and removed by simple colonoscopy and polypectomy, precluding the need for radical surgical and adjuvant treatments. It is therefore believed that early detection and removal of these benign neoplasms provides the best hope for minimizing morbidity and mortality from colorectal cancer. Various screening methods for detecting early colorectal tumors are available, such as fecal occult blood testing, sigmoidoscopy, and colonoscopy (reviewed in 2). However, none of these methods are optimal, and new approaches are needed.

Methods for detection of colorectal cancer


An aircraft engine is attached to the fuselage by a mounting structure that has a vibration absorbing system which includes first and second sensors to produce signals indicating vibration along two orthogonal axes. A third sensor, such as an accelerometer, is coupled to the mounting structure for sensing vibration of the engine. A tachometer circuit, connected to the third sensor, produces first and second speed signals that indicate the speeds of two rotating spools in the engine. Four vibration absorbers are attached to the engine mounting structure and controllers are provided to dynamically tune the resonant frequency of each vibration absorber in response to a unique combination of one of the two vibration signals and one of the two speed signals. Thus the vibration absorbers reduce the engine spool vibrations that are transmitted through the mounting structure along the two orthogonal axes. The resonant frequency of each absorber is altered to track variation of the vibrations due to changes in engine speed.

The present invention relates to devices for countering vibration in structural members, such as those of an aircraft fuselage; and particularly to such devices which can be dynamically tuned to adapt performance to changes in vibration frequency.
Aircraft engines can induce significant vibration into the fuselage. In propeller powered planes, the propeller blades produce air pressure patterns which strike external surfaces thereby causing a time periodic vibration of the structure, at about 100 Hz for example, which vibration is transferred to other structural members of the airframe. Jet engines also produce vibration in supporting members. If left unchecked, the induced vibrations create objectionable noise in the aircraft cabin, and may result in serious fatigue of the airframe.
As a consequence, vibration absorbers are attached to structural members throughout the aircraft. These devices typically are a simple spring-mass system in which a mass is attached to the airframe by a resilient member that acts as a spring. Elastomeric pads and metal cantilevers have been employed as the spring. The spring-mass system is fixedly tuned to resonate at the frequency of common vibration in the structural member of the airframe to which the absorber is attached and thus optimally absorbs the vibration energy at that tuned frequency. The absorber has a large mechanical impedance at resonance which is due mostly to a high quality factor Q. Absorption (mechanical impedance) at other frequencies diminishes as a function of the deviation from the resonant frequency.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,556 discloses passive vibration absorbers 10 attached to pylons 12 to which the jet engine connects at the aft portion of the fuselage 14 on the Douglas Aircraft DC9-V series airplane as shown in FIG. 1. Four masses 16 are supported from each jet engine support yoke 18 by a separate cantilevered beam 19 which acts as a spring. These absorbers 10 are tuned to vibrational frequencies produced by the two engine rotors N1 and N2 which occur at the nominal cruise power setting of the engine.
One drawback of fixedly tuned absorbers is that the airframe vibration frequencies vary with engine speed, especially in the case of jet engines. Although the absorber may be tuned to the vibration frequency which occurs at the nominal cruising speed of the aircraft, less than optimal vibration absorption occurs at other speeds. In addition, the tuning of elastomeric type absorbers changes with the age of the elastomeric material, and tuning of both elastomeric and metal spring type absorbers change with temperature.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an absorption system which dynamically adapts to variation of the vibration frequency.

Adaptively tuned vibration absorber for reduction of aircraft cabin noise


An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal polyester-containing liquid composition which is capable of producing a prepreg and a resin film in which surface defects are remarkably reduced even in case of drying at high temperature to remove the solvent in the production process. Disclosed Are a liquid crystal polyester-containing liquid composition comprising a liquid crystal polyester, an organic solvent, and one or more kinds of selected leveling agents, wherein the content of the leveling agent is from 0.001 to 2.0 parts by mass based on 100 parts by mass of the total amount of the liquid crystal polyester and the organic solvent; and a method for producing a resin film, which comprises applying the above-described liquid crystal polyester-containing liquid composition on a support, and then removing the solvent from the liquid crystal polyester-containing liquid composition on the support at 50° C. or higher.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal polyester-containing liquid composition which contains a liquid crystal polyester, an organic solvent and a leveling agent, a method for producing a resin film from the liquid crystal polyester-containing liquid composition, and a method for producing a liquid crystal polyester-impregnated fiber sheet from a liquid crystal polyester-containing liquid composition.
(2) Description of Related Art
A liquid crystal polyester has become of major interest as an electronic substrate material since it exhibits excellent high frequency characteristics and low hygroscopicity. Particularly a solution composition containing a liquid crystal polyester including a structural unit derived from an aromatic amine derivative, and an organic solvent is capable of producing a liquid crystal polyester film having small anisotropy by flow-casting on a support and removing the solvent from the flow-cast product, and is therefore excellent as a material of a film for electronic components (see, for example, JP-A-2004-315678 or JP-A-2005-342980)
On the other hand, the liquid composition containing a resin optionally contains various additives such as a coupling agent, a leveling agent, a defoamer, an ultraviolet absorber and a flame retardant, a coloring pigment or the like. Among these additives, the leveling agent is added while expecting that a surface of a resin film formed from a resin-containing liquid composition or a surface of a fiber sheet obtained by impregnating with a resin-containing liquid composition are modified. Similar to the other resin-containing liquid compositions, general description such as addition of a leveling agent is disclosed in a liquid composition containing a liquid crystal polyester (see, for example, JP-A-2002-329422 or JP-A-2003-16846). However, there is no specific description with respect to a compound to be used as a leveling agent, the addition amount thereof, the obtained effects and the like.
In the production process of a liquid crystal polyester-impregnated fiber sheet or film obtained using a liquid composition composed of a conventional liquid crystal polyester and solvent, the solvent is removed by drying at a high temperature so as to increase productivity. However, there is a problem that surface appearance becomes worse due to a decrease in solution viscosity and rapid volatilization of the solvent in case of drying at a high temperature.

Liquid crystal polyester-containing liquid composition


A protective helmet incorporates a visor retractable therewithin, a fan for providing filtered airflow through a duct within the shell to the visor, and ear defenders mounted substantially within the profile of the shell.

This invention concerns improvements in or relating to protective helmets for use by operatives in industrial environments.
In particular, although not exclusively, the invention has reference to such helmets for use in the mining or quarrying industries wherein the need for protective headwear is especially acute. Protection is required not only to prevent physical injury but also to avoid and indeed minimise damage to the respiratory organs, to the aural, ocular and olfactory senses.
Protective helmets in the form of powered helmet respirators are already known and generally include a protective shell within which is provided means for introducing a filtered air supply between the wearer's face and a visor which may assume a fixed disposition on the shell or may be pivotally mounted outside the shell to allow movement into and out of an operable, i.e. protective, position in front of a wearer's face.
It is also known to provide protective helmets with ear defenders mounted externally of the shell and pivotable between operative and inoperative positions. The problem is that because of their location exteriorly of the shell, they can become snagged on equipment which occasions discomfort to the wearer, and damage or dislodgement of the ear defender.
It has been and remains a feature of known powered helmet respirators that they are cumbersome and also heavy and poorly balanced when provided with respirator fans and filter, face visor and ear defenders, with consequential user resistance.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved protective helmet.


In one embodiment, a method for forming a backside illuminated image sensor includes providing a region of semiconductor material having a first major surface and a second major surface configured to receive incident light. A pixel structure is formed within the region of semiconductor material adjacent the first major surface. Thereafter, a trench structure comprising a metal material is formed extending through the region of semiconductor material. A first surface of the trench structure is adjacent the first major surface of the region of semiconductor material and a second surface adjoining the second major surface of the region of semiconductor material. A first contact structure is electrically connected to one surface of the conductive trench structure and a second contact structure is electrically connected to an opposing second surface.

The present invention relates, in general, to electronics and, more particularly, to semiconductor device structures and methods of forming semiconductor devices.
Semiconductor based image sensor devices typically comprise a grid of pixels, such as photosensitive diodes or photodiodes, reset transistors, source follower transistors, and/or transfer transistors, which are configured to record the brightness of light. Typical pixels are configured to accumulate charge so that the brighter the light, the larger the accumulated charge. This charge is then transferred to another circuit so that a color and brightness can be used for a selected application, such as surveillance cameras, digital cameras, or video cameras. Common variations of pixels grids include complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) and charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensors.
There is a type of image sensor referred to as backside illuminated (BSI) sensors, which place the pixel array on a first side of a semiconductor substrate and provide the exposed light through an opposite second side of the semiconductor substrate. In BSI sensors, the semiconductor substrate is provided sufficiently thin so that photons or radiation projected from the second side of the semiconductor substrate can reach the pixel array on the first side of the semiconductor wafer. Among other advantages, BSI sensors provide a high fill factor and reduced destructive interference, as compared to front-side illuminated image sensors.
One problem with BSI sensors is that they are difficult to manufacture because they utilize very complicated and expensive wafer bonding processes. Additionally, BSI sensors typically require deep trench interconnect structures that add further complexity to the process flow. In the past, the deep trench interconnect structures have been formed during the initial steps in the manufacturing process, which has required that doped polysilicon fill materials be used because of subsequent thermal budget requirements. Such interconnect materials are more resistive compared to metal interconnects, and this increased resistance has negatively impacted device performance. Also, previous manufacturing methods have generated silicon defects including stress related silicon defects, which have caused an increase in dark current levels. In addition, the previous manufacturing methods have exhibited poor substrate surface planarity.
Accordingly, improved structures and methods for semiconductor image sensor devices are needed that address the above issues as well as others. Additionally, it would be beneficial for such structures and methods to improve pixel-to-pixel isolation and to improve double-sided mask alignment capability. Further, it would be beneficial for such structures and methods to be cost effective and compatible for manufacturing integration, and to not detrimentally affect device performance.
For simplicity and clarity of the illustration, elements in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, and the same reference numbers in different figures denote the same elements. Additionally, descriptions and details of well-known steps and elements are omitted for simplicity of the description. As used herein, current-carrying electrode means an element of a device that carries current through the device, such as a source or a drain of an MOS transistor, an emitter or a collector of a bipolar transistor, or a cathode or anode of a diode, and a control electrode means an element of the device that controls current through the device, such as a gate of a MOS transistor or a base of a bipolar transistor. Although the devices are explained herein as certain N-type regions and certain P-type regions, a person of ordinary skill in the art understands that the conductivity types can be reversed and are also possible in accordance with the present description. One of ordinary skill in the art understands that the conductivity type refers to the mechanism through which conduction occurs such as through conduction of holes or electrons, therefore, and that conductivity type does not refer to the doping concentration but the doping type, such as P-type or N-type. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the words during, while, and when as used herein relating to circuit operation are not exact terms that mean an action takes place instantly upon an initiating action but that there may be some small but reasonable delay(s), such as various propagation delays, between the reaction that is initiated by the initial action. Additionally, the term while means that a certain action occurs at least within some portion of a duration of the initiating action. The use of the word approximately or substantially means that a value of an element has a parameter that is expected to be close to a stated value or position. However, as is well known in the art there are always minor variances that prevent the values or positions from being exactly as stated. It is well established in the art that variances of up to at least ten percent (10%) (and up to twenty percent (20%) for semiconductor doping concentrations) are reasonable variances from the ideal goal of exactly as described. The terms first, second, third and the like in the claims or/and in the Detailed Description of the Drawings, as used in a portion of a name of an element are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking or in any other manner. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments described herein are capable of operation in other sequences than described or illustrated herein. For clarity of the drawings, doped regions of device structures are illustrated as having generally straight line edges and precise angular corners. However, those skilled in the art understand that due to the diffusion and activation of dopants the edges of doped regions generally may not be straight lines and the corners may not be precise angles. Additionally, it is to be understood that where it is stated herein that one layer or region is formed on or disposed on a second layer or another region, the first layer may be formed or disposed directly on the second layer or there may be intervening layers between the first layer and the second layer. Further, as used herein, the term formed on is used with the same meaning as located on or disposed on and is not meant to be limiting regarding any particular fabrication process. Moreover, the term "major surface" when used in conjunction with a semiconductor region, wafer, or substrate means the surface of the semiconductor region, wafer, or substrate that forms an interface with another material, such as a dielectric, an insulator, a conductor, or a polycrystalline semiconductor. The major surface can have a topography that changes in the x, y and z directions.

Method for forming a semiconductor image sensor device

SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC


A system for analyzing an analyte is described herein. The system includes a chamber having an inlet and a semi-permeable membrane arranged to seal the inlet. The semi-permeable membrane includes a cross-linked mixture of a first compound and a second compound. The system can also include a radiation source arranged in the vacuum chamber, the radiation source spaced apart from the semi-permeable membrane and adapted to irradiate the semi-permeable membrane with electromagnetic radiation at a frequency at least partially absorbed by the semi-permeable membrane.

Mass spectrometers generally ionize small volumes of analytes in a vacuum chamber. The properties of those ions can then be determined using electrical techniques, and properties of the analytes inferred from the properties of the ions. Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometry (MIMS) is a technique for introducing analyte molecules into the vacuum chamber. A semi-permeable membrane interface (e.g., a silicone polymer) separates a gaseous or liquid sample matrix (e.g., carrier gas, ambient air, water) from a much lower pressure region that is created within a mass spectrometer. Analytes, e.g., molecules, pass through the semi-permeable membrane preferentially to transport molecules from a sample matrix. Compared to mass spectrometry systems having direct sample inlets such as an orifice or capillary, a MIMS inlet permits only a much smaller number of matrix molecules into the vacuum of the mass spectrometer for the same number of analyte molecules. This permits constructing mass spectrometry systems having substantially the same sensitivity as other systems, but with a reduced gas load on the vacuum pumps responsible for maintaining the low pressure of the mass spectrometer. Resulting systems can be built with more robust vacuum pumps which utilize lower power, enabling the construction of smaller, more durable, and thus more portable mass spectrometer instruments.
MIMS instruments have demonstrated their largest commercial successes in the environmental and security fields. These applications typically employ compact instruments featuring ruggedized and low-power vacuum pumping systems. Instruments of this type include, for example, the family of Mobile Mass Spectrometer instruments produced by Bruker Daltonik GmbH and the battery operated HAPSITE instruments developed by INFICON, Inc. These instruments use linear quadrupole mass filter detectors and optional gas chromatography sample introduction systems in order to provide a high sensitivity analysis for chemical warfare agents (CWA) and a wide range of toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) in a rugged package. Instruments such as those produced by Kore Technology Ltd also use a membrane inlet; however, these instruments make use of a time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry technology instead of a quadrupole mass filter. The above-noted systems take advantage of MIMS to enable the use of low speed sputter ion pumps or these pumps combined with small chemical getter pumps to enable portable or semi-portable operation. Other pumps such as small turbo, molecular, or scroll pumps are also used in some of these systems. Numerous other implementations of MIMS instruments have been developed, e.g., for research applications. One such system was developed for submersed water sampling. In this latter device, the inlet membrane permits the introduction of analyte molecules from a water matrix while withstanding the pressure of up to several hundred meters of water.
A limitation of some prior MIMS instruments is that analyte molecules pass thorough the semi-permeable membrane by diffusion. Relatively large molecules such as pesticides, narcotics, and some explosives diffuse though the membrane much more slowly than relatively small molecules, such as many volatile organic chemicals (VOCs). Some prior MIMS systems are thus restricted to detecting VOCs or only the smallest semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs). In general, SVOC compounds tend to be larger molecules than VOCs and thus diffuse more slowly through a MIMS inlet. Some success has been made in the detection of larger molecules by using much higher membrane temperatures in order to speed the diffusion process. One prior art approach involved heating the membrane directly with the photon flux from the ion source filament; however, there are limitations to using higher temperature as the sole approach. For many analytes, high temperature reduces sensitivity by lowering the analyte partition coefficient into the membrane, and for silicone membranes—the most prevalent type of semi-permeable membrane—contact with small amounts of water or oxygen at elevated temperature causes liberation of volatile silicon containing compounds. These liberated materials coat and degrade the electrode surfaces of the mass spectrometer. Additionally, higher temperature may cause labile analytes to degrade.
Moreover, mass spectrometers are frequently used during oil and natural-gas drilling. In these applications, it is useful to monitor the composition of the hydrocarbons being drilled. In natural gas drilling, these are often saturated hydrocarbons such as methane and propane. It is also useful to test for unsaturated hydrocarbons in the environment around the drill site. Prior schemes require separate analyzers for these two types of test.
The attached drawings are for purposes of illustration and are not necessarily to scale.


The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present invention comprises a step of forming a titanium layer (2) on silicon-containing layers (a gate electrode (14) and an impurity layer (18)) which are formed on a silicon substrate (1); a step of forming a protective layer (3) having compression stress on the silicon substrate (1), on the titanium layer (2); and a step of forming a titanium silicide layer by reacting silicon in the silicon containing layer and titanium in the titanium layer (2) by thermal processing. The compression stress of the protective layer is preferably in the range from 1xc3x97109 Dyne/cm2 to 2xc3x971010 Dyne/cm2. The protective layer (3) is preferably made from at least one metal selected from the group consisting of tungsten, cobalt, tantalum, and molybdenum. According to the present invention, a fine interconnecting effect is suppressed by avoiding the effect of a stress which obstructs a phase transition in the titanium silicide layer.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device including a titanium silicide layer and a method of manufacturing the same. In particular, the present invention relates to a semiconductor device in which a fine interconnecting effect is suppressed by avoiding the effect by stress in a titanium silicide layer, and to a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device.
Salicide (self aligned silicide) technology is known as a means for speeding-up and high integration of semiconductor devices. This technology is typified by self-adjustably forming metal silicide layers 26a and 26b on, for example, silicon-containing layers comprising a gate electrode 22 and an impurity region 24 formed on a silicon substrate 20, in an MOS type semiconductor device, as shown in FIG. 10. Suppressing the resistance of the metal silicide layers 26a and 26b is desirable for increasing the speed of the circuit.
However, a problem called a fine interconnecting effect is known to occur when the width of the interconnecting is reduced. The following problems occur in the technology utilizing a titanium silicide layer. Specifically, decreasing the width of the gate electrode and impurity region to increase the degree of integration results in an increase in both the fluctuation of resistance and the average resistance value in titanium silicide layers.
The reason for the fine interconnecting effect is considered to be as follows. There are two types in titanium silicide. One has a high resistance (about 100 xcexa9xc2x7cm) crystal structure (called xe2x80x9cC49 structurexe2x80x9d), and the other has a low resistance (about 15xcexa9xc2x7cm) crystal structure (called xe2x80x9cC54 structurexe2x80x9d). The high resistance crystal structure (C49 structure) is formed at a temperature of about 400xc2x0 C. to 600xc2x0 C., whereas the low resistance crystal structure (C54 structure) is formed at a higher temperature of about 700xc2x0 C. to 800xc2x0 C. However, as the interconnectings become fine, a phase transition from the high resistance crystal structure to the low resistance crystal structure is obstructed, resulting in a higher ratio of the high resistance crystal structure. In addition, fluctuation in the ratio of the low resistance crystal to the high resistance crystal increases as the interconnecting becomes minute. For these reasons, when the interconnecting width of the gate electrode and the like is less than a certain level, for example, less than about 0.35 xcexcm, the problems of fluctuation in the resistance of titanium silicide layers and an increase in the average value of the resistance become conspicuous.
An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device in which a fine interconnecting effect is suppressed by avoiding the effect of stress in a titanium silicide layer, and a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device.
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present invention comprises:
a step of forming a titanium layer on a region which contains a conductive silicon-containing layer;
a step of forming a protective layer having compression stress on the titanium layer; and
a step of forming a titanium silicide layer by reacting silicon in the silicon-containing layer and titanium in the titanium layer by thermal processing.
In this method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the titanium silicide layer is formed between the silicon-containing layer and the titanium layer by thermal processing on condition that the tensile stress in the titanium layer is weakened by the compression stress of the protective layer. Specifically, it is possible to suppress generation of stress which obstructs a phase transition in the titanium silicide layer by the protective layer having compression stress. This method ensures to obtain titanium silicide in which the phase transition from the high resistance crystal structure (C49 structure) to the low resistance crystal structure (C54 structure) easily occurs.
As a result, the fine interconnecting effect can be suppressed making it possible to obtain a semiconductor device having low resistance and exhibiting only a small fluctuation in the resistance of titanium silicide layers, even if the interconnecting width of a gate electrode and the like is less than a certain level, for example, equal to or less than 0.35 xcexcm.
In the present invention, the protective layer is formed from a layer having compression stress as a film stress at least under the condition that the protective layer is connected to a silicon substrate in which the silicon-containing layer is formed.
Taking sheet resistance of the titanium silicide layer and the like into consideration, the protective layer may have a compression stress in a range from 1xc3x97109 Dyne/cm2 to 2xc3x971010 Dyne/cm2, and more preferably from 7xc3x97109 Dyne/cm2 to 2xc3x971010 Dyne/cm2.
In addition, the protective layer may not contain oxygen or may have characteristics which do not allow oxygen to permeate. Because oxygen reacts with titanium and prevents the titanium from becoming the silicide.
For the above reasons, the protective layer may be made from at least one metal selected from tungsten, cobalt, tantalum, and molybdenum.
Examples of the thickness of each layer of the present invention are as follows. The thickness of each layer is appropriately determined according to design criteria and the like. In particular, the thickness of the protective layer is determined taking into account such factors as capability of securing smooth phase transition from the C49 structure to the C54 structure in the titanium silicide layer, and of obtaining a conductive layer which exhibits a small sheet resistance and small fluctuation in the sheet resistance.
The titanium layer may have a thickness of 10 nm to 50 nm.
The protective layer may have a thickness of 1 nm to 40 nm, and preferably 5 nm to 20 nm.
The silicon-containing layer may be at least one of a gate electrode including polycrystalline silicon formed on the silicon substrate and an impurity layer formed on the silicon substrate.
The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present invention comprises following steps (a) to (f):
(a) a step of forming an isolation dielectric layer and a gate insulating layer on a silicon substrate, and forming a gate electrode containing silicon as a main component on the gate insulating layer;
(b) a step of forming a side spacer formed of an insulating layer on a side of the gate electrode;
(c) a step of forming an impurity layer which functions as at least one of a source and a drain by introducing an impurity in the silicon substrate;
(d) a step of forming a titanium layer entirely;
(e) a step of forming a protective layer having compression stress on the titanium layer; and
(f) a step of forming a titanium silicide layer by reacting silicon in the silicon-containing layer and titanium in the titanium layer by thermal processing.
The step (f) may comprise:
a first thermal processing of forming a titanium silicide layer by converting the titanium layer into silicide; and
a second thermal processing for effecting a phase transition of the titanium silicide layer.
The semiconductor device of the present invention may be obtained by the above-described method. Specifically, the semiconductor device comprises:
a silicon substrate;
a silicon-containing layer having conductivity; and
a silicide layer containing titanium silicide as a main component formed on the silicon-containing layer, wherein the silicide layer is formed by forming a titanium layer on the silicon-containing layer, forming a protective layer having compression stress on the titanium layer, and converting titanium layer into silicide by thermal processing.
Preferably, the silicon-containing layer has a width of 0.35 xcexcm or less, and the silicide layer has a sheet resistance of 5 xcexa9/cm2 or less.

Protective layer having compression stress on titanium layer in method of making a semiconductor device


A system and method are provided for filtering scatterer noise energy from land seismic waves using three dimensional (3D) iterative filtering in a cross-spread source-receiver pattern. The system and method isolate scatterer noise energy associated with a scatterer based on a filtering process performed using a scatterer referential time delay. Then, the isolated scatterer noise energy can be subtracted from the surface wave data. This process can be repeated for each scatterer in the covered area to remove each of their contributions, and can be performed, for example, after a preliminary filtering of the surface wave data using 3D fk filtering or the like.

Seismic waves generated artificially have been used for more than 50 years to perform imaging of geological layers. During seismic exploration operations, vibrator equipment (also known as a "source") generates a seismic signal that propagates in the form of a wave that is reflected at interfaces of geological layers. These reflected waves are received by geophones, or more generally receivers, which convert the displacement of the ground resulting from the propagation of the waves into an electrical signal which is recorded. Analysis of the arrival times and amplitudes of these waves make it possible to construct a representation of the geological layers on which the waves are reflected.
FIG. 1 depicts schematically a system 100 for transmitting and receiving seismic waves intended for seismic exploration in a land environment. The system 100 comprises a source 102 consisting of a vibrator operable to generate a seismic signal, a set of receivers 104 (e.g., geophones) for receiving a seismic signal and converting it into an electrical signal and a seismic data acquisition recorder system (recorder system) 106 for recording the electrical signals generated by the receivers 104. The source 102, the receivers 104 and the recorder system 106 are positioned on the surface of the ground 108. FIG. 1 depicts source 102 as a single vibrator but it should be understood that the source may be composed of several vibrators, as is well known to persons skilled in the art. System 100 further includes vehicle 122a, for housing the source 102, and vehicle 122b for housing recorder system 106, as well as antennas 124 for communications between vehicles 122a,b (and source 102) and receivers 104. The receivers 104 are interconnected by cables 126 and connected to recorder system 106. Antennas 124 on receivers 104 can communicate data from receivers 104 to recorder system 106, as can cables 126. Furthermore, in operation, vehicle 122a is generally not static, but generates transmitted waves in different locations for the GAI.
In operation, source 102 is operated so as to generate a seismic signal. This signal propagates firstly on the surface of the ground, in the form of surface waves 110, and secondly in the subsoil, in the form of transmitted waves 112 that generate reflected waves 114 when they reach an interface 115 between two geological layers. Each receiver 104 receives both a surface wave 110 and a reflected wave 114 and converts them into an electrical signal, which signal thus includes a component associated with the reflected wave 114 and another component associated with the surface wave 110. Since system 100 intends to image the subsurface regions 116 and 118, including a hydrocarbon deposit 120, the component in the electrical signal associated with the surface wave 110 is undesirable and should be filtered out.
In addition to "straight" surface waves 110, i.e., those that proceed more or less linearly from source 102 to receivers 104, there are other surface wave types that also present problems associated with generating an accurate image of the desired subsurface strata. For example, so-called scattered waves are surface waves that reflect off of objects or boundaries in or around the surface. Scattering is caused by, for example, large underground rocks, mineral seams, and other objects of that nature, collectively referred to here as "scatterers". A scatterer, therefore, acts like another point source or generator of seismic energy, but one which was not intended to be used to image the subsurface. In the presence of scatterers, therefore, 3D frequency-wavenumber (fk) filtering, also referred to as fan filtering, can be a useful tool to filter out scattered waves if a so-called a full three dimensional (3D) source-receiver pattern is used, hereafter referred to as "Full 3D".
FIG. 2A illustrates an example of a Full 3D source-receiver pattern 200 from a top view perspective. Therein, a single source 202 is disposed at the center of a field of receivers 204 (only a few of which are numbered to avoid obscuring the drawing). When the single source 202 generates a seismic signal (shoots the area), reflected wave energy will be received by the receivers 204 within the covered area 206. The receivers 204 will also receive surface waves from three exemplary scatterers 208. As mentioned above, these scattered waves can be removed by using 3D fk filtering. However, it has been determined that a significant part of the scattered wave energy cannot be filtered out using 3D fk filtering techniques in seismic exploration systems which use a cross-spread source-receiver pattern instead of a Full 3D design (see, for example, "3D geometry, Velocity Filtering and Scattered Noise," Meunier J., 69th Annual International Meeting, SEG, Expanded Abstracts, 1216-1219 [1999]).
To better understand why this is so, compare the Full 3D source-receiver pattern (Full 3D pattern) 200 with a cross spread pattern source-receiver (cross spread pattern) 300 illustrated in FIG. 3A which is intended to cover the same area 206. Instead of using one source or shotpoint 202 and a large number of receivers 204 as in the Full 3D pattern 200, the cross spread pattern 300 uses more shotpoints 302 and fewer receivers 304 arranged in an intersecting, cross pattern. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in some cases, it may be more cost effective to deploy a seismic acquisition system using the cross spread pattern 300 rather than the Full 3D pattern 200, since the cross spread pattern requires the deployment of many fewer receivers. The same three scatterers 208 are also present in this area 206 such that the comparison of the scatterer effects for both Full 3D pattern 200 and cross spread pattern 300, discussed below, is meaningful.
In order to compare received signal energy by the different source-receiver patterns 200 and 300, consider a Full 3D design and a cross spread design having the same covered area 206 and which also generate the same number of seismic traces. For example, suppose that the Full 3D source-receiver pattern 200 includes a single source 202 and 9801 receivers 204 for a total of 9801 traces, i.e., 1×9801. Similarly, suppose that the cross spread source receiver pattern 300 includes 81 sources 302 and 121 receivers 304, which will also generate 9801 traces (i.e., 121×81). While these source-receiver patterns cover the same area, and generate the same number of seismic traces, it will be seen below that the signal energy received for comparable traces will be different due to the difference in the source-receiver patterns.
More specifically, compare the time slice of a seismic trace illustrated in FIG. 2B for the Full 3D system 200 with the time slice illustrated in FIG. 3B of a comparable seismic trace for the cross spread system 300, which seismic traces have been generated using synthetic data. In this context, "comparable" seismic traces refer to traces from each system which image the same point in the subsurface, i.e., the common midpoint (CMP). Each time slice shows four energy arrival patterns, one (210 and 310) associated with the primary reflected wave from the source and three associated with scattered waves 212, 214, 216 and 312, 314, 316 generated by the three scatterers 208. It can be observed that the largest patterns 210 and 310, which correspond to the primary wave arrival, have the same circular pattern for both source-receiver patterns 200 and 300's time slices.
However while the three scatterer patterns 212, 214 and 216 in the time slice associated with the Full 3D pattern 200 are also substantially circular, this is not the case for the three scatterer patterns 312, 314 and 316 associated with the time slice for the cross spread pattern 300, which are substantially less circular. The above-referenced article by Meunier shows that this pattern modification of the scattered waves, i.e., the "non-circularity", decreases the 3D fk filtering efficiency for the scattered waves.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide methods, modes and systems for filtering scattered surface waves, which otherwise obscure useful data, when using a cross spread design in land-based seismic data acquisition.

System and method for three-dimensional iterative filtering of scattered waves in cross spread seismic systems


A method for making an illustrated card has providing a cardboard with at least one printed layer and ornamentation; positioning one ornamentation on one of the adhesive portions; pressing the ornamentation toward the adhesive portion; and repeating positioning one ornamentation on one of the adhesive portions and pressing the ornamentation toward the adhesive portion. The illustrated card allows users especially children to make the illustrated card by themselves and children can be trained to arrange the ornamentation with different colors for improving chromatological and fine-motor skills.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a method for making an illustrated card, and more particularly to a method for making an illustrated card, which trains children to arrange ornamentation on the illustrated card to improve chromatology and fine motor skills.
2. Description of the Related Art
An illustrated card can be used as a greeting card or a decoration on a wall. A conventional illustrated card has two surfaces. However, at least one surface has words or patterns, so users cannot make and arrange the pattern or color on the surface by themselves. Thus, the conventional illustrated card inaccessible to users.
Additionally, children usually use color pens, paints, crayons or the like for coloring. They usually fill colors on a coloring book that has a pattern contour on each page so that they can recognize and distinguish various colors and apply corresponding tones. However, the coloring book cannot be made to have a three-dimensional structure, so the coloring book does not hold children's attention for a long time. Furthermore, children using color pens, paints, crayons or the like may dirty their hands and clothes and annoy their parents.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a method for making an illustrated card to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned.


A printing speed is adaptively set using Fuzzy inference, based on various printing environments including a printing medium width and the average amount of printing, so that the internal temperature of an apparatus can be stably maintained, and the use convenience can be enhanced.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to an image forming apparatus and a method of using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electro-photographic image forming apparatus uses a fusing process, in which heat and pressure are applied to a printing medium having a transferred toner image, in order to form a high-quality image. Fusing performance is directly affected by a fusing temperature. Typically, when power is supplied, a fusing temperature is increased through a preheating process, and a heating operation of a fusing apparatus is controlled based on the fusing temperature, which is set in accordance with an operational environment (temperature and humidity).
One factor to be taken into consideration when controlling a fusing temperature is how to properly maintain the internal temperature of an apparatus. If a printing medium, heated by passing through a fusing device, is discharged to the outside of the apparatus, heat inside the apparatus is also discharged, and thus the internal temperature may decrease. Accordingly, a printing speed related to the discharge of a printing medium exerts a significant influence upon the internal temperature control of the apparatus.
According to the related art, when the internal temperature of an apparatus becomes high, a printing speed is decreased, such that the internal temperature is properly maintained. If a previously set printing speed is not normal, because the width of a printing medium, set by a user for a printing operation, does not coincide with a width of a printing medium actually used, the internal temperature of an apparatus may increase, resulting in overheating.
In order to solve such a problem, a plurality of temperature sensors are installed at a fusing unit, and the width of a printing medium entering the fusing device is estimated, based on temperature differences detected by the temperature sensors. When a width set by a user (user set width) does not coincide with the width of an actually used printing medium, according to an actual printing medium width detected using a printing medium width sensor, the printing speed may be altered. For example, when the user set width is wider than the width of a non-standardized printing medium that is actually used, the preset printing speed is decreased, such that internal components of an apparatus are protected from excessive heat produced during fusing.
When a printing speed is decreased, while the printing operation is being performed using a non-standardized printing medium, a user who wants a quick printing operation may be dissatisfied. When the amount of printing is not great the apparatus is not overheated, even though a non-standardized printing medium is used. However, if the printing speed is set on the assumption of using the non-standardized printing medium, requirements of users who request a prevention of overheating and a restriction in the decrease of the printing speed, may not be satisfied.
In order to solve such problems, a printing speed of a non-standardized printing medium can be changed, according to the amount of printing in a printing operation. That is, a printing speed is increased in an initial printing operation, and then is decreased when the amount of printing exceeds a preset amount of printing. When such a method is employed, the key point is to set the amount of printing suitable for controlling the printing speed. However, since various printing environments exist, it is difficult to satisfy various users who prefer device stability, by preventing overheating, or who prefer a quicker printing speed.

Image forming apparatus and control method thereof


The present invention relates to a novel pharmaceutical composition as a solid dosage form comprising desmopressin as a therapeutically active ingredient, and to a method for manufacturing thereof. The invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition as a solid dosage form comprising desmopressin, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, as a therapeutically active ingredient together with a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient, diluent or carrier, or mixture thereof, wherein at least one of said excipient, diluent and carrier is a substance selected from a monosaccharide, disaccharide, oligosaccharide and a polysaccharide, wherein the said substance has an average particle size in the range of from 60 to 1,000 μm. A method according to the present invention provides an improved production of solid dosage forms of desmopressin.

Desmopressin, also known as dDAVP, is the therapeutically active ingredient (as its acetate salt) in the pharmaceutical product Minirin®, which is marketed inter alia as a nasal spray and a tablet formulation. Desmopressin is primarily used in the treatment of primary nocturnal enuresis, i.e. bedwetting, in children, but it is approved also for the treatment of nocturia and diabetes insipidus. The first market introduction of the tablet formulation was in Sweden in 1987.
In short, a solid dosage form such as a tablet formulation is typically manufactured by compression of a suitable granulate to the desired solid dosage form, where the granulate is composed of the required constituents as a mixture of solid particles. Typical such particles are the therapeutically active ingredient, various excipients (fillers), disintegrating agents, lubricants and binders, optionally together e.g. with flavoring agent, preservative and/or colorant. The commercially available Minirin® tablet is prepared according to this general protocol, and the tablet was first disclosed as set forth in the patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,047,398, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference. For a comprehensive overview of pharmaceutical tablet manufacturing, see "Tableting" (by N. A. Armstrong) in "Pharmaceutics—The science of dosage form design", pp 647–668; Ed. M. E. Aulton, Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, London, Melbourne and New York, 1988, the entire teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The Minirin® tablet that is currently marketed, and thus produced in industrial scale, consists of the therapeutically active ingredient desmopressin together with potato starch and lactose as excipients, and a suitable amount of binder and lubricant, respectively.
In any tablet compression of a granulate composed of a mixture of solid particles there is a general need to perform the compressing operation at the highest possible speed while at the same time minimising machine wear and obtaining tablets of a quality that meets the regulatory demands of all relevant territories.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Pharmaceutical composition as solid dosage form and method for manufacturing thereof


The invention describes an insect trap and monitor for trapping and monitoring crawling insects such as bed bugs. The trap comprises two planar elements of substantially the same size, each with flat outer surface and an inner surface provided with a plurality of recessed areas. The opposed recessed areas align to form at least one passageway and a plurality of trapping compartments, with the passageway open at least at one end to provide an entrance to the trap.

Bed bugs are blood-sucking insects belonging to the Cimicidae family. Both young bugs (nymphs) and adults feed on blood of humans and animals. There are several speciae of bed bugs, with Cimex hemipterus predominant in tropical regions and C. lectularius most commonly found in northern temperate regions of North America and Europe.
As taught in Pest Notes: Bed Bugs (Publication 7454, University of California, May 2009), bed bug infestations were relatively rare in North America and were thought to be associated with crowded and poorly managed housing. Recent resurgence, however, has spread infestation even to finest hotels and living accommodations. Reasons for this resurgence appear to involve increased human travel, movement of infested luggage and household items, and changes in regulations governing use of pesticides available to control this pest.
Adult bed bugs are flat-bodied, oval crawling insects, about ⅕ inch long and rusty red to mahogany in color. Nymphs have similar appearance but are smaller and have a thinner outer skeleton of a lighter, yellowish color. They are distinguished from another common blood-sucking species, conenose bugs, by smaller size, more rounded shape and lack of wings. Ability of bed bugs to survive without food for prolonged periods of time, sometimes even several months, makes infestation hard to control even in dwellings that have been left unoccupied.
Bed bugs usually feed at night and hide during the day. Common hiding places include seams in mattresses and box springs, cracks in bed frames, under loose wallpaper, behind picture frames, and inside furniture, upholstery and books. People can bring them into the home on clothing, bedding, luggage or firewood, and may occasionally pick them up in libraries, theaters, on buses and trains.
Although bed bugs are currently not considered to be disease carriers, and their bite seldom has consequences beyond itch and mild skin irritation, an almost epidemic spread of infestation in urban centers throughout North America has caused significant public concern. There is, therefore, a need for products that will control and monitor bed bug infestation.
A number of patent documents discuss devices for trapping crawling insects. Thus, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,304,646 to Staley describes a trap comprising a plurality of channels, with poison placed at the closed end of each channel. In the case of bed bugs, however, solutions involving use of poisonous materials are not advisable as bugs may bite humans and expose them to the poison before they die.
Other documents, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,376 to Scherbak, describe traps comprising one-way flaps or gates the construction of which prevents trapped insects from returning the same way. Due to small size and flat bodies of bed bugs, this type of trap is not likely to be efficient.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,217,722 to McMullen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,828 to Hall et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,134 to Otterson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,842 to Marguiles, U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,504 to Andric and U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,825 to Gehert, all describe insect traps comprising adhesive-covered inside surfaces. While this approach is environmentally friendly and safe for humans and pets, the specific solutions taught in above patents have serious drawbacks. In general, there is one central adhesive-covered surface where insects entrapped around the periphery of the surface will effectively block the advance of other insects. Moreover, other insects may be able to register trapped insects' distress signals, causing them to turn back. These shortcomings have been partially addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,792 to Monett et al., wherein the central adhesive-covered surface is accessed through a plurality of passageways, thereby allowing insects to remain separate before trapping.
Efficiency of adhesive traps depends on maintaining an enclosed volume of space in which insects may freely move from the entrance to the adhesive-covered surface. Bed bugs tend to infest hard-to-reach, narrow places, where most of traps according to above documents cannot be placed. Moreover, traps placed under mattresses, in luggage, or pockets, will be subjected to pressure and may be crushed, thereby collapsing the enclosed volume of space. In traps comprising multiple, opposed adhesive-covered surfaces, those surfaces may come in contact and adhere to each other, rendering the trap useless.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,591,099 to Lang et al. describes a device specifically meant for detection and, optionally, retention of bed bugs. While the device is of a sturdy, non-collapsible construction and provides a multitude of entrance passageways, it optionally features a single, central adhesive-covered surface. In addition, in the preferred embodiment, the device is meant to be used with a sophisticated monitoring system suitable for commercial establishments.
In spite of prior art solutions, there is still a need for an inexpensive, disposable and efficient device for trapping crawling insects, such as bed bugs, suitable for placement in mattresses and box springs, behind picture frames, under and inside furniture, in luggage, and articles of clothing. Such a device, which will also provide a convenient way of monitoring the infestation, is discussed and described in the present invention.

Abstract: The trapping compartment are provided with adhesive means such as a non-drying, non-toxic adhesive.

Abstract: The insect trap and monitor further comprises monitoring means for exposing the trapping compartments, such as a tear-off flap allowing for inspection of the interior of the trap before it is disposed.


The present invention provides an axle assembly for a motor vehicle including an axle housing, a differential assembly supported in the axle housing with a differential bearing, a bearing insert, an adjuster sleeve and a lock ring. The bearing insert is coupled to the axle housing. The adjuster sleeve is rotatably coupled to the bearing insert in a pre-installed position. The adjuster sleeve is adapted to engage the differential bearing and impart a preload force thereon. The lock ring is disposed between the bearing insert and the adjuster sleeve in an installed position. The lock ring precludes relative movement between the bearing insert and the adjuster sleeve thereby maintaining a desired preload on the differential bearing.

Some automotive drive axles include a differential assembly including a gear set which is supported within a differential housing to facilitate relative rotation between a pair of output shafts. The gear set typically includes a pair of helical side gears that are splined to the ends of axle shafts. The helical side gears are meshed with paired sets of helical pinions generally supported on a cross pin coupled to the differential housing. In response to speed differentiation between the output shafts, torque transmitted through meshed engagement of the side gears and pinions generates thrust forces that are exerted by the gear components against the wall surface of the differential housing to frictionally limit the speed differentiation and proportionally deliver torque between the output shafts.
In addition, many automotive drive axles include a hypoid gear set for changing the direction of power transmission from an axis parallel to the direction of vehicle travel to an axis perpendicular thereto. The hypoid gear set includes a ring gear coupled to the differential housing and a pinion gear journally supported within the axle housing. To facilitate proper function of the drive axle assembly, the differential is mounted on a pair of slidable differential bearings.
In one arrangement, a sleeve and insert assembly is pressed into the axle housing outboard of the differential bearing. The sleeve typically includes castle extensions formed on an outer face for engagement with an adjustment tool. The sleeve is rotatably driven relative to the insert with the adjustment tool and toward the differential bearing. The differential bearing preload and hypoid gear backlash are then measured. The sleeve may be adjusted accordingly to achieve a desired measurement. Once the desired preload and backlash are set, a clip is positioned in engagement with adjacent castles on the sleeve to lock the sleeve relative to the axle housing and, consequently, maintain the desired bearing preload and backlash. The clip is typically held in a cast pocket in the axle housing by grease prior to deflection. Once deflected, the clip is retained on a first end by adjacent castles on the sleeve and retained on an opposite end between the axle housing pocket and insert.
While the aforementioned arrangement has been useful in retaining the differential bearings at the desired location, the assembly process is complicated and time consuming due to the alignment of the clip relative to adjacent castle extensions. Furthermore, the step of deflecting the clip can be difficult and may require an installer to back-off or further tighten the adjuster sleeve to align respective castles on the adjuster sleeve for receipt of the clip. In the event that the adjuster sleeve needs to be backed-off or tightened, the bearing preload or hypoid gear backlash may consequently be moved to a less desirable measurement. Therefore, a need exists to provide an improved arrangement for setting bearing preload and gear set backlash.

Axle assembly with bearing adjustment mechanism


Disclosed herein are a liver specific delivery (LSD)-based antiviral prodrug nucleoside cyclophosphate compound and uses thereof. Specifically, this application provides a compound of formula (I), or an isomer, a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, a hydrate, a solvate or a pharmaceutical composition thereof. This application also provides an application of the compound alone or in combination with other antiviral drugs in the treatment for viruses, particularly hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a main human pathogen and there are about 200 million cases infected with HCV worldwide. Chronic HCV infection will develop into serious progressive liver diseases, including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore, chronic HCV infection is the major cause of death worldwide in patients who suffer from liver diseases. According to the data released by the Health Planning Commission, the reported cases of hepatitis C virus infection in China has continuously increased in the past 10 years, and the general trend is still not optimistic.
HCV is a positive-strand RNA virus, and its genome consists of approximately 9,600 nucleotides, including non-coding regions at both ends, i.e., an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) and an open reading frame (ORF). HCV genome includes 10 genes that respectively express 10 structural proteins (a core protein, envelope proteins E1 and E2, an ion channel protein P7) and non-structural proteins (NS2, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, NS5A and NS5B), where NS5B has a RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity and is involved in the replication of HCV genome.
The precursor structure of a cyclo-phosphate (e.g., 4-aryl-2-oxo-1,3,2-dioxaphosphane) has good liver delivery and the mechanism of the liver delivery is very clear. As shown in FIG. 1, the 4-aryl substitution position is specifically catalyzed to form a hydroxyl group by CYP3A which belongs to a cytochrome P450 isozyme family in hepatocytes, and then the resulting product undergoes a ring-opening reaction to form a negatively-charged phosphate intermediate which has difficulty in passing through the cell membrane to exist in the cell. Then the phosphate intermediate is subjected to hydrolysis and β-elimination reaction in the presence of phosphodiesterase to form a nucleoside monophosphate compound (2-FM UMP), which is further catalyzed with a nucleotide kinase to produce a biologically-active nucleoside triphosphate compound (2-FM UTP). At the same time, the metabolic by-product aryl vinyl ketone can be removed by 1,4-addition reaction with glutathione which has antioxidant and anti-free radical activities and is abundant in liver cells. In addition, it has not been reported with respect to the side effects of the resulting additive product. The nucleoside monophosphate compound (2-FM UMP) can also be dephosphorylated to give a corresponding nucleoside (2-FM UR).
Patent application WO2009073506 A2 uses sofosbuvir (SFB) as an active ingredient which reacts with a cyclic phosphate ester and an aromatic ring substituent for prodrug structural modification, and then the modified product undergoes propyl esterification at the 3-position hydroxyl group to produce 87.8 nmol/g of the corresponding active triphosphate compound in rat hepatocytes with lamivudine triphosphate used as a reference.

Among the commercially available anti-hepatitis C drugs, sofosbuvir is the only one targeting NS5B. But the FDA has warned in March 2015 that serious brdycardia may occur in the case that sofosbuvir is used to treat the HCV in combination with other antiviral drugs and amiodarone. In addition, sofosbuvir is not suitable for the patients suffering from severe renal impairment (eGFR<30 mL/min/1.73 m2).
There is currently a lack of virus-inhibiting compounds with high activity, good liver delivery and low toxic side effects. Therefore, there is an urgent need in the art to develop a novel virus-inhibiting compound having high activity, good liver delivery and low toxic side effects.

Liver-specific delivery-based anti-hepatitis C prodrug nucleoside cyclo-phosphate compound and uses thereof

ZHEJIANG PALO ALTO PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.


A semiconductor memory device operates using a first power supply and a second power supply. The device includes a static memory cell which receives the first power supply, a word line which is connected to the memory cell, and a decoder which controls selection/deselection of the word line on the basis of an address signal having a voltage of the second power supply. The decoder includes a level shifter which changes a voltage of the word line to a voltage of the first power supply, and a switching circuit which receives the first power supply and applies a voltage lower than the first power supply to the level shifter in selecting the word line.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device and, for example, a semiconductor memory device having, e.g., static memory cells.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with the advance in the micropatterning technology for semiconductor elements and the improvement of the performance of large-scale integrated circuits (LSIs), high power consumption is becoming a serious problem for recent LSIs. To solve this problem, a technique of dynamically controlling the operating frequency and power supply voltage in accordance with the load of a process is employed. More specifically, in a low-load process, the power consumption is suppressed by reducing the power supply voltage and operating frequency. To reduce the power consumption of an LSI by such control, it is important to minimize the operating voltage in a low-load mode.
However, in a static random access memory (SRAM) that is often used as a semiconductor memory in an LSI, the voltage margin of a memory cell decreases to make it difficult to execute a low-voltage operation as the device scaling progresses. For this reason, an SRAM employs a technique of reducing only the voltage of logic circuit portions without reducing the voltage of the memory cell portion in the LSI. Such an LSI is described in, e.g., Muhammad Khellah et al., "A 4.2-GHz 0.3-mm2 256-Kb Dual-Vcc SRAM Building Block in 65-nm CMOS", ISSCC Digest of Technical Papers, 2006, pp. 624-625.
In this SRAM, memory cells and word lines connected to them always use a high power supply voltage. Other logic circuit portions, however, use a low voltage when the process load is light. Since a potential difference is produced between the logic power supply and the cell power supply, the row decoder unit of the SRAM requires a level shifter.
The level shifter includes, e.g., a PMOS transistor for pull-up to the cell power supply voltage and an NMOS transistor for pull-down to ground voltage. In the level shifter, the current drivability of the pull-up PMOS transistor needs to be much lower than that of the pull-down NMOS transistor for stable operation. This greatly changes the operation speed between a selected mode and a deselected mode of a word line. Hence, the operation speed of the whole SRAM decreases.


A method of and an apparatus for coating a photoresist film over a wafer, capable of eliminating local non-uniformity of the photoresist film and uniformly controlling the thickness of the photoresist film. The method includes the steps of vaporizing and injecting a liquid photoresist material to form photoresist particles, electrically charging photoresist particles, establishing an electric field in an area where the photoresist particles flow, thereby deflecting the photoresist particles, and selectively taking the photoresist particles passing through a desired zone, and depositing the selected photoresist particles over the wafer. The apparatus includes a Venturi tube for pumping up a liquid photoresist material and injecting the pumped photoresist material in a vapor phase, a first insulating tube adapted to disperse the photoresist particles formed upon injecting the liquid photoresist material, electrodes coupled to a voltage source and adapted to deflect the flow direction of the photoresist particles, a second insulating tube adapted to pass the photoresist particles deflected by the electrode therethrough, and a third insulating tube adapted to take only a portion of the photoresist particles emerging from the second insulating tube.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for coating a photoresist film over a wafer in the lithography process for the fabrication of semiconductor devices, and more particularly to a method of and an apparatus for coating a photoresist film over a wafer, capable of eliminating local non-uniformity of the photoresist film possibly caused by the topology of the wafer and uniformly controlling the thickness of the photoresist film.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the lithography process for the fabrication of semiconductor devices, generally, the formation of a photoresist film over a wafer is involved. The formation of such a photoresist film is carried out by coating a photoresist material, which consists of photoresist particles dissolved in a solvent, over a wafer while rotating the wafer by use of a nozzle.
However, this injection method has a problem that the thickness of the photoresist film coated on the wafer is locally non-uniform when the photoresist material contains photoresist particles of wide grain size ranges. Although the photoresist particles of a small grain size have little effect on the uniformity of the coated photoresist film, those of a larger grain size have a considerable effect on the uniformity of the photoresist film, thereby making it impossible to form a uniform pattern.

Method of and apparatus for coating photoresist film

Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd.


A bathing apparatus to be used on a mattress and being collapsible for volumetric efficient storage and transportation. An impermeable, pliable and semi-flexible sheet has a peripheral edge portion which includes a fold as a peripheral end or rim. The edge portion is kept at a position above the mattress so that the sheet may contain liquids. To keep the peripheral edge portion at this position several arm support assemblies are mounted perpendicular to the mattress around its perimeter. The distal ends of the arm members in the arm support assemblies coact with cooperatively exposed areas of the peripheral fold. A flexible cord is passed through the fold and kept sufficiently tensed to keep the peripheral edge portion at a substantially perpendicular relationship with respect to the plane of the mattress.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a foldable and portable bathing assembly to be used in bed, such as for handicapped, aged people, and for ill patients in hospitals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Applicant believes that the closest reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,336 issued on Apr. 2, 1974 to Hoxeng for a portable bed bath. It includes a waterproof sheet that forms the bath tub. However, it differs from the present invention because it needs a frame for the sheet to be installed around the bed. This patented invention's frame can not be used with any bed since it needs frames of different dimensions for each kind of bed.
Another design for a portable, self-contained bathing apparatus for incapacitated bedridden individuals is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,257 issued on Oct. 21, 1997 to Morcate et al. This patented invention, however, requires the use of telescopic members 32 with the need to provide for these design features.
Other patents describing the closest subject matter provide for a number of more or less complicated features that fail to solve the problem in an efficient and economical way. None of these patents suggest the novel features of the present invention.


A system and method for tracking and engaging a boosting airborne object comprises a plurality of sensors, a first vehicle, and a second vehicle. The plurality of sensors are configured to detect and track the boosting airborne object. The first vehicle is configured to launch and guide an intercept object based on data it receives from the plurality of sensors. A second vehicle is configured to receive a cue from the first vehicle to acquire track of the airborne object and then provide track data to the first vehicle even after burnout, thereby enabling the first vehicle to provide midcourse guidance to the intercept object. The first vehicle may be positioned farther from a launch point of the airborne object than the second vehicle, thereby providing the first vehicle an increased engagement time and the second vehicle a better position to acquire track of the boosting airborne object.

Defense against missile attack has been important for centuries. In the distant past, fortified structures were used to protect against missiles such as projectiles from catapults. With the advent of projectile-firing cannon, fortified structures became less useful, and the inadequacy of fortifications was exacerbated by the introduction of bomb-carrying aircraft.
More recently, rocket-propelled missiles have become very important, because of their ability to quickly transport extremely destructive payloads to distant locations. The payloads that are now of importance include nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, known generally as weapons of mass destruction (WMD). These payloads when carried by rocket-propelled missiles are potentially so destructive that a great deal of attention has been directed toward attempts to neutralize the threat.
As a response to the perceived threat to the Unites States of inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) launched from distant locations and carrying WMD, programs have been instituted to investigate and produce ballistic missile defense systems. Ballistic missiles have an extremely limited time between launch and impact, so defense systems must very quickly identify and destroy the threat.
The ballistic missile goes through several distinct phases during its operation. The first phase is launch, in which a rocket engine lifts the missile and propels it upward. The missile is relatively vulnerable at this stage, but there are substantial difficulties in identifying it at this stage. For example, the launch is liable to be in a hostile territory. Furthermore, while the launch may produce a heat (infrared) and light signature that would be identifiable if viewable, there may not be a line-of-sight between sensors and the missile launch that might identify the situation. Spacecraft may be able to view the region, but the communications between the spacecraft and defense systems tend not to provide long warning times of missile launch. Moreover, sensor systems such as space based sensors which detect heat or light, can only track the missile while those signature characteristics are present and detectable (i.e. during launch and/or boost phases).
Following launch, the rocket-propelled missile passes through a boost stage, in which the rocket engine propels the missile through a principal portion of the atmosphere. This phase also produces a heat signature. Since the missile is at a significant altitude in this phase, it may be observable by land-based, air-based, or space-based infrared sensors. The missile may also be observable on land-based radar systems. Thus, a missile may be identifiable when in its boost phase. At some time, the rocket engine stops operating, so boost thrust goes to zero. Following the termination of thrust, the missile enters a mid-course phase, in which the missile proceeds along a ballistic trajectory to its apogee, carried by its own inertia. The missile in its ballistic mode proceeds toward its target. In the mid-course phase, the heat signature is much reduced. Therefore, infrared sensors become less effective; however, the missile may be clearly viewed by radar.
At some point after the apogee of the missile's path, as the missile approaches its target, it begins to re-enter dense portions of the atmosphere. This re-entry may be at a location essentially above the target. Destruction of the missile during the re-entry phase may still result in damage to the target, since the payload weapon may still be effective and active. Despite the missile being damaged and kept from properly functioning, the constituent parts may still be very harmful to the target region.
Thus, it is desirable to identify and destroy missiles early in flight, to allow time for repeated tries at destruction and so that the destroyed missile falls short of its target, preferably in the hostile territory. In particular, early intercept (EI), which is a launch of a countermeasure during the threat's boost phase with intercept occurring after burnout but before the threat reaches its apogee, provides for increased forward engagement battlespace with potential shoot-look-shoot (SLS) opportunities. Early intercept also allows for interception of the threat before it deploys its payload and before the threat is able to deploy a countermeasure package.
Existing solutions for early intercept consist of a single ship identifying a threat such as a missile, tracking the threat with its local radar, and then engaging the threat. This single ship solution relies entirely on local radar and is not able to provide effective early intercept performance for intermediate or longer range threats.
A single ship solution that is supplemented by offboard Electro-Optical/Infra red track reports (such as from an Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) sensor, an overhead non-imaging infrared (ONIR) sensor, or even land-based sensors) to provide initial threat detection has also been considered. But while the supplemental sensors can provide earlier threat detection capability relative to shipboard radar alone, these supplemental sensors have little or no tracking capability after threat burnout because the threat's heat signal dissipates rapidly after burnout. Thus, while a single ship solution using supplemental sensors could launch a countermeasure based on the data from the supplemental sensors before acquisition of the threat by the ship's local radar, the ship's local radar must pick up the threat after launch to close the fire control loop so that the countermeasure can be guided to intercept the threat.
Placement of the ship when using a single ship solution supplemented by sensors is problematic because there is no optimal single ship placement for both threat acquisition and missile intercept. While it is advantageous to be as close as possible to the threat for timely detection, the relative missile/threat geometries resulting from a closer ship placement results in tail chase engagements where the anti-missile weapons (e.g. RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3)) must "catch up" with the threat, resulting in limited engagement opportunities. When the ship is placed farther away from the launch point of the ballistic threat to provide better intercept geometry, the ship's radar is also farther away which results in a limited detection capability to detect the threat prior to burnout when the supplemental sensors cease to provide data.
Alternative early intercept missile tracking systems and methods are desired.

System and method for early intercept ballistic missile defense


In accordance with one or more aspects, a plane in a 3D coordinate system in which a 3D model is to be generated based on one or more 2D images is identified. A direction of extrusion for the plane is also identified. Additionally, a user identification of a region of interest on a 2D image is received and projected onto the plane. A location in the 3D model of the region of interest is then automatically identified by extruding the plane along the direction of extrusion until the region of interest in the plane matches a corresponding region of at least one of the one or more 2D images.

Image-based modeling refers to the creation of a 3-dimensional (3D) model from multiple 2-dimensional (2D) images. One technique that is oftentimes used during image based modeling is the insertion of a plane into the 3D coordinate system so that the plane aligns with the multiple 2D images. This plane insertion can be difficult for users because manipulating planes within a 3D coordinate system using a mouse and keyboard can be very confusing.

Semi-automatic plane extrusion for 3D modeling


A system and method for using strip information elements to provide secure data exchange and efficient bandwidth utilization is presented. When a person attends an event, an agent is downloaded into the persons' handheld device. The agent receives and manages strip information elements. The strip information elements do not carry the complete information, but carry the elements necessary to retrieve, format, and display the information. The agent authenticates the strip information elements, and scans the different fields in the strip information elements to make decisions according to the content of the field. Strip information elements include identifiers to distinguish between multiple events and also to determine whether a previously transmitted strip information element should be replaced with a newly received strip information element.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to a system and method for exchanging data between computing devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for using strip information elements to provide secure data exchange and efficient bandwidth utilization.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the pervasive device environment, handheld devices communicate with external entities. When the information exchange requires more than a single and simple communication exchange, one of the best approaches to solve the problem is to have an agent within the handheld computing device that takes care of the communication exchange. An agent is a program that performs information gathering or processing task in the background. Typically, an agent is given a very small and well-defined task. Tasks involved in the communication exchange include requesting and receiving the proper information content type. Examples of information content are text, non-real time video, real time video, and music. Bandwidth resources are wasted when a service provider sends text and video information to a device that is capable of processing text, but not video. Another varying factor in handheld devices is the screen. Many pagers have a small, monochrome screen, while laptop computers, however, often have larger, color screens. Bandwidth resources are wasted when a service provider sends information to the paging device that the paging device is not able to display properly. Unfortunately, there is no unique, common agent able to handle the different types of communication for the different types of information content.
The type and amount of electronic devices for information exchange are increasing and improving at an exceptional rate due to the investments in technology research. Mobile telephones today, for example, are able to communicate on multiple frequencies as well as multiple air interfaces (analog, CDMA, TDMA, etc.). Mobile phones are also useful for more than just for phone conversations. For example, many mobile telephones can access the Internet or a host of services that provide information. Other handheld communication devices also have greatly improved capabilities in comparison to devices offered only a few years ago. Pagers can now transmit messages as well as access Internet information. Many Personal Digital Assistants (PDA's) have wireless connections that allow the PDA to send and receive wireless data and access computer networks, such as the Internet. With the increasing quantity and quality of portable electronic devices, a challenge is to develop a way to provide sufficient information exchange to a handheld device without using unnecessary bandwidth and maintaining security.
What is needed, therefore, is an information distribution configuration that is adaptable to the constraints and features provided in any number of possible handheld devices.

System and method for providing efficient and secure data exchange using strip information elements

International Business Machines Corporation


Systems and methods for allocating computing resources for a multi-tiered application are disclosed. A computer-implemented method includes: determining, by a computing device, a topology of a multi-tiered application; determining, by the computing device, a modeled setting of a computing resource for the multi-tiered application based on the determined topology; determining, by the computing device, an actual usage of the computing resource by the multi-tiered application; and adjusting, by the computing device, an allocation of the computing resource to the multi-tiered application based on the actual usage and the modeled setting.

The present invention relates generally to computing systems, and more particularly, to provisioning resources for a computing application.
With advent of "on-demand" and cloud computing, information technology (IT) enterprise customers are provided with more insight and control of their infrastructure so that they can add/remove resources to support their demand and reduce costs. A customer typically defines their requirements for computing resources, e.g., number of servers, type of servers, and CPU/memory/storage/network detail for each server. Alternatively, a service provider may estimate the computing resources needed by a customer by using a model/estimator and gathering user demand data from the customer to obtain a high level estimate of the needed computing resources. In either case, whether specified by the customer or estimated by the service provider, the initially allocated computing resources are typically not monitored and tuned afterwards to meet variable demands that arise later. Often a customer is restricted to a service provider's fixed capacity templates and cannot specify different computing resources and parameters to support constant changing user demands. The existing methods for adjusting resources for a customer are mostly manual, use generic static models, and incur significantly higher IT cost for customer—even for a cloud or shared instance that hosts multiple customers on a single instance, where all customer data is stored in the same database with data model and security in place to ensure data segregation.

Assessment and dynamic provisioning of computing resources for multi-tiered application

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A user data-driven method and system for generating position recommendations for content links on a web page is disclosed. The method and system collect user activity data associated with a set of content links positioned in one or more content position boxes of the multiple content position boxes of a web page during an activity window. An engagement measurement associated with a particular content link of the set of content links during the activity window is determined. A performance delta for a particular content link based on the calculated engagement measurement associated with the particular content link is determined. Multiple predicted user engagement measurements associated with moving the particular content link to a plurality of updated positions is determined. The method and system generate content position recommendations associated with the particular content link based on a comparison of the multiple predicted user engagement measurements.

In the digital content publishing industry, it is desirable for a content publisher (e.g., a website provider) to present its users not only with interesting, relevant, trustworthy and engaging content in an initial form (e.g., a webpage), but also provide users of the publisher's content with additional recommended content. Furthermore, it is a goal for a content publisher to provide its users with content in a manner which maximizes user consumption. An aspect impacting a user's level of engagement with content on a webpage is the position of the content on the webpage itself. In conventional web publishing, a human editor managing the content of a web page is tasked with inefficiently deciding a respective position for placement of various content elements within the layout of the web page. However, an approach is needed to automatically determine optimal positions on the web page for multiple content links.


A data processing apparatus 1 has a plurality of registers 10 of the same type of register and a plurality of processing pipelines 40, 50, each processing pipeline 40, 50 being arranged to process instructions. At least one instruction includes a destination register specifier specifying which of said registers is a destination register for storing a processing result of the at least one instruction. Instruction issuing circuitry 26 is configured to issue the at least one instruction for processing by one of the plurality of processing pipelines. The instruction issuing circuitry 26 selects the one of the plurality of processing pipelines to which the candidate instruction is issued in dependence upon the value of the destination register specifier of the candidate instruction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of data processing. In particular, the invention relates to pipeline scheduling of instructions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Some data processing apparatuses have two or more processing pipelines for processing a sequence of program instructions. It is possible that one instruction requires a result of a preceding instruction in order to be executed. In such cases, the result of the preceding instruction is forwarded to the later instruction to be used as an operand. Forwarding between instructions being processed by different pipelines is slower and more expensive than forwarding between instructions in the same pipeline. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the amount of inter-pipeline forwarding.

Pipe scheduling for pipelines based on destination register number