An inexpensive enclosure providing a protected space on a beach, lawn or the like. An inflatable tube forms a wall surrounding a space having an open end, so that a user is shielded from small kicked or thrown material or objects, running pets and the like. The tubular wall has flaps extending from its bottom surface, with pouches or separate tubes which a user fills at the site to hold the enclosure in place. The enclosure may have a floor, and may have attachment portions for removably connecting an extension unit having a floor which extends beyond the open end of the space between side portions of the wall.

The invention relates to collapsible enclosures adapted for use by one or two people on a beach or other generally level surface, in particular such enclosures which can provide protection against sand or small objects kicked or thrown by others.
The desirability of providing some portable shelter-like protection for people resting or sun-bathing on a beach or lawn has long been recognized. U.S. Design Pat. Des. 288,613 shows a combined shelter and comfort unit formed by flat wall and floor panels stretched over frames. The panels appear to be fabric with transparent window portions, and contain sleeve portions through which rigid tubing frame parts are passed. In addition to substantial cost, structures like this have the disadvantage that the frame parts, while flat, have an overall length and width equal to the shelter's width and height. As a result, even if the fabric can be readily slipped off some tubing sections so that a plurality of flat sections are formed, in a disassembled condition the shelter is bulky unless the frames pull apart into a large number of straight and/or corner lengths. The latter arrangement requires a large bag to hold all the parts, and substantial time by one or two people to assemble or disassemble. If just one part becomes lost, the shelter cannot be erected.
Many kinds of inflatable boats, floats and beach toys or furniture have been designed and sold but none of these are suitable for a simple shelter which requires no long or rigid poles to define a useful shape.


A method includes forming a first semiconductor fin protruding from a substrate and forming a gate stack over the first semiconductor fin. Forming the gate stack includes depositing a gate dielectric layer over the first semiconductor fin, depositing a first seed layer over the gate dielectric layer, depositing a second seed layer over the first seed layer, wherein the second seed layer has a different structure than the first seed layer, and depositing a conductive layer over the second seed layer, wherein the first seed layer, the second seed layer, and the conductive layer include the same conductive material. The method also includes forming source and drain regions adjacent the gate stack.

Semiconductor devices are used in a large number of electronic devices, such as computers, cell phones, and others. Semiconductor devices include integrated circuits that are formed on semiconductor wafers by depositing many types of thin films of material over the semiconductor wafers, and patterning the thin films of material to form the integrated circuits. Integrated circuits include field-effect transistors (FETs) such as metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors.
One of the goals of the semiconductor industry is to continue shrinking the size and increasing the speed of individual FETs. To achieve these goals, Fin Field-Effect Transistors (FinFETs) or multiple gate transistors are being researched and implemented. However, with this new device structure and the continuous shrinking of even FinFETs, new challenges are being discovered.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

FinFET structures and methods of forming the same

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.


The present invention comprises an apparatus to aid in the storage, display, and transportation of fishing lures. A conventional glass bottle or jar has lure retaining notches for receiving the lure hooks around the periphery of the opening of the bottle or jar for the retention of said lures. A lid with an extruding lip portion is also provided to aid in retaining said lures and protecting the user from accidental impairment with the lure hook.

A great number of people around the world enjoy fishing. Whether fishing for food or for the sport of it, the calmness and serenity of the sport, coupled with the excitement of landing the big one, makes fishing a popular pastime. However, the tranquility of the pastime is quickly destroyed when dealing with tangled lures. This tangling is especially common when lures are stored with the fish hooks attached. In fact, many experts recommend removing the hooks when storing lures. However, the time spent removing and re-attaching hooks to lures may be as great as or greater than untangling them. While this wasted time is certainly stressful when fishing for relaxation, it can also mean the difference between winning and losing in a fishing contest.
Several attempts have been made in the past to assist individuals in transporting and storing lures with attached fish hooks in a tangle-free environment. U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,488 issued in the name of Krammes, Jr. provides for a fishing lure storage and display apparatus comprising transparent storage receptacles releasably suspended from a hanging rod. The Krammes, Jr. invention differs from the present invention in that it doesn't completely envelope the lures it is protecting.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,641 issued in the name of Price et al. discloses a fishing lure container and transporter, which is essentially a caddy with tubular compartments rotatably surrounding a core. The Price et al. device is bulkier and designed to retain multiple tubular containers on a central core that is rotatably selectable and is therefore not in the scope of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,033,648 issued in the name of Lopez-Cepero describes a fishing lure rack mounted to an interior location of a boat consisting of lure hook retainers and a pivotable cover for protecting the hook portions. This device must be mounted to a vertical wall and does not completely enclose the lure and hook in a transparent container and therefore differs from the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,820 issued in the name of Suddeth describes a tangle-free fishing lure storage container including a plurality of compartments with lure retaining slots on two pivoting lure panels disposed in a carrying case. The Suddeth device is designed to carry a multitude of fishing lures in a carrying case instead of a transparent jar and is not suited for carrying a small number of lures as in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,433 issued in the name of Jones discloses a compact fishing lure and leader holder comprising rigid fiberglass pages contained within a looseleaf binder. The Jones invention, transported and stored in a similar manner to the Suddeth device, differs from the present invention as well.
Other designs have evolved to provide a means for preventing the entanglement of fishing lures that differ in scope and function from the present invention. Such designs include U.S. Pat. No. D475,852 issued in the name of Peterson and U.S. Pat. No. D262,132 issued in the name of McHugh.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which fishing lures can be stored with their hooks attached in a quick, easy and effective manner.


The present invention relates to bacteriophages for use in the treatment or prophylaxis of bacterial infections, especially mucosal bacterial infections such as Heliobacter pylori infections, in particular, it relates to modified filamentous bacteriophages, e.g. M13 phages, for such use, which bacteriophages present at the surface a recombinant protein comprising (i) a first component derived from a bacteriophage surface protein; and (ii) a second component comprising variable region sequences of an antibody to provide a bacterial antigen binding site, said second component rendering said bacteriophage capable of binding to and thereby inhibiting growth of bacterial cells involved in the etiology of said infection.

This invention relates to bacteriophages useful for the treatment of bacterial infections, especially mucosal bacterial infections such as Helicobacter pylori infections.
Bacteriophages and Antibiotic Resistance
Resistance to antibiotics is a global problem of increasing medical and economical importance. There is thus a great need for alternative methods to eradicate bacteria which will circumvent the problem of such resistance.
A bacteriophage, or phage, is a virus which specifically infects bacteria. Phages bind to their host bacterium and transfer genes encoding various phage proteins. They utilize the protein-synthesizing machinery, amino acids etc., and the energy provided by the host bacterium for their replication (Maloy et al. (eds.): Microbial genetics. Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 1994).
Most phages lyse or by other mechanisms destroy specific strains of bacteria. The present invention stems from the realisation that genetic modification of phages, in particular filamentous bacteriophages, offers a means for designing new bacterium-specific phages capable of eradicating certain bacteria, e.g. Helicobacter pylori, and having the potential to overcome problems related to antibiotic resistance.
Filamentous Phages
E. coli cells bearing hair-like F-pili are hosts for filamentous phages such as M13, fd and f1. These Ff (F pili, filamentous) phages are nearly identical in sequence and behaviour (Rashed and Oberer (1986) Microbiological reviews 50, 401-427; Kornberg and Baker, in: DNA Replication, p. 557-570, W.H. Freeman and Co., New York 1992). Ff phages alone among the bacterial viruses do not produce a lytic infection, but rather induce a state in which the infected host cells produce and secrete phage particles without undergoing lysis.
The single-stranded genome of phage M13 encodes 10 different proteins. The DNA is enclosed in a protein coat comprised of approximately 2700 copies of the gene 8 protein (g8p). A viable M13 phage also expresses five copies of the 43 kDa gene 3 protein (g3p) on its tip, which protein is responsible for adsorption to E. coli pili. The gene 3 protein is anchored to the virus coat via the C-terminal part of the polypeptide chain, whereas the N-terminal globular domain is exposed and mediates the attachment of the phage to the tip of a host F pilus. By electron microscopy, the adsorption complex appears as a xe2x80x9cknob-on-stemxe2x80x9d structure at one end of the phage. During infection, the leader sequences of g3p and g8p direct the transport of these proteins into the inner membrane of the bacterial cell.
The Ff phages have gained popularity as cloning vectors because they have no physical constraints limiting the length of DNA that can be packaged and because they allow the easy purification of single-stranded DNA. A phagemid is a vector which carries both the M13 (single-stranded) and plasmid (double-stranded) origins of replication. Phagemids can be grown as plasmids or packaged as recombinant M13 phage with the aid of a helper phage such as M13K07 (Veira and Messing (1987) Methods in Enzymol. 153, 3-11).
Recombinant Antibody Production
Antibody molecules contain discrete fragments which can be isolated by protease digestion or produced by recombinant techniques. One such fragment is the Fv (fragment variable) which is composed only of the VL and VH regions of the antibody. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,778 a recombinant version of the Fv fragment, designated single-chain Fv (ScFv), is described, where the two variable regions are artificially joined with a neutral linker and expressed as a single polypeptide chain.
A technology for recombinant antibody production has been developed by McCafferty and coworkers (McCafferty (1990) Nature 348, 552-554; Winter and Milstein (1991) Nature 349, 293). This approach relies on a phage-display system in which VH (variable heavy) and VL (variable light) genes are cloned into a phage vector whereafter fragments of antibodies are expressed as fusion proteins displayed on the phage surface. With this approach, antibodies of defined specificity and affinity can be selected from a population. It has been suggested that antibodies isolated and manufactured in prokaryotic systems should be called xe2x80x9ccoliclonalxe2x80x9d antibodies (Chiswell and McCafferty (1992) Trends in Biotechnology 10, 80-84).
The commercially available phagemid pCANTAB5 is designed such that antibody variable region genes can be cloned between the leader sequence and the main body of the M13 gene 3. The g3p leader sequence directs transport of the resulting fusion protein to the inner membrane and/or periplasm of E. coli where the main g3p domain attaches the fusion protein to the tip of the assembling phage. The expression of the antibody-g3p gene is controlled by an inducible lac promoter on the phagemid.
Helicobacter pylori Infection
It is widely accepted that the bacterium Helicobacter pylori is the main cause of gastric and duodenal ulcer, responsible for 84% and 95%, respectively, of reported cases (Kuipers, E. L. et al. (1995) Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. 9 (suppl.2), 59-69). H. pylori colonises the wall of the stomach, protected from the acid environment by a layer of mucus which lines the stomach wall, and by a metabolic process which enables the organism to secrete ammonia to neutralise acid.
Conventional antibiotic treatment appears to have little effect on H. pylori. This is probably due to: (i) poor access of the antimicrobial agent to the organism which is not directly exposed to the blood circulation; and (ii) rapid passage of many oral antibiotics through the stomach, or degradation of such antibiotics in the acid conditions of the stomach.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide new forms of treatment for eradication of bacteria, especially eradication of bacteria responsible for mucosal bacterial infections such as Helicobacter pylori. In particular, it provides filamentous bacteriophages genetically modified to have binding specificity towards another bacterial host for use in therapy.
Methods of treatment of mucosal bacterial infections based on recombinant phages are believed to be superior to conventional antibiotic treatment for several reasons, e.g. the following:
it will be possible to eradicate bacteria resistant to conventional antibiotics;
the high specificity of the recombinant phage towards specific bacterial species;
propagation of the phage is self-limiting;
in the case of Helicobacter pylori infections, the motility of Helicobacter pylori could help to distribute the phage to all parts of the gastric mucosa.
In the present description and examples, the terms xe2x80x9cstandard protocolsxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cstandard proceduresxe2x80x9d are to be understood as protocols and procedures found in an ordinary laboratory manual such as: Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E. F. and Maniatis, T. (1989) Molecular Cloning: A laboratory manual, 2nd Ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.
In a first aspect, this invention provides a modified bacteriophage for use in the treatment or prophylaxis of a bacterial infection, which bacteriophage presents at its surface a recombinant protein comprising
(i) a first component derived from a bacteriophage surface protein; and
(ii) a second component comprising variable region sequences of an antibody to provide a bacterial antigen binding site, said second component rendering said bacteriophage capable of binding to and thereby inhibiting growth of bacterial cells involved in the etiology of said infection.
The said modified bacteriophage can e.g. be a modified filamentous phage, such as a modified M13 phage.
The said bacterial infection can e.g. be a mucosal bacterial infection such as Helicobacter pylori infection. However, the present invention is not restricted to phages capable of incapacitating Helicobacter pylori cells, but rather comprises phages with altered properties which can be used for incapacitating a wide range of bacteria. It will be understood that a phage according to the invention which is specific for any bacterial species can be prepared by the skilled person on the basis of the present disclosure. Phages according to the invention are suitable for treatment of any mucosal bacterial infection accessible to the outside world. Examples of such mucosal epitheliums are nasal, lung, gastrointestinal tract, urinary bladder and vagina.
Examples of other bacterial infections which could be treated with phages according to the invention are:
infections in the urinary tract by E. coli, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Klebsiella spp, Proteus spp or Pseudomonas aeruginosa;
vaginal infections by Clamydia;
nose/toncillar/lung infections by Streptoccus, Staphylococcus, Haemophilus influence, Pneumococcus or Mycoplasma pneumonic;
infections in the gastrointestinal tract by Salmonella, Shigella, Yersinia, Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli, Helicobacter, Vibrio cholera or E. coli.
The said first component of the recombinant protein mentioned above can preferably be derived from the protein responsible for adsorption of the unmodified form of said bacteriophage to bacterial pili, e.g. the g3p protein from a M13 phage.
The said second component of said recombinant-protein can e.g. comprise a recombinant single-chain Fv (ScFv) polypeptide. Consequently, the said recombinant protein can e.g. be a g3p-ScFv fusion protein.
In a preferred form, the bacteriophage according to the invention is a bacteriophage for use in the treatment or prophylaxis of Helicobacter pylori infection wherein the antibody variable region sequences of said recombinant polypeptide are variable region sequences of a monoclonal antibody selected from the monoclonal antibodies of hybridoma cell lines 5F8 (ECACC No.95121524), 2H6 (ECACC No.95121526) and 5D8 (ECACC No.95121527).
Thus, the bacteriophage according to the invention can e.g. be the modified M13 bacteriophage designated B8 deposited at the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 40779, or a derivative thereof which retains the ability to bind and infect Helicobacter pylori.
Phages with the desired properties can be obtained by e.g. one of the following methods:
(a) Screening naturally occurring phages, or phage libraries containing phages expressing a multitude of variable antibody fragments. Phage libraries may be obtained e.g. from immune cells, from a large number of individuals. Due to the vast genetic variability, such large phage libraries are likely to comprise the desired, specific phage directed towards bacteria, to which the individuals previously have been exposed.
(b) Development of mutations in existing phages. Mutations occur in all living organisms including phages. The frequency of mutations may be increased, e.g. by chemical means or by means of short wavelength electromagnetic irradiation.
(c) Directed genetic modification of one or more amino acids, or other modifications of e.g. carbohydrate or lipid components, of the binding region of the phage, in order to increase the desired properties of the natural or recombinant phage. An example of this approach is further described in the experimental section. A bacteriophage according to the invention can thus be produced by a method comprising (a) isolating an antibody against a bacterial cell; (b) isolating the DNA encoding for a variable region of the heavy and light chains of the said antibody; and (c) introducing the said DNA into phage DNA so that the said antibody regions will be expressed on the surface of the phage.
In another aspect, the invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising a bacteriophage according to the invention in admixture with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient.
Examples of suitable means of administration of phages according to the invention include:
spray for nasal and lung applications;
pre-treatment with omeprazole followed by phages suspended in bicarbonate buffers for the treatment of gastrointestinal mucosae;
mixtures of muco-adhesive gels (i.e. cellulose-based gels, polycarbophil, poloxamer etc.) for the gastric mucosa and vaginal mucosa;
bicarbonate buffers for use in the urinary bladder.
The number of phages to be administered can be determined by the skilled person. Depending on the type of infection, the number of phages to be administered can range from 104 to 1010.
In yet another aspect, the invention provides a method for treatment of a bacterial infection in a mammal which comprises administering a bacteriophage or pharmaceutical composition according to the invention. The said bacterial infections can e.g. be mucosal bacterial infections such as Helicobacter pylori infections. Included in the invention is also the use of a bacteriophage according to the invention in the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment or prophylaxis of a mucosal bacterial infection, e.g. Helicobacter pylori infections. Further aspects of the invention are a hybridoma selected from 5F8 (ECACC No.95121524), 2H6 (ECACC No.95121526) and 5D8 (ECACC No.95121527), as well as a monoclonal antibody selected from the monoclonal antibodies produced by the said hybridomas. Hybridoma technology, in which antibody-producing B-cells from immunized animals are fused with myeloma cells, and resulting hybridoma cell lines producing the desired antibody are selected, is well known in the art.


An apparatus and method for producing a slurry from a slurry concentrate in which streams of slurry concentrate, de-ionized water and oxidizer are pumped to form three pumped streams that are brought together to form a mixture. Homogeneity is promoted within the mixture by such devices as a static mixer and an in-line mixer of special design. The resultant homogenous stream is then pumped to dispense pressure by a dispense pump to produce a dispense stream. Part of the dispense stream, preferably about fifty percent, is recycled back to a junction at which the pumped streams join to further promote homogeneity of the slurry. For such purpose a flow network is connected to an outlet pump and such flow network is branched so as to have a dispense leg from which the dispense stream issues and a recycle leg connected to the junction for recirculating the recycle stream.

The present invention provides an apparatus and method for producing a slurry from a slurry concentrate in which the slurry concentrate, de-ionized water and an oxidizer are pumped into a junction to produce the slurry. More particularly, the present invention relates to such an apparatus and method in which the homogeneity of the slurry is enhanced by passing the slurry through a mixing device and recirculating part of the finished slurry back to the junction.
Slurries are used in a variety of surface treatment techniques. An important surface treatment, used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, is chemical mechanical polishing or planarization. Typically, slurries used in such surface treatment comprise potassium hydroxide, silicon oxide, an oxidizer such as hydrogen peroxide, and a diluent such as de-ionized water. Ferric nitrate or chloride might also be present. The oxidizer contained within the slurry acts on the surface to be treated and the abrasive particles sweep the surface layer away. Slurries are often shipped to a site as a slurry concentrate that contains, for instance, the potassium hydroxide and silicon dioxide. The diluent and oxidizer are then added to the concentrate at the site or in some instances at the tool itself.
There are however, many difficulties involved in the mixing of the slurry and the handling of the finished slurry, once mixed. One major problem is that the slurry has a very limited pot life and as such, there exists only a limited amount of time to use the slurry after having been mixed. Additionally, slurries such as those used in the semiconductor industry do not remain homogenous upon being subjected to shear forces. For instance, shear induced in the slurry due to sharp pipe bends will produce agglomeration which will destroy the usefulness of the slurry in the semiconductor manufacturing process.
Because of such problems, slurry delivery and mixing systems have been proposed in which the slurry is mixed on site from the slurry concentrate. An example of such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,526. In this patent, the slurry concentrate and oxidant are pumped into a mixing chamber where they are mixed to form the finished slurry. The slurry is then immediately deposited onto the semiconductor so that it can be worked by the polishing tool. Another slurry mixing system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,435 in which slurries are pumped directly onto a polishing pad of a chemical mechanical planarization tool.
In each of the foregoing patents, the mixing of the slurry from the slurry concentrate can only occur when the polishing tool is in operation. As will be discussed, the present invention provides an apparatus and method in which the slurry is mixed at a location that is remote from the polishing tool to allow for distribution of the slurry to several tools, each of which do not have to be operating. Furthermore, the present invention allows for greater control over the consistency and makeup of the slurry than is possible in either of the foregoing patents.


A case for recording media used for binding or fastening a recording medium, such as a compact disc, in a book, for example, weekly or monthly magazines, and comprising a board, a film adhered thereto to form a casing space into which a disc is put, the case being bound or fastened in the book with both ends of the board being matched, the disc being allowed to be readily taken out of the casing space through a gateway by disconnecting the case from the book and unfolding the case, or by cutting the case at a folding section, and the disc further allowed to be put into the casing space again under the same conditions as that exists before the disc is taken out.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a case for casing recording media, such as a compact disc, which case is used for binding or fastening the recording medium in or to books, for example, weekly or monthly magazines, and more particularly to a case for casing recording media wherein the cased recording medium, e.g. a compact disc, is quite readily taken out and cased again.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A case for casing recording media in this kind hitherto proposed comprises a board having a casing bore which extends through the board in the direction of thickness thereof to receive and hold recording media, such as a compact disc, and a covering paper is fixed by use of adhesives to surfaces of both sides of the board to prevent the compact disc from falling. One of the covering papers for a recording side of the compact disc is adapted to cover the whole surface of the recording side to protect the same. The other covering paper covering a side of the compact disc opposite to the recording side is provided with a window hole having a smaller diameter than the compact disc through which hole the compact disc can be seen or identified. The case for casing recording media may be bound or fastened in books to allow a compact disc to be included therein, for example, as an appendix to the book.
Conventionally, the board and the covering papers make use of paperboards and are firmly adhered to each other by adhesives in order to protect the cased compact disc. Hence, it is troublesome to take out the compact disc of the case. And once the compact disc is taken out, a part of at least one of the covering papers is completely peeled off the board, so that re-casing the compact disc is impossible.


A method for identifying a message selection made at a mobile station (MS), the method including the steps of uniquely associating an inbound telephone number with a message, attaching the inbound telephone number to the message, sending the message and the attached inbound telephone number to an MS using an MS telephone number associated with the MS, maintaining a unique association between the message, the inbound telephone number, and the MS telephone number, selecting the message at the MS, calling from the MS the inbound telephone number attached to the selected message, identifying the inbound telephone number of the telephone call, identifying the MS telephone number of the telephone call, and identifying the message associated with the inbound telephone number and the MS telephone number, thereby identifying the message selection made at the MS.

Cellular telephone communications protocols, such as the Short Message Service (SMS), also known as PCS Messaging, Text Messaging, Voice Mail Plus, Cellular Message Teleservice (CMT), and Cellular Alpha Paging, allow for the transmission of short text-only messages to a cellular telephone, referred to herein as a mobile station (MS). In the SMS protocol a telephone number may be attached to an SMS message that is sent to an MS, allowing the recipient of an SMS message to replay to the message, either by dialing the telephone number indicated, or, in some implementations, simply by pressing the "SEND" button or otherwise initiating a telephone call from the MS without dialing the telephone number. In those implementations that support it, initiating a telephone call while displaying an SMS message to which a telephone number has been attached will cause the telephone number to be automatically dialed.
Some commercial message services employ known computer telephony integration (CTI) techniques to enable a subscriber to receive voice mail, email, and other types of messages at a central computer server which then forwards notifications of the arrival of such messages to the subscriber's MS in the form of SMS messages. The SMS message may simply be a generic notification that a message has been received for the subscriber at the server, or may contain a portion of the message in a text format, aiding the subscriber in identifying the sender and/or determining the message's importance to the subscriber. In order to hear the full message the subscriber may then call the message service by dialing a telephone number known to the subscriber or, where the telephone number of the message service is attached to each SMS message, by pressing the "SEND" button or otherwise initiating the call as described above.
Once the message service has been contacted, the subscriber must identify the message that the subscriber wishes to hear. This may be done by reading the content of the SMS message to a operator or by navigating an automated menu system that is responsive to voice commands or dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals. In the case of an automated menu system, the subscriber generally must listen to a portion of each message received and then provide an indication whether or not the subscriber wishes to hear the complete message. Where tens of SMS message notifications are received at an MS, navigating such a menu system is tedious and time-consuming.

Mobile station (MS) message selection identification system


A method for open or closed-loop control of welding tong movement utilizes a welding tong drive having a primary and a secondary drive device. The primary drive device moves two welding tong limbs with welding electrodes toward a welding object from opposite sides. The welding tong limbs press onto the welding object with a predetermined compressive force. During actuation, the secondary drive device varies a spatial orientation of the welding tongs. In order to contact the welding object in a controlled manner, and to reliably acquire any deviations from specified spatial points during contacting, the welding tongs first approach a spatial point relative to the welding object. The welding tong limbs are held in a fixed spatial orientation during the approach. The secondary drive device is actuated until a welding tong limb contacts the welding object. The primary drive device then closes the welding tong limbs.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for the open and/or closed-loop control of the movement of welding tongs by a welding-tong drive, which comprises at least one primary and one secondary drive device. The primary drive device moves at least two welding tong limbs with welding electrodes from essentially opposite sides towards a welding object and presses them with a predetermined contact pressure onto the object. Actuation of the secondary drive device determines a spatial orientation of the welding tongs.
2. Description of Related Art
Welding tongs are, for example, used in the production of cars to weld together metal panels as welding objects. Generally, such welding tongs comprise two welding tong limbs, which are arranged in a C or X shape. By actuating a primary drive device, the welding tong limbs are brought closer together and are finally pressed onto different sides of the welding object. The actual welding can occur spot-shaped by resistance-welding, laser-beam welding, arc welding or a similar technique.
For the welding tongs a secondary drive device is furthermore provided, through which, for example, the so-called tong compensation occurs. This prevents an unintentional change of the spatial axis of the welding tongs during movements of the complete welding device.
In addition, the secondary drive device is also used to compensate the forces arising during closure of the welding tongs and contacting of the welding object.
With previously known methods, generally a rigid welding tong limb is released or brought further towards the welding object by linear movement using air or electric motors to compensate for the forces. However, this occurs due to an uncontrolled movement of the rigid welding tong limb. For example, the contacting of the welding object by the rigid welding tong limb cannot be acquired, and in particular accurate spatial orientations of the welding object with respect to the welding tongs cannot therefore be acquired. This leads to an uncertainty during welding which conflicts with increasing quality demands for each weld.
The object of the invention is to improve a method of open and/or closed-loop control of welding tong movement such that the contacting of the welding object occurs controlled through the welding tongs and any deviations from the specified spatial points during contacting are reliably acquired.

Method of open and/or closed-loop control of the movement of welding tongs


In an outboard motor air intake system, there are equipped with a secondary air passage connected to an air intake pipe at a location downstream of the throttle valve in terms of intake air flow; a manual valve installed in the secondary air passage to be operable by the operator to regulate a sectional area of the secondary air passage, a knob positioned at a location remote from the outboard motor to be operable by the operator, and a wire connecting the knob to the manual valve, such that the sectional area of the secondary air passage can be regulated through the knob and the manual valve at the location remote from the outboard motor, thereby making it easy to realize fine regulation when the engine operates in a low-speed such as idling.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an outboard motor air intake system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Outboard motor air intake systems have recently been proposed that use an actuator to open and close the throttle valve of the internal combustion engine incorporated in the outboard motor. Generally in a system of this type, the operator inputs an instruction to open the throttle valve by manipulating a remote control lever installed outside the outboard motor (at an appropriate location on the hull of the boat driven by the outboard motor) and the throttle opening is regulated accordingly by controlling the operation of the actuator, as taught, for example, in Japanese Patent No. 2817738, paragraphs 0013 to 0017 and FIG. 1.
However, the prior art system does not take into account an important aspect of the relationship between the throttle opening and the amount of air drawn in.
Namely, it ignores the fact that the change in amount of intake air with respect to change in throttle opening increases with decreasing throttle valve opening. This relationship arises because the pressure difference between upstream and downstream of the throttle valve increases with decreasing throttle opening. Therefore, owing to the limited resolution power of the sensor that detects the amount of remote control lever manipulation, the operator's weak sense of manipulation because of the mechanical isolation of the remote control lever from the throttle valve and various other factors, the prior art system that opens and closes the throttle valve by operating an actuator in response to the manipulation of the remote control lever makes it difficult during small throttle valve opening (including the full-closed condition) to finely regulate the amount of intake air, i.e., to finely regulate engine speed when the engine is operating in a low-speed region including the idling region.


A prosthesis for repairing a knee is made with an insert sandwiched between a femoral component and a tibial tray. The parts are shaped so that both the femoral component and the tibial tray will slidingly interface with the insert during motion of the knee. At regions where the femoral component interfaces with the insert during extension and during an initial range of flexion of the knee, the femoral component's radius of curvature (R1) for flexion rotation is larger than its radius of curvature (R3) for varus/valgus rotation. In a preferred embodiment, the surface of the tibial tray is convex and spherically curved, and the insert is free to move in both the posterior-anterior direction and the medial-lateral direction with respect to the tibial tray.

The field of the invention relates to prosthetic devices for repairing joints such as the knee.
A wide variety of prosthetic devices for repairing knees are available. Some of these prosthetic devices are bicondylar, where both condyles of the knee are replaced. In situations where only one condyle of the knee is damaged, a unicondylar prosthetic device may be used. Unfortunately, early unicondylar designs were prone to failure unless they were installed with very precise alignment, which is difficult to achieve.
The Oxford unicondylar knee replacement is one prior art approach that attempts to solve this problem. In the Oxford knee, the insert is decoupled from the tray, so it can move with respect to both the tibial tray and the femoral component. Unfortunately, the decoupled insert has a high incidence of dislocation.
The inventors have recognized a need for an improved prosthetic device for repairing knees.


A method and receiver systems for demodulating and decoding a hierarchically modulated signal, e.g. an 8 PSK signal, are disclosed. An exemplary method includes demodulating and processing (502) the hierarchically modulated signal (202) to produce symbols (212) from the first modulation at the first hierarchical level, applying information (504) from a plurality of the symbols from the first modulation at the first hierarchical level in subtracting (214) from the demodulated hierarchically modulated signal to obtain the second modulation at the second hierarchical level and processing (506) the second modulation at the second hierarchical level to produce second symbols (222) from the demodulated second signal. The hierarchically modulated signal comprises a non-uniform 8 PSK signal. Applying the information from the plurality of the symbols from the first modulation can be achieved by applying the symbols after error correction. A decision-directed demodulation of the first modulation can also be used to further improve performance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems for transmitting and receiving digital signals, and in particular, to systems for broadcasting and receiving digital signals using hierarchical modulation techniques.
2. Description of the Related Art
Digital signal communication systems have been used in various fields, including digital TV signal transmission, either terrestrial or satellite.
As the various digital signal communication systems and services evolve, there is a burgeoning demand for increased data throughput and added services. However, it is more difficult to implement either improvement in old systems and new services when it is necessary to replace existing legacy hardware, such as transmitters and receivers. New systems and services are advantaged when they can utilize existing legacy hardware. In the realm of wireless communications, this principle is further highlighted by the limited availability of electromagnetic spectrum. Thus, it is not possible (or at least not practical) to merely transmit enhanced or additional data at a new frequency.
The conventional method of increasing spectral capacity is to move to a higher-order modulation, such as from quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) to eight phase shift keying (8 PSK) or sixteen quadrature amplitude modulation (16 QAM). Unfortunately, QPSK receivers cannot demodulate conventional 8 PSK or 16 QAM signals. As a result, legacy customers with QPSK receivers must upgrade their receivers in order to continue to receive any signals transmitted with an 8 PSK or 16 QAM modulation.
Techniques have been identified for modifying the basic modulated QPSK signal to higher order modulation techniques (e.g. 8 PSK) to allow additional data to be transmitted and received by upgraded or second generation receivers. These techniques are also backwards-compatible. That is, they allow legacy receivers to receive and process the same basic QPSK signal essentially as if the additional data was not present. One such technique is hierarchical modulation. Hierarchical modulation is a technique where the standard 8 PSK constellation is modified to create a "non-uniform" 8 PSK constellation that transmits two signals (1) a QPSK signal that can be configured so as to be backwards-compatible with existing receivers, and (2) a generally more power efficient, non-backwards compatible signal. The backwards-compatible QPSK signal can be used to transmit high priority (HP) data, while the non-backwards-compatible signal can be used to transmit low priority (LP) data. While the HP signal is constrained to be the legacy signal, the LP signal has more freedom and can be encoded more efficiently using an advanced forward error correction (FEC) coding scheme such as a turbo code.
The application of conventional hierarchical demodulation techniques can result in excessive symbol errors in the LP data signal. Such errors can occur because of the excessive tracking errors in the timing/carrier recovery loop used in demodulating HP data signal, and in excessive symbol errors from the demodulated HP data signal.
What is needed is a system and method for receiving hierarchically modulated symbols, such as in non-uniform 8 PSK, that reduces LP data signal errors and provides for improved performance. The present invention satisfies that need.


A ring-shaped magnetoresistive memory device includes a ring-shaped magnetoresistive memory cell, a first conductor, and a second conductor. The first conductor is positioned on a first surface of the ring-shaped magnetoresistive memory cell for generating a first magnetic field pulse. The second conductor is positioned on a second surface of the ring-shaped magnetoresistive memory cell for generating a second magnetic field pulse. The first surface is opposite to the second surface. An extension direction of the first conductor is perpendicular to an extension direction of the second conductor. A time delay is between the first magnetic field pulse and the second magnetic field pulse.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a magnetoresistive memory device and a writing method thereof. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a ring-shaped magnetoresistive memory device and a writing method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
A magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) is non-volatile memory. The MRAM is capable reading and writing at a high speed as that of static random access memory (SRAM), and has a high record density as a dynamic RAM (DRAM). In this regard, the MRAM has become one of the most important developments for future memories.
The MRAM can have a plurality of memory cells. One of the simplest structures of memory cells may have three layers, which in order are a magnetic layer, a separation layer and another magnetic layer. One of the two magnetic layers is employed as a data layer for storing data, which is also called a free layer. The other magnetic layer is employed as a fixed layer, which is also called a pinned layer, and a magnetization direction thereof is fixed (pinned). The separation layer disposed between the two magnetic layers can be made of non-magnetic metallic material or non-conductive (electrically insulating) material. The non-magnetic metallic material may be made of a giant magnetoresistance (GMR)-based component; the non-conductive material may be made of a tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR)-based component. When a magnetization direction of the data layer is identical to the magnetization direction of the fixed layer, the memory cell of the MRAM is in a low resistance state. When the magnetization direction of the data layer is contrary to the magnetization direction of the fixed layer, the memory cell of the MRAM is in a high resistance state. Therefore, digital signals of "0" or "1" are recorded in response to the two resistance states of the memory cell of the MRAM.
Furthermore, the memory cell has a dimension about several tens to hundreds of nanometers of an anisotropic oval shape, so as to keep the data stability thereof. However, a record density of the oval-shaped memory cell is limited due to the magnetostatic interaction between the adjacent oval-shaped memory cells. To address the problem, a ring-shaped memory cell is provided. When a plurality of magnetic moments of the ring-shaped memory cell is circularly arranged (in a circulation state), there are no magnetic charges generated at the boundary of the ring-shaped memory cell, and the magnetostatic interaction between the adjacent oval-shaped memory cells can be avoided. As such, the limitation of the record density of the ring-shaped memory cell can be avoided accordingly. Therefore, the ring-shaped memory cell becomes the first choice for enhancing the record density.
Although the record density of the ring-shaped memory cell can be enhanced, how to write data for the ring-shaped memory cell is still a difficult problem. In case of the circularly arranged magnetic moments of the ring-shaped memory cell, the orientations of the magnetic moments thereof along a counterclockwise direction or along a clockwise direction are used to represent "0" or "1" respectively. Therefore, it is critical to control the orientations of the magnetic moments with a low energy-consuming method for practical application.
At present, the writing methods of the MRAM can be sorted into three categories: magnetic writing method, current writing method, and a thermally assisted writing method (TA-MRAM). The magnetic writing method is base on a traditional X-Y selection by selecting an address line to generate a magnetic field for changing a magnetization direction of a memory cell. The required magnetic field is increased with the reduced dimension of the memory cell, which consumes more energy and may possible burn out the memory cell. The current writing method changing the magnetization direction of a memory cell by spin transfer torque generated from a spin-polarized current. However, the spin-polarized current required for the current writing method is still high, and it is required a highly advanced technique to make a magnetic tunnel junction of the kind of memory cell. Therefore, the current writing method has drawbacks of high manufacturing difficulty and high cost. Further, the thermally assisted writing method heats a magnetic tunnel junction by using a direct current so as to reduce the coercivity of the free layer. Comparing with the former two writing methods, the thermally assisted writing method may generate a magnetic field with less writing current.
A writing method for the MRAM is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,545,906 B1, in which a magnetization direction of a free layer of an oval-shaped memory cell is changed by a "toggle write mode". In this disclosure, the free layer of the MRAM uses a synthetic antiferromagnet (SAF) structure, i.e., a thin metal layer of Ru that is disposed between two magnetic layers, and an angle between a long axis of the oval-shaped memory cell and an address line for writing is 45 degrees. Accordingly, a specific manufacturing process is required for satisfying the above limitations of structure of the memory cell and the writing method, which limits the scope of the applications for the technique.
Moreover, a writing method of a ring-shaped memory cell is provided by Jian-Gang Zhu, Youfeng Zheng and Gary A. Prinz in Carnegie Mellon University (J. Appl. Phys. 87, 6668 (2000)). The orientations of the magnetic moments are controlled by an in-plane field. First, a hole of the ring-shaped memory cell is deviate from a central position. Then a small cut is formed at the ring portion of the ring-shaped memory cell. Also, the manufacture of the ring-shaped memory cell highly depends on delicate and complicated process steps, and some of them may even need the application of an e-beam lithography. As a result, the writing method has drawbacks of difficulty manufacturing process, high cost and an unsatisfied yield ratio.
Given the above, the manufacturing techniques and writing methods of the conventional memory device both met the problems of complicated and difficult manufacturing process, so that the manufacturing yield is hard to be enhanced, and the cost is kept high.

Ring-shaped magnetoresistive memory device and writing method thereof

NATIONAL YUNLIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


A stencil printer for printing viscous material on a substrate includes a frame, a stencil coupled to the frame, and a print head, coupled for the frame, to deposit and print viscous material over the stencil. The stencil printer further includes a substrate supporting and clamping assembly to support and clamp a substrate in a print position. The substrate supporting and clamping assembly includes at least one support member to support the substrate in a print position, a pair of rail members, coupled to the frame, adapted to engage opposite edges of the substrate, and a clamping mechanism, coupled to the frame, to move at least one of the rail members against the substrate to clamp the substrate. The clamping mechanism includes at least one piston to move the at least one of the rail members between a first position in which the rail member is spaced away from one of the opposite edges of the substrate and a second position in which the rail member engages one of the opposite edges of the substrate to clamp the substrate between the rail members during a print operation. The clamping mechanism further includes a pressure regulator to control a clamping force applied by the piston to the rail member against the edge of the substrate. A method for supporting and clamping a substrate in a print position is further disclosed.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to substrate support assemblies for supporting and stabilizing a substrate within a machine that performs an operation on the substrate, and more particularly to a substrate support assembly of a stencil printer particularly designed to clamp edges of the substrate during a print operation.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In a typical surface-mount circuit board manufacturing operation, a stencil printer is used to print solder paste onto a printed circuit board. A circuit board, broadly referred to as an electronic substrate, having a pattern of pads or some other conductive surface onto which solder paste will be deposited, is automatically fed into the stencil printer. One or more small holes or marks on the circuit board, called fiducials, is used to properly align the circuit board with the stencil or screen of the stencil printer prior to the printing of solder paste onto the circuit board. Once a circuit board has been properly aligned with the stencil in the printer, the circuit board is raised to the stencil by a substrate support, e.g., a table having pins, and fixed with respect to the stencil. Solder paste is then dispensed onto the stencil, and a wiper blade or squeegee traverses the stencil to force the solder paste through apertures formed in the stencil and onto the board. As the squeegee is moved across the stencil, the solder paste tends to roll in front of the blade, which desirably causes mixing and shearing of the solder paste so as to attain a desired viscosity to facilitate filling of the apertures in the screen or stencil. The solder paste is typically dispensed onto the stencil from a standard cartridge. After the print operation, the board is then released, lowered away from the stencil, and transported to another station within the printed circuit board fabrication line.
There are a number of well-know methods for clamping the circuit board so that it is stabilized during the print operation. Once such method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,438 to Beale, which discloses a clamping mechanism having very thin foils that project over opposite edges of the circuit board for securing the circuit board to the support assembly. One disadvantage associated with this approach is that the foils and the substrate support, while preventing up and down movement of the substrate in the z direction, fail to prevent lateral movement of the substrate in the x and y directions. Even though such movement is somewhat limited, it is imperative to eliminate any movement of the substrate so that solder paste is accurately dispensed onto the substrate.

Method and apparatus for supporting and clamping a substrate


Embodiments of this application provide a rate adjustment method, an apparatus, and a system. The method may include the following steps: A mobility management network element determines access information indicating whether a terminal uses NR for access, and determines first APN-AMBR information based on the access information, where the first APN-AMBR information is used to control a data transmission rate.

That a terminal (for example, user equipment (UE)) supports a dual connectivity (DC) technology means that a terminal device can connect to two base stations at a same moment. One of the two base stations is referred to as a master base station or a first base station, and the other of the two base stations is referred to as a secondary base station or a second base station. In a network architecture of a 5th generation mobile communications system (5GS), a terminal device can simultaneously connect to two base stations. One of the two base stations is a 5G base station (gNB), and the other of the two base stations is an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB). DC in the 5GS may be referred to as multi-radio access technology dual connectivity (MR-DC).
In a 5GS MR-DC scenario, if UE uses a new air interface (NR) to access a gNB for data transmission, a theoretical highest rate can reach 4T bits per second (bps); and if the UE uses only an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), the theoretical highest rate can only reach 10 Gbps. If the UE suddenly does not use NR for gNB access, this results in data packet loss because a data transmission rate of the UE is set to be comparatively high. Conversely, if the UE suddenly uses NR for gNB access, this affects data transmission efficiency because the data transmission rate of the UE is comparatively low, and therefore, the data transmission rate of the UE needs to be increased.
Currently, in the 5GS MR-DC scenario, when the UE suddenly uses NR for gNB access or suddenly does not use NR for gNB access, the data transmission rate cannot be adjusted. Therefore, how to adjust the data transmission rate is an urgent technical problem to be resolved.

Rate adjustment method, apparatus, and system


A control method of an electric oil pump for an automatic transmission that minimizes power loss by normally controlling driving of the electric oil pump when a start intention of a driver is detected after a power source is turned on is provided. The method includes driving an electric oil pump at ‘A’ RPM which is a maximum velocity when the power source is turned on. The driving of the electric oil pump is stopped when a set time t determined by the temperature of the automatic transmission oil has elapsed. The electric oil pump is driven at ‘A’ RPM for the time t, and thereafter, the electric oil pump is driven at ‘B’ RPM when a selection of a driving shift stage is detected.

A mechanical oil pump that operates in connection with a driving shaft of an engine is used in an automatic transmission vehicle in the related art. As the mechanical oil pump supplies excessive oil to a low-pressure unit requiring lubrication and a high-pressure unit that operates combination elements in a region where an RPM of the engine is high, the power of the mechanical oil pump may be wasted.
In recent years, an Idle Stop & Go (ISG) system, that stops the engine while the vehicle stops, has been applied in order to improve fuel efficiency. An electric oil pump for supplying hydraulic pressure to the automatic transmission is additionally mounted on the vehicle adopting the ISG system.
Furthermore, the mechanical oil pump that may cause the fuel efficiency to be degraded is deleted, and systems that supply oil to the transmission by only the electric oil pump have been developed.
In the system in which the oil is supplied to the transmission only by the electric oil pump, the electric oil pump is driven at the same time when the engine starts to supply oil to the low-pressure unit and the high-pressure unit.
However, if the engine starts, even in a stop state in which a shift lever maintains a parking shift stage (P stage) or a neutral shift stage (N STAGE), when the electric oil pump is continuously driven, power loss may be caused by unnecessary driving of the oil pump. Further, the unnecessary driving of the electric oil pump may degrade durability of the combination elements provided in the electric oil pump, the automatic transmission, and the electric oil pump. In addition, noise may be generated by the unnecessary driving of the electric oil pump.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure, and therefore, it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Electric oil pump control system and control method for automatic transmission


A high security cylinder lock (1) and key (2) combination comprising a cylindrical shell (140), a key plug (130) which is rotatably mounted in the shell (140), a longitudinal key slot (100) in the key plug, and at least one locking tumbler assembly cooperating with a key being inserted into the lock. The locking tumbler assembly comprises a pair of independently movable tumbler segments (113, 114) which are positionable in different elevational positions in a common cavity.

Such a lock is previously known from the patent specifications U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,756,177, 4,815,307, 5,640,865 and 5,067,335 (all in the name of Widén). In the locks disclosed in these references, each tumbler assembly has a finger portion projecting outwardly therefrom, either in different angular directions or at different positions, such that the longitudinal distribution of the outer ends (contact portions) of the finger portions generally differs from the normally regular distribution of the locking tumblers themselves in the longitudinal direction, i.e. in parallel with the key slot.
In this way, the number of code combinations can be made very high. Each tumbler assembly is elevationally movable in the associated cavity and, in addition, the specific position of the contact portion in said longitudinal direction along the key slot provides further code possibilities.
These known locks provide a great number of code combinations, and also a high security against picking.

High security lock and key blade combination


Methods are provided for isolation of DNA sequences encoding proteins with properties of interest by means of expression cloning in filamentous fungal host cells. The isolated DNA sequences are useful in processes for producing the proteins of interest.

An increasing number of protein components with interesting properties is produced by means of recombinant DNA technology. Recombinant DNA production technology requires the availability of a DNA sequence coding for the protein component of interest. Conventional methods for cloning DNA sequences encoding proteins of interest have the drawback that each protein component has to be purified so as to allow determination of its (partial) amino acid sequence or, alternatively, to allow generation of specific antibodies. The (partial) amino acid sequences can then be used to design oligonucleotide probes for hybridisation screening. Alternatively, the specific antibodies are used for immunoscreening of expression libraries in E. coli such as e.g. lambda-gt11. Both methods require the purification and characterisation of the protein of interest which is a time consuming process. The cloning of novel protein components might therefore be considerably expedited by using a screening method involving selecting clones expressing a desired protein activity.
Such screening methods based on expression cloning have previously successfully been used for identification of prokaryotic gene products in e.g. Bacillus (cf. U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,791) and E. coli (e.g. WO 95/18219 and WO 95/34662). In some instances, also eukaryotic gene products have been identified using expression cloning in a bacterium like E. coli (e.g. WO 97/13853). However, in general prokaryotes are less suitable hosts for expression cloning of eukaryotic genes because many of these genes are not correctly expressed in bacteria. For example, eukaryotic genes often contain introns which are not spliced in bacteria. Although this splicing problem can be circumvented by using cDNAs of eukaryotic genes for expression cloning in bacteria, many eukaryotic gene products are not produced in active form in bacteria because the eukaryotic proteins are not correctly folded in bacteria or these proteins are rapidly degraded by bacterial proteases. Moreover, bacteria are generally incapable of efficiently secreting secreted eukaryotic proteins in active form and in contrast to eukaryotes, they do not have the ability to glycosylate proteins.
More recently a number of these problems have been overcome by using yeasts as hosts for expression cloning of eukaryotic genes. Strasser et al. (Eur. J. Biochem. (1989)184: 699-706) have reported the identification of a fungal α-amylase by expression cloning of fungal genomic DNA in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Similarly, WO 93/11249 reports the identification of a fungal cellulase by expression cloning of fungal cDNAs in S. cerevisiae. Yeasts are, however, known for their poor secretory capacity, particularly when compared to filamentous fungi. A number of secretory heterologous proteins are only poorly secreted from yeasts, if at all (see e.g. Kingsman et al., 1987, Trends Biotechnol. 5: 53-57). In addition yeasts are known to hyperglycosylate heterologous proteins (Innis, 1989, In: Yeast genetic Engineering, Barr, Brake & Valenzuela (eds), Butterworth, Boston, pp 233-246). Both poor secretion and hyperglycosylation are likely to interfere with expression cloning in yeast because it may significantly reduce the chance of detecting a given DNA sequence encoding a protein with properties of interest. This will apply in particular to DNA sequences encoding the many useful enzymes that are produced by eukaryotes such as filamentous fungi and which are often secreted and glycosylated. There is thus a need for an expression cloning system that would optimise the chance of detecting DNA sequences encoding secreted and possibly glycosylated proteins, and that is suitable for the identification of DNA sequences encoding proteins and enzymes produced by eukaryotes, of which in particular filamentous fungi. Alternatively, the expression cloning system should also be applicable to the identification of DNA sequences encoding eukaryotic or filamentous fungal proteins that are not secreted.


The invention provides a control unit and a control system for a vehicle capable of reducing a workload of deleting a record of information of an unintended event detected by a certain control unit by preventing the other control unit from recording the information of the event. Control units (50a to 50d) that are mounted on the vehicle and connected in a mutually communicable manner each include an event processing section (55). The event processing section (55) executes one or both of processing to switch whether to notify a recording request of the information of the event and processing to switch necessity/unnecessity of recording of the information of the event.

The invention relates to a control unit that is mounted on a vehicle and to a control system for a vehicle.
Conventionally, in control of a vehicle such as an automobile, a technique of analyzing a phenomenon (an event) such as failure detection that occurs after manufacturing of a vehicle by using plural control units that are connected to each other in a mutually communicable manner has been known. For example, JP-A-2000-145533 and JP-A-2006-199096 each disclose a technique in which the control unit that detects the event transmits an event recording request to the other control unit and the other control unit records information of the event on the basis of received information.
According to the technique disclosed in each of JP-A-2000-145533 and JP-A-2006-199096, for example, it is possible to refer to not only an event report that includes explanation of a peripheral situation and the like by an occupant such as a driver at the time when the failure occurs but also a record in the control unit that has recorded the information of the event. At the time, not only the control unit that detects the event but also the other control unit stores the record of the information of the event. Thus, a detailed analysis of the event can be made.

Control unit and control system for vehicle


A disc drive head suspension assembly includes a recording head, a load beam and a gimbal. The recording head includes a recording surface and a back surface. The load beam includes a front surface, a back surface, a distal end and a load protrusion. The load protrusion extends from the front surface of the load beam toward the back surface of the recording head. The gimbal is attached to the back surface of the load beam and includes a head mounting tab which is positioned beyond the distal end of the load beam. The recording head is attached to the head mounting tab. A first displacement limiter extends between the load beam and the gimbal, which limits vertical displacement of the gimbal in a direction toward the recording head relative to the load beam.

The present invention relates to disc drive storage systems and, more particularly, to a head suspension assembly having a flexure displacement limiter.
Disc drives of the "Winchester" type are well known in the industry. Such drives use rigid discs coated with a magnetizable medium for storage of digital information in a plurality of circular, concentric data tracks. The discs are mounted on a spindle motor which causes the discs to spin and the surfaces of the discs to pass under respective recording heads. A recording head includes a hydrodynamic (e.g. air) bearing slider and a transducer for writing information to and reading information from the disc surface. An actuator mechanism moves the heads from track to track across the surfaces of the discs under control of electronic circuitry. The actuator mechanism includes a track accessing arm and a head suspension assembly for each head.
The head suspension assembly includes a load beam and a gimbal. The load beam provides a preload force which forces the head toward the disc surface. The gimbal is positioned between the load beam and the slider to provide a resilient connection that allows the slider to pitch and roll while following the topography of the disc. The slider includes an air bearing surface which faces the disc surface. A conventional catamaran slider includes a pair of raised side rails which face the disc surface and form air bearing surfaces. As the disc rotates, the disc drags air under the slider along the air bearing surfaces in a direction approximately parallel to the tangential velocity of the disc. As the air passes beneath the side rails, skin friction on the air bearing surfaces causes the air pressure between the disc and the air bearing surfaces to increase which creates a hydrodynamic lifting force that causes the slider to lift and fly above the disc surface. The preload force supplied by the load beam counteracts the hydrodynamic lifting force. The preload force and the hydrodynamic lifting force reach an equilibrium based upon the hydrodynamic properties of the slider and the speed of rotation of the disc.
The preload force is transferred from the load beam to the back surface of the slider through a spherical load point button, which is typically a stamped feature on the gimbal having an apex that contacts the under surface of the load beam. The load point button provides a point about which the slider can pitch and roll and limits vertical displacement of the head and gimbal in a direction away from the disc surface. However, this structure does not limit vertical displacement in a direction toward the disc surface, which can cause damage to the delicate flexure features of the gimbal.
Undesirable vertical displacement can occur due to forces applied during assembly, fly testing or shipping and handling. For example, transportation shock may generate displacement forces large enough to yield the twisted wire electrical interconnections to the head or cause the delicate flexure features of the gimbal to bend past their yield point, which may result in separation between the load beam and the head at the load point button. Also, certain disc drives have a ramp which lifts the load beam to unload the slider from the disc surface during start and stop of disc rotation. If the slider is a self-loading slider, subambient pressure developed between the slider and the disc surface can cause a large vertical displacement of the gimbal as the slider is lifted from the disc surface. This displacement can cause damage to the gimbal flexure features.
One attempt at solving this problem is to form "hooks" on the gimbal which wrap around the distal end of the load beam to prevent the undesirable vertical motion. The primary disadvantage of this approach is that during assembly, the gimbal must be slid in a longitudinal direction along the load beam to interleave the gimbal between the load beam and the formed hooks. Once interleaved, the gimbal can be aligned for welding to the load beam. This results in a suspension assembly that is very difficult and time consuming to manufacture.

Head suspension assembly with displacement limiter


An apparatus for processing a medical stent that includes a holding device for holding a stent and a processing device for processing the stent held by the holding device that includes a first chamber for a fluid medium adapted to exert pressure around the stent. The first chamber for the fluid medium at least partially surrounds or encompasses the stent in the holding device that may include a housing which substantially encloses the first chamber for the fluid medium. A method of processing a medical stent is described. The method may include holding a stent with a holding device, and processing the stent with a processing device while holding the stent with the holding device. Holding the stent may include pressurizing a first chamber for a fluid medium to exert pressure around the stent. A method of producing or manufacturing a stent according to this method is described.

In the course of the past decade, the development and use of expandable stents in the medical field has grown enormously, to the point where stents today form a common element in the treatment of a wide variety of complaints and illnesses. Stents typically have a generally hollow cylindrical form and comprise a relatively intricate structure or framework of interconnected struts or arm members, which can be cut from a plain cylindrical blank. The cylindrical blank may be comprised of e.g. stainless steel, cobalt-chromium alloy, or nickel-titanium alloy (Nitinol).
Given the relatively fine and intricate nature of the stent structure, the stent framework is very often produced by laser cutting the cylindrical blank. While the laser cutting procedure is highly desirable in its ability to produce very small and yet very precise stent structures, it nevertheless has the disadvantage that it also generates residues of melted and re-solidified material (known as "slag") along the edges of the cut material. These slag residues produce rough or uneven deposits on the surfaces or edges of the stent struts or arm members, particularly on the inner surfaces and edges of the stent structure. The slag deposits and residues from the cutting procedure may normally be largely removed with a light scouring, scraping or abrading procedure. Nevertheless, even after such scraping, some remnants of the deposits remain, leaving burrs, cracks, pitting and/or surface unevenness.
Furthermore, the cylindrical metal blanks (e.g. stainless steel, cobalt-chromium alloy, or Nitinol) which are used to produce the stents are typically manufactured in a tube drawing process. This drawing process also typically generates roughening of the tube surfaces. The manufacturer of the tubular blanks will typically machine the outer surface of the tube material, e.g. by grinding, to a high level of smoothness before supplying the blanks for cutting into stents. The inner surfaces of the blanks, however, which later form the inner surfaces of the stent struts or arm members, are not ground prior to supply for stent production and therefore retain their roughness from the drawing procedure.
Importantly, it will be appreciated that burrs, pits, cracks, and other such surface imperfections can lead to stress concentrations and create weaknesses in the framework of the stent structure, thereby increasing the potential for failure of the stent. That is, such surface imperfections can lead to a localised overloading of the stent framework resulting in fracture, especially where multiple expansions of the stent occur, as is the case with Nitinol stents. Furthermore, pits, cracks and other such surface imperfections also serve as sites for the onset of corrosion, which may weaken the stent and potentially lead to failure of the stent in situ, i.e. in the patient. Accordingly, the removal of burrs, pits, cracks, and other such surface imperfections to provide very smooth stent surfaces is highly desirable for ensuring both fatigue resistance and corrosion resistance in use.
Although the insertion of a sleeve inside the cylindrical blank during the laser cutting procedure may be helpful to reduce splatter and slag formation on the stent, this technique does not completely eliminate slag formation and also has no bearing on the surface roughness created during formation of the blank by tube-drawing.
Thus, the use of an inner sleeve during laser cutting makes the cutting procedure more complicated and ultimately does not solve the problems of surface roughness.
A number of techniques have been employed to remove surface roughness from stents. One technique employed to smoothen stent surfaces is electro-polishing. Such a polishing technique, however, often proves ineffective for removal of excessive surface roughness because of the high rate of mass removal necessary. Chemical etching has also been employed to address the surface roughness and slag formation prior to electro-polishing. The chemical etching procedure, however, has the disadvantage that it removes material from all surfaces of the stent, even when the surface roughness to be treated is concentrated at the inner surfaces (e.g. on the internal diameter) of the stent structure. Furthermore, because pits and cracks in a surface are etched along with burrs and projections, chemical etching will not readily produce a plane surface. In addition, the chemical etching compound may not penetrate especially narrow or tight cracks and fissures, thereby potentially leaving regions of weakness in the stent surface. Thus, the use of chemical etching to smoothen the internal surfaces of the stent will generally remove more material than is necessary (e.g. from the external surfaces and side walls of the stent), will generally not produce a planar surface, and may not address all surface cracks and fissures.
Another technique for smoothing the surface roughness involves machining the inner surfaces of the stent to remove any remnants of slag and/or burrs and to eliminate pitting and cracks. In a conventional machining procedure the stent is held between parallel clamping elements or jaws and a file is inserted into the stent. This technique has the disadvantage, however, that the clamping elements or jaws tend to deform the stent and cause an uneven removal of material from the internal stent surfaces. Furthermore, the pressure from the clamping elements or jaws can cause the struts or arms of the stent framework to twist or bend during rotation of the file.

Apparatus and method for processing a stent

ABBOTT LABORATORIES VASCULAR ENTERPRISES LIMITED


Single-stranded RNA molecules comprise one or more internal, non-nucleotide spacers, covalently linked with nucleotide portions of the molecule are provided. The single-stranded RNA molecules function as guide or antisense strands that are capable of inhibiting gene expression via an RNA interference mechanism, and thus represent single-stranded RNAi agents. The single-stranded RNAi molecules can be used in methods for a variety of therapeutic, diagnostic, target validation, genomic discovery, genetic engineering, and pharmacogenomic applications.

The RNA interference (RNAi) pathway is an evolutionarily conserved mode of gene regulation. The RNAi process is initiated by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) produced from various exogenous or endogenous sources (e.g., experimental introduction, viral infection). The dsRNA is cleaved by Dicer to generate 20-25 nucleotide small-interfering RNA (siRNA) duplexes. These duplexes are then loaded onto the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), and before RISC is activated, the passenger/sense strand of the duplex is removed. The single guide/antisense strand remains associated with RISC and directs cleavage of the target mRNA. Thus, duplexed siRNA have become an important tool for both research and nucleic acid-based therapeutics.
RNAi gene silencing can occur via single-stranded or double-stranded RNA molecules. In the last ten years, it has been reported that single-stranded antisense siRNA are almost as potent as the siRNA duplex (see, e.g., Schwarz et al., 2002, Mol. Cell. 10:537-548; Martinez et al., 2002, Cell 110:563-574; Amarzguioui et al., 2003, Nucleic Acids Res. 31:589-595; and Holen et al., 2003, Nucleic Acids Res. 31:2401-2407). There are benefits in utilizing single-stranded RNA molecules, as opposed to duplexed versions, for gene silencing. Their lower molecule weight may make them easier to cross cell membranes. Single-stranded RNA molecules are also half the mass and volume of duplexed siRNA, implicating a manufacturing cost advantage. Thus, there remains a heightened interest in formulating new and advantageous design features suitable for single-stranded RNAi molecules.

Single-stranded RNAi agents containing an internal, non-nucleic acid spacer


A printing plate is arranged on a plate cylinder having a channel, in which front and rear clamping devices are located. The rear clamping device forms part of a slide positioned inside the channel and which can move towards the front clamping device. The slide is first moved, together with a rear end of the printing form that is fixed into the rear clamping device, towards the front clamping device. At least one rear spacer is then adjusted to a position relative to the slide that defines a specific distance of the rear clamping device from a second channel wall. A tensioning drive is subsequently deactivated and the slide, together with the rear clamping device, are held in position along the tensioning path by the force exerted by the tensioned printing form, that force pressing the slide against the second channel wall by the rear spacer of the slide.

In printing presses, forme cylinders are often used that are designed as plate cylinders and carry printing formes in the form of printing plates. These printing plates can be exchanged. For this, a device is necessary that fixes the printing plate to the forme cylinder detachably. With increasing demands on the precision of the print products produced using the printing press, the demands on the precision with which the printing plate is arranged on the forme cylinder also increase. For example, in security document printing, demands are made that necessitate a precision of the position of the printing plates at least relative to one another in the region of micrometers. Such accuracies are not achievable using plate clamps of conventional sheet printing presses.
In each of DE 41 29 831 A1 and DE 10 2004 052 826 A1 and DE 199 24 784 A1, a plate cylinder is known, the plate cylinder having a channel in which a clamping device is arranged that has a radially outer clamping element that is arranged immovably relative to a main body of the clamping device, and the clamping device having a pressure element that radially is arranged further inside than the radially outer clamping element and the clamping device having an adjusting element, by means of which the pressure element is at least partially movable at least in and/or against a clamping device relative to the radially outer clamping element.
In DE 195 11 956 A1, a plate cylinder is known that has a radially internal clamping element that is held in a defined position with respect to a circumferential direction by means at least of a front pressure element.
In DE 42 26 565 A1, a device is known for tensioning and adjusting flexible printing plates on plate cylinders of rotary printing presses.
In DE 37 31 039 A1, a plate cylinder is known that has a channel in which a rear clamping device is arranged that has a radially outer clamping element, the clamping device having at least one pressure element that is partly arranged further inside than the at least one radially outer clamping element, and the clamping device having at least one control element, by means of which the at least one pressure element and the radially outer clamping elements are movable at least partially relative to one another at least in and/or against a clamping direction.
In DE 43 41 431 A1, a plate cylinder is known that has a channel in which to clamping devices are arranged, which in each case have a main body, relative to which in each case at least one clamping element is arranged immovably and relative to which in each case at least one further clamping element is arranged movably. One of the clamping devices is supported against a channel wall by means of screws. The other clamping device is supported against another channel wall by means of supporting bolts.
In DE 298 15 085 U1, a plate cylinder is known that has a channel, in which two clamping devices are arranged. At least one of the clamping devices has a main body, is arranged immovably relative to the at least one clamping element and is arranged movably relative to the least one other clamping element. This clamping device is supported against a channel wall by means of screws and pressure springs.
In DE 296 08 124 U1, a plate cylinder is known that has a channel, which is arranged in at least one clamping device that has a main body, relative to which at least one clamping element is arranged immovably and relative to which at least one further clamping element is arranged movably. The at least one clamping device is supported in the circumferential direction against a cylinder barrel of the plate cylinder by means of at least three supporting sites. No details can be inferred whether a shaft serving for the connection of main body and cylinder barrel is arranged rigidly relative to the main body or rigidly relative to the barrel or both movably relative to the barrel and movably relative to the main body.
In DE 41 29 831 A1, it is furthermore known that the clamping device has a radially inner clamping element that is always held in a defined position with respect to a circumferential direction by means of at least one front pressure element.
In W0 93/03925 A1, a plate cylinder is known that has a channel, in which is arranged a tensioning device which has a clamping device movable on a slide within the channel.
In DE 42 39 089 A1, EP 0 579 017 A1 and EP 0 711 664 A1, methods and devices for the tensioning and for the register correction of printing plates are known. EP 0 579 017 A1 furthermore shows a plate cylinder of a printing press, the plate cylinder having at least one tensioning device arranged in a channel of the plate cylinder.
In DE 42 35 393 A1, a register adjusting device and a method for register adjustment are known, register marks being used.
In DE 10 2007 057 455 A1, a device is known in which a printing plate lying on a plate cylinder can be deformed. For adjustment of the printing plate in a circumferential direction, adjustments of the printing plate already carried out in an axial direction are firstly again made retrogressive.
In US 2006/0174792 A1 a method is known in which an ink jet printhead is deformed by thermal expansion in order to react to a change of a width of a web form synthetic material print substrate.
In DE 100 11 815 A1, a method is known for arranging a printing plate on a plate cylinder which has a channel in which a front clamping device and a rear clamping device are arranged, the rear clamping device being part of a slide, which is arranged to be movable towards the front clamping device along a tensioning path, in a tensioning process it being possible to move firstly the at least one slide by means of the at least one tensioning drive together with a rear end of the printing plate tensioned in the rear clamping device towards the front clamping device and a first channel wall.

Method for arranging a printing forme on a plate cylinder using tensioning slides


The present invention relates to a food packaging material for packing food, more particularly to a food packaging material having a uniform coating of oil, a method of manufacturing the same, and a mold for manufacturing the same. The food packaging material includes a plurality of grooves formed on one surface of the food packaging material; and an oil layer uniformly applied to the one surface of the food packaging material, being put into the grooves. According to the present invention, there are provided a food packaging material which continuously maintains a uniform coating of oil and thus minimizes sticking of contents to a surface of the packaging material, a method of manufacturing the same, and a mold for manufacturing the same.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a food packaging material for packing food, more particularly to a food packaging material having a uniform coating of oil, a method of manufacturing the same, and a mold for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Food packaging materials are used to package food. Food packaging materials have been improved to enhance stability of food storage, whereas a problem that contents stick to a food packaging material is not solved.
For example, as to a food packaging material used as a top of a spoonable fermented milk product, when a consumer buys a fermented milk product and pulls the food packaging material, some contents stick to the food packaging material. In this case, consumers mostly give up the contents on the packaging material. The same problem occurs with respect to a food packaging material for packaging high-viscosity retort food, such as retort curry.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional food packaging material. In order to solve the above problem, there is a try at coating the surface of a food packaging material 10 with edible oil.
In this case, however, as shown in FIG. 1, force caused by surface extension of oil acts in arrow directions, so that the edible oil forms a plurality of agglomerated oil drops 20. When the edible oil is not uniformly applied, contents are not prevented from sticking to the packaging material.

Food packaging material having uniform coating of oil, method of manufacturing the same, mold for manufacturing the same

KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


A kitchen appliance for heating foodstuffs with steam, comprising, in a housing (1) having a bottom (2) and a side wall (3), a cold water reservoir (4) supplying a chamber for the production of steam (5), supplying itself through a steam inlet (6), a cooking chamber (7) disposed on the housing (1) and adapted to receive foodstuffs. The housing (1) has in its side wall (3) a channel (8) communicating with the exterior of the housing (1) through a filling cover (12) and with the interior of the housing (1) through a flow opening emptying into the cold water reservoir (4).

In appliances of this nature, the cold water reservoir is generally arranged within the housing to obtain reduced size. However, in use, it is apparent that this type of appliance is inconvenient to use, particularly on the one hand when it is disposed on a very narrow working surface and, on the other hand, when the user has already placed the cooking chamber full of food on the housing before filling the reservoir with cold water. Thus, the operation of filling with water requires a certain skill on the part of the user because he must systematically withdraw the cooking chamber from the housing to have access to the cold water reservoir. This operation of filling thus requires careful attention of the user and greatly increases the period of time before starting the operation of the appliance. On the other hand, in the course of cooking, it requires great care and is dangerous to add water to prolong the production of steam.

Appliance for heating foodstuffs with steam


A power supply controller (25) is configured to accurately adjust the value of an output voltage of a power supply system (10) responsively to the output voltage increasing to an undesirable value. The controller (25) accurately limits an upper value of the output voltage during a light load condition, and rapidly reduces the value of the output voltage during a light load condition, and different control signals to control the switching of the output transistors facilitates rapidly reducing the output voltage.

The present invention relates, in general, to electronics, and more particularly, to methods of forming semiconductor devices and structure.
In the past, the semiconductor industry utilized various methods and structures to make power supply controllers for power supply systems. Some applications of the previous power supply controllers included loads that could reduce the amount of current required to operate below. Some of the previous power supply controllers could detect the reduced current demand and change the operating mode to a light load mode. These previous power supply controllers generally cannot rapidly decrease the value of the output voltage of the power supply.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a method of forming a power supply controller that facilitates detecting a light load current demand rapidly reducing the value of the output voltage.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements in the figures are not necessarily 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 or 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 an MOS transistor or a base of a bipolar transistor. Although the devices are explained herein as certain N-channel or P-Channel devices, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that complementary devices are also possible in accordance with the present invention. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the words during, while, and when as used herein 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, such as a propagation delay, between the reaction that is initiated by the initial action.

DC-DC converter controller having optimized load transient response and method thereof

Semiconductor Components Industries, L.L.C.


An exemplary stand structure includes a base board, telescopic supporting rods, and a holding base. The supporting rods are retractable into the base board with the holding base detachably engaged on the base board. When the base board needs to be supported in a slanting orientation, the holding base is detached from the base board, the supporting rods depart from the base board, and the supporting rods are extended to lengths and locations at which the holding base is in a desired position to support the base board.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to stands for supporting objects such as electronic devices, and particularly to a stand that is usable in an electronic device enclosure, for example.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, handheld electronic devices do not have a stand for supporting the electronic device. A user has to hold the electronic device in a certain desired orientation. However, to hold the electronic device for a long time can be uncomfortable.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a means which can overcome the above-mentioned problems.

Stand structure and portable electronic device with stand

Fu Tai Hua Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.


Disclosed are fused benzazepine compounds, pharmaceutical compositions including such compounds, methods of using such compounds, for example, in the treatment of psychoses and/or depression, and intermediates useful in the preparation of such compounds.

This invention relates to fused derivatives of compounds having a fused ring nucleus which includes a 2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-3-benzazepine system, to methods for their preparation, to intermediates useful in their preparation, and to pharmaceutical compositions containing them. The compounds have valuable pharmaceutical properties in the treatment of psychoses, depression, pain and hypertension.
Substituted 1-phenyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-3-benzazepines have been described in the art. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,393,192, 3,609,138, 4,011,319, 4,284,555 and 4,477,378 as well as British Patent 1,118,688. The activities discussed for the compounds disclosed in these patents include antibacterial effects, central nervous system effects and hypotensive effects.