A temperature compensating fluid flow sensing system is provided that comprises a resistance-based sensor element that is included in a constant voltage anemometer circuit configured to establish and maintain a command voltage across the first sensor element and to provide a constant voltage anemometer (CVA) output voltage corresponding to the resistance change in the first sensor element due to heat transfer between the first sensor element and the fluid. A controller is configured to establish the command voltage based on a desired overheat across the sensor and an actual overheat across the first sensor element. A power dissipation (PDR) module is configured to determine at least one fluid flow parameter and an actual overheat value based at least in part on the CVA output voltage and to transmit to the controller the actual overheat for use by the controller in updating the command voltage.

A variety of instruments and electronic measuring devices rely on the measurement of resistance or changes in resistance of conductive elements disposed in a flow environment. Such instruments may include sensors that allow the determination of fluid flow rates based on heat transfer to or from a fluid stream. These may include hot-wire sensors and thin film sensors such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,863 ("'863 patent"), U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,147 ("'147 patent"), U.S. Pat. No. 6,963,810 ("'810 patent"), U.S. Pat. No. 6,826,493 ("'493 patent"), and U.S. Pat. No. 7,132,838 ("'838 patent) al of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Resistance-based instruments typically comprise a detector filament that may be positioned in a measurement configuration/environment. The detector element forms a part of a sensor circuit that may be used to identify changes in the resistance of the element. In anemometer devices, the detector element is a filament heated by electric current while immersed in a fluid flow stream. The passage of the fluid stream over the hot filament heats or cools the filament and consequently causes its electrical resistance to change.
In prior art flow sensor systems, the detector element was typically disposed in one arm of a Wheatstone bridge circuit and supplied with a source of electrical energy. A difference of potential, the value of which is mathematically relatable to the heat transfer from the fluid stream, appears across the measuring diagonal of the Wheatstone bridge. Bridge circuits, however, have several drawbacks that limit their use in many sensor applications. For example, in order for the circuit to provide meaningful data, the bridge must be balanced. Also, the bridge output sensitivity to resistance changes is inherently limited, thus necessitating large subsequent amplification. It is a well-known fact that such amplification will deteriorate the signal-to-noise ratio of the measured data. Finally, bridge circuits suffer greatly from electromagnetic and radio-frequency interference (EMI/RFI) especially with flow sensors exposed to the environment.
In prior art fluid flow measurement systems incorporating temperature-compensation (e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,807,151, 4,845,984, 4,566,310, 4,490,803, 5,063,352, 7,003,418), the bridge circuit is primary used. As a result, they all suffer from the issues previously mentioned, and cannot resolve these issues without significant compromises in sensitivity bandwidth or circuit complexity.


The present invention provides methods for screening a pharmaceutical agent for its ability to modulate long term memory formation, performance of a hippocampal-dependent cognitive task or STAUFEN function. The present invention also provides methods for modulating long term memory formation or performance of a hippocampal-dependent cognitive task by modulating staufen-dependent protein expression. The present invention further provides methods for treating a defect in long term memory formation associated with a defect in STAUFEN and methods for treating a defect in performance of a hippocampal-dependent cognitive task associated with a defect in STAUFEN.

Long term memory (LTM) involves induction of a cascade of gene expression (Davis, H. P. and Squire, L. R., Psychol. Bull., 96:518-559 (1984); Tully, T. et al., Cell, 79:35-47 (1994); Yin, J. C. et al., Cell, 79:49-58 (1994); Yin, J. C. et al., Cell, 81:107-115 (1995); Josselyn, S. A. et al., J. Neurosci., 21:2404-2412 (2001); Alberini, C. M. et al., Cell, 76:1099-1114 (1994); and Taubenfeld, S. M. et al., J. Neurosci., 21:84-91 (2001)) under control of the CREB transcription factor (Davis, H. P. and Squire, L. R., Psychol. Bull., 96:518-559 (1984); Tully, T. et al., Cell, 79:35-47 (1994); Yin, J. C. et al., Cell, 79:49-58 (1994); Yin, J. C. et al., Cell, 81:107-115 (1995); Josselyn, S. A. et al., J. Neurosci., 21:2404-2412 (2001); Alberini, C. M. et al., Cell, 76:1099-1114 (1994): and Taubenfeld, S. M. et al., J. Neurosci., 21:84-91 (2001)), which leads to structural and functional changes in specific synapses (Bartsch, D. et al. Cell, 83:979-992 (1995); and Dash, P. K. et al., Nature, 345:718-721 (1990)). LTM is disrupted by induced over-expression of a CREB transgene in flies (Yin, J. C. et al., Cell, 79:49-58 (1994)), by partial knock-out of CREB in mice (Bourtchuladze, R. et al., Cell, 79:59-68 (1994)), by knock-down of CREB with anti-sense RNA in rats (Guzowski, J. F. and McGaugh, J. L., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 94:2693-2698 (1997); and Lamprecht, R. et al., J. Neurosci., 17:8443-8450 (1997)) or by induced over expression of a dominant-negative CREB in mice (Kida, S. et al., Nat. Neurosci., 5:348-355 (2002); and Pittenger, C. et al., Neuron, 34:447-462 (2002)). Synaptic plasticity is disrupted similarly in Aplysia (Bartsch, D. et al., Cell, 83:979-992 (1995)), in flies (Davis, G. W. et al., Neuron, 17:669-679 (1996); and Sanyal, S. et al., Nature, 416:870-874 (2002)) and in mice (Bourtchuladze, R. et al., Cell, 79:59-68 (1994); Barco, A. et al., Cell, 108:689-703 (2002); and Casadio, A. et al., Cell, 99:221-237 (1999)). Strikingly, over expression of CREB activator in transgenic flies, or in virus-infected rats, enhances LTM (Yin, J. C. et al., Cell, 81:107-115 (1995); and Josselyn, S. A. et al., J. Neurosci., 21:2404-2412 (2001)), while analogous modulations of CREB activator enhance (i) long-term facilitation (LTF) and the concomitant growth of synaptic connections in sensorimotor neuron co-cultures of Aplysia (Bartsch, D. et al., Cell, 83:979-992 (1995)) and (ii) long-term potentiation (LTP) in rat hippocampus (Barco, A. et al., Cell, 108:689-703 (2002)). These convergent data establish that long-term memory (LTM) formation requires gene transcription (Yin, J. C. et al., Cell, 81:107-115 (1995); Abel, T. et al., Science, 279:338-341 (1998); and Tully, T., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 94:4239-4241 (1997)).
This insight has raised two new questions. First, specifically what genes are regulated during LTM formation? Attempts to answer this question have been pursued with in vitro models of neuronal plasticity, with strong pharmacological stimulation in vivo and, in a few cases, with behavioral training (Cole, A. J. et al., Nature, 340:474-476 (1989); Hevroni, D. et al., J. Mol. Neurosci., 10:75-98 (1998); Irwin, L. N., Brain Res. Mol. Brain Res., 96:163-169 (2001); Luo, Y. et al., J. Mol. Neurosci., 17:397-404 (2001); Cavallaro, S. et al., Eur. J. Neurosci., 13:1809-1815 (2001); Nedivi, E. et al., Nature, 363:718-722 (1993); and Nedivi, E. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 93:2048-2053 (1996)). Second, how does a transcriptional response in the cell nucleus tag only a subset of synapses involved in LTM (Barco, A. et al., Cell, 108:689-703 (2002); Casadio, A. et al., Cell, 99:221-237 (1999); Frey, U. and Morris, R. G., Nature, 385:533-536 (1997); Martin, K. C. et al., Cell, 91:927-938 (1997); Steward, O. et at, Neuron, 21:741-751 (1998); Steward, O. and Schuman, E. M., Annu. Rev. Neurosci., 24:299-325 (2001); Steward, O. and Worley, P. F., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 98:7062-7068 (2001); Steward, O. and Worley, P. F., Neuron, 30:227-240 (2001); and Steward, O. and Worley, P., Results Probl. Cell. Differ., 34:1-26 (2001))? Thus far, analyses of in vitro models of synaptic plasticity have described the cellular phenomenology of synapse specific modification but have not yet identified the cellular machinery or established a connection to memory.

Altering memory by affecting staufen function


A braided suture exhibits one or more improved properties, e.g., reduced chatter, greater flexibility and/or better hand, than that of a braided suture of known, or standard, construction and of substantially equivalent size.

This invention relates to a braided suture exhibiting one or more improved characteristics, e.g., reduced tissue drag, reduced chatter, greater flexibility and/or better hand than a known, or "standard", suture of substantially equivalent size.
Sutures intended for the repair of body tissues must meet certain requirements: they must be substantially non-toxic, capable of being readily sterilized, they must have good tensile strength and have acceptable knot-tying and knot-holding (knot security) characteristics and if the sutures are of the absorbable or biodegradable variety, the absorption or biodegradation of the suture must be closely controlled.
Sutures have been constructed from a wide variety of materials including surgical gut, silk, cotton, a polyolefin such as polypropylene, polyamide, polyglycolic acid, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate and glycolide-lactide copolymer, etc. Although the optimum structure of a suture is that of a monofilament, since certain materials of construction will only result in a stiff monofilament lacking acceptable knot-tying and knot-holding properties, sutures manufactured from such materials are preferably provided as braided structures. Thus, for example, sutures manufactured from silk, polyamide, polyester and bioabsorbable glycolide-lactide copolymer are usually provided as multifilament braids. Commercial examples of such sutures include those marketed under the DEXON (Davis & Geck, Inc.,) and VICRYL (Ethicon, Inc.) brands.
Currently available braided suture products are acceptable in terms of their knot-tying and knot-holding properties. However, as removed from the package, they tend to be stiff and wiry and retain a "set" or "memory" such that at the time of use, it is usually necessary for the surgeon or assistant personnel to flex and stretch the suture to make it more readily handible. Furthermore, the surfaces of known sutures are perceptibly rough. Thus, if one passes one's hand or fingers along the braid, surface irregularities will be readily detected. The result of this rough surface is that the suture will exhibit tissue drag and/or chatter as it is drawn through tissue, characteristics which militate against smooth, neat, accurately placed wound approximation, the hallmarks of excellence in surgical practice.
In the case of one braided suture now on the market, due to the necessity of having to meet fiber strength requirements while at the same time retaining acceptable knot-tying and knot-holding properties, the suture is constructed from a greater amount of fiber and consequently is of larger diameter than the accepted industry standard.
It is an object of this invention to provide a braided suture possessing one or more improved characteristics, e.g., reduced tissue drag, reduced chatter, greater flexibility and/or better hand than that of a known, or "standard", suture of substantially equivalent size.
It is another object of this invention to provide a braided suture which exhibits significantly better knot security, e.g., expressed in terms of knot pull strength and/or loop pull strength, compared with the knot security of a standard suture of substantially equivalent size.
It is a particular object of the invention to provide a braided suture exhibiting one or more of the foregoing improved characteristics possessing a greater number of sheath yarns, a finer denier for the individual filaments making up an individual sheath yarn and a greater pick count for a suture of any given overall denier.

Braided suture of improved characteristics


In a receiver used in the spread spectrum communication system, power of a base band signal which is obtained by A/D converting an output of a quadrature demodulator is detected by a base band signal power-detecting unit, where the quadrature demodulator demodulates an IF signal outputted from an AGC amplifier. The base band signal is despeaded by a despreading unit, and converted into a symbol rate signal, power of which is detected by a symbol rate signal power-detecting unit. An error rate of a desired wave is detected by an error rate-detecting unit on the basis of the symbol rate signal. Output signals of the base band signal power-detecting unit, the symbol rate signal power-detecting unit, and the error rate-detecting unit are supplied to an AGC amplifier-controlling unit which controls a gain of the AGC amplifier.

In the conventional receiver used in the spread spectrum communication system of the direct sequence type, power of a base band signal is detected, and an intermediate frequency (IF, hereinafter) signal is amplified by an automatic gain control (AGC, hereinafter) amplifier so that power of the base band signal is kept to be constant. Accordingly, the IF signal is excessively amplified in case the signal to noise (S/N, hereinafter) ratio of the desired wave is high, and electric power consumed in the AGC circuit becomes high.
Especially, when the spread spectrum communication system is applied to the cellular telephone, since the AGC amplifier is always operative even when the receiver is in the standby state, it is very important to reduce electric power consumed in the receiving circuit from a view point of extension of a lifetime of batteries of the cellular telephone. Accordingly, an uncomplicated method for reducing electric power consumed in the receiver has been strongly desired.
Moreover, in the conventional receiver, since power of the base band signal is controlled depending an power of all the waves including the desired wave received by an antenna in an assigned frequency band, power of the symbol rate signal of the desired wave which is outputted from the despreader is not necessarily kept to be constant. Accordingly, in case that the signal to noise (S/N, hereinafter) ratio of the desired wave is low, explaining concretely in case that the other transmitting wave or an interference wave exists in the same frequency band as that of the desired wave, or power of the desired wave received by the antenna is lower that of thermal noise power, there arises an apprehension that the desired wave cannot be amplified satisfactorily, or the sensibility of the receipt of message and the equality of the signal transmission will be deteriorated.

Receiver used in spread spectrum communication system


According to the preferred embodiment, a method is provided for automatically coloring VLSI design elements for the purpose of assigning binary properties to the elements. The preferred method is particularly applicable for use generating phase shift mask designs from VLSI CAD datasets. The preferred method uses net coloring to automatically generate a data set of colored elements. The preferred method is not dependent on the order in which the elements are operated upon. The preferred method has the additional advantage of being able to automatically detect conflicts that prevent the VLSI design from being optimally colored. The preferred method is equally applicable to hierarchical VLSI databases with nested components and traditional flat databases. When applied the hierarchical databases, the preferred method provides element coloring with minimal data flattening required.

1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to VLSI circuit design and more specifically relates to generating phase shifted mask designs.
2. Background Art
A very large scale integrated (VLSI) complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) chip is manufactured on a silicon wafer by a sequence of material additions (i.e., low pressure chemical vapor depositions, sputtering operations, etc.), material removals (i.e., wet etches, reactive ion etches, etc.), and material modifications (i.e., oxidations, ion implants, etc.). These physical and chemical operations interact with the entire wafer. For example, if a wafer is placed into an acid bath, the entire surface of the wafer will be etched away. In order to build very small electrically active devices on the wafer, the impact of these operations has to be confined to small, well defined regions.
Lithography in the context of VLSI manufacturing of CMOS devices is the process of patterning openings in photosensitive polymers (sometimes referred to as photoresists or resists) which define small areas in which the silicon base (or other) material is modified by a specific operation in a sequence of processing steps. The manufacturing of CMOS chips involves the repeated patterning of photoresist, followed by an etch, implant, deposition, or other operation, and ending in the removal of the expended photoresist to make way for a new resist to be applied for another iteration of this process sequence.
The basic lithography system consists of a light source, a stencil or photomask containing the pattern to be transferred to the wafer, a collection of lenses, and a means for aligning existing patterns on the wafer with patterns on the mask. Since a wafer containing from fifty to one hundred chips is patterned in steps of one to four chips at a time, a lithography stepper is limited by parameters described in Rayleigh's equation: ##EQU1## where .lambda. is the wavelength of the light source used in the projection system and NA is the numerical aperture of the projection optics used. k.sub.1 is a factor describing how well a combined lithography system can utilize the theoretical resolution limit in practice and can range from 0.8 down to 0.5 for standard exposure systems. The highest resolution in optical lithography is currently achieved with deep ultra violet (DUV) steppers operating at 248 nm wavelength. Steppers operating at a wavelength of 356 nm are also in widespread use.
Conventional photomasks consist of chromium patterns on a quartz plate, allowing light to pass wherever the chromium is removed from the mask. Light of a specific wavelength is projected through a mask onto the photoresist coated wafer, exposing the resist wherever hole patterns are placed on the mask. Exposing the resist to light of appropriate wavelength causes modifications in the molecular structure of the resist polymers which allows a developer chemical to dissolve and remove the resist in the exposed areas. ( Conversely, negative resist systems allow only unexposed resist to be developed away.) The photomask, when illuminated, can be pictured as an array of individual, infinitely small light sources which can be either turned on (points covered by clear areas) or turned off (points covered by chrome).
These conventional photomasks are commonly referred to as chrome on glass (COG) binary masks. The perfectly square step function exists only in the theoretical limit of the exact mask plane. At any distance away from the mask, such as in the wafer plane, diffraction effects will cause images to exhibit a finite image slope. At small dimensions, that is, when the size and spacing of the images to be printed are small relative to .lambda./NA (NA being the numerical aperture of the exposure system), electric field vectors of nearby images will interact and add constructively. The resulting light intensity curve between features is not completely dark, but exhibits significant amounts of light intensity created by the interaction of adjacent features. The resolution of an exposure system is limited by the contrast of the projected light image, that is the intensity difference between adjacent light and dark features. An increase in the light intensity in nominally dark regions will eventually cause adjacent features to print as one combined structure rather than discrete images.
The quality with which small images can be replicated in lithography depends largely on the available process latitude; that is, the amount of allowable dose and focus variation that still results in correct image size. Phase shifted mask (PSM) lithography improves the lithographic process latitude or allows operation of a lower k.sub.1 value (see equation 1) by introducing a third parameter on the mask. The electric field vector, like any vector quantity, has a magnitude and direction, so in addition to turning the electric field amplitude on and off, the phase of the vector can changed. This phase variation is achieved in PSM's by modifying the length that a light beam travels through the mask material. By recessing the mask by the appropriate depth, light traversing the thinner portion of the mask and light traversing the thicker portion of the mask will be 180.degree. out of phase; that is, their electric field vectors will be of equal magnitude but point in exactly opposite directions so that any interaction between these light beams results in perfect cancellation. For more information on PSM, the reader is referred to "Phase-Shifting Mask: Strategies: Isolated Dark Lines", Marc D. Levenson, Microlithography World, March/April 1992, pp. 6-12.
The limits of PSM lithography can be uniquely challenged by the manufacture of high-performance logic derivatives of advanced Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) technologies. These technologies are entering development cycles with immediate requirements for sub-quarter micron printed gate lengths and tight dimensional control on the gate structures across large chip areas. Since these logic technologies are based on shrinking the gate length in an established DRAM technology, the overall layout pitch remains constant for all critical mask levels, resulting in narrow, optically isolated lines on the scaled gate level. The requirement for tight line width control on narrow isolated lines drives the requirement of phase edge PSM's for these logic applications.
Phase edge PSM lithography makes use of contrast enhancement caused by a phase transition under an opaque feature on a mask. This phase transition is achieved by etching an appropriate depth into the quartz mask substrate on one side of a narrow line structure on the mask. Since the 180.degree. phase transition forces a minimum in the image intensity, narrow dark lines will be printed by these excess phase edges. Currently, the unwanted images are erased using a trim mask, a second mask that transmits light only in regions left unexposed by the residual phase edge.
Even though resolution enhancement through the use of phase shifted masks has been extensively proven, implementation of this technique is critically dependent on computer assisted design (CAD) technology that can modify existing circuit designs to incorporate the additional design levels needed to build a phase shifted mask. Design modifications consist of defining regions on the mask that require phase shifting (i.e., by etching into the mask substrate) relative to the rest of the mask, and of trim regions added to eliminate lines printed by unwanted phase edges. The process of defining portions of the mask as 0.degree. phase transition and other portions as 180.degree. phase transition is generally referred to as phase coloring. Phase coloring is traditionally a very time intensive process and has been difficult to effectively automate. Thus, what is needed is a system and method for generating a phase-shifted mask design from an existing CAD database of circuit elements on a VLSI chip.

Automatic generation of phase shift masks using net coloring

International Business Machines Corporation


A fluid jacket for a disc brake is provided that promotes a balanced flow of cooling fluid throughout the fluid jacket to most effectively remove heat from the disc brake. The fluid jacket includes an annular body configured for engagement with a friction surface. The annular body defines a plurality of concentric flow passages. The annular body further defines first and second axial flow passages in fluid communication with first and second flow passages, respectively of the plurality of concentric flow passages, with the first and second flow passage separated by a third concentric flow passage. The annular body further defines a radial flow passage extending between the first and second axial flow passages, and a fluid inlet in fluid communication with the radial flow passage.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to liquid cooled brakes and, more particularly, to a fluid jacket for use in liquid cooled brakes.
2. Disclosure of Related Art
A conventional disc brake employs two sets of friction plates that are interleaved with each other to transmit a braking force. The friction plates may be made from copper to enhance frictional heat transfer within the brake. Typically, one set of plates is fixed against rotation relative to a stationary body such as a brake housing, but is axially movable relative to the stationary body. The other set of plates rotate with a rotating body such as a driven shaft, but are also axially moveable relative to the rotating body. An actuator is employed to bring the plates into engagement through which the rotating body is braked.
Braking a rotating body results in a conversion of mechanical energy to heat energy. In many instances, it is desirable to provide for effective removal of some of the heat developed from the brake structure. One method of removing heat from a disc brake is to use a liquid to cool the brake structure and transfer heat out of the brake structure. In one conventional form of a liquid cooled disc brake, one set of the friction plates define fluid jackets for circulating a cooling fluid therethrough to reduce the heat generated in the brake by the frictional engagement of the friction plates.
One conventional fluid jacket has a plurality of concentric flow passages and a radial flow passage that is in fluid communication with each of the concentric flow passages. A fluid inlet and outlet communicate with the radial flow passage. In theory, fluid is simultaneously delivered to each of the concentric passages after entering the radial flow passage from the fluid inlet. In practice, however, it has been determined that the flow of fluid is uneven within and among the concentric passages. In particular, fluid flow in the radially inner concentric passages is relatively high, while fluid flow in the radially outer concentric passages is relatively low. Effective fluid flow in the radially outer concentric passages is especially important since more heat is generated toward the radially outer portion of the friction plate which rotates at a faster speed than the radially inner portion of the plate.
The inventors herein have recognized a need for a fluid jacket for a disc brake that will minimize and/or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies.


A method is disclosed for dynamically varying a content download depending on whether the download is a foreground-download or a background-download. When a server receives a content-request from a device, the server determines whether the content-request is foreground-generated or background-generated and accordingly selects a set of content to transmit in response to the device. If the content-request is background-generated, for instance, the server may select a smaller quantity of content, since the device user might not be actively involved with the download. On the other hand, if the content-request is foreground-generated, the server may select a larger quantity of content, since the user is involved at the time. Alternatively, the device itself may select a location from which to request content, based on whether the download is a foreground-download or a background-download.

With the widespread growth of the Internet and advances in communication technology, users of communication devices can conveniently gain access to a virtually unlimited quantity of information and services. This is especially true with wireless communication devices, such as cell phones and wirelessly-equipped personal digital assistants for instance, which provide users with access to such information from virtually any location where wireless coverage exists.
As a general matter, a communication device may acquire content through either "background downloading" or "foreground downloading." Background downloading is a process by which the device downloads the content without user input at the time. For example, the device may be programmed to automatically download content at particular times, and the device may do so without prompting the user for approval and without receiving a user request or approval at the time to do so. As another example, the device may receive a content-notification message indicating that content is available to be downloaded, and the device may responsively download the content without prompting the user for approval and without receiving a user request or approval at the time to do so. (When the device conducts a background-download, the user may or may not perceive the device conducting the background-download. For instance, the device may or may not present a notice when it is conducting the background-download).
Foreground downloading, on the other hand, is a process by which the device downloads the content in response to user request or approval at the time. For example, a user may invoke a browser or other application on the device and thereby direct the device to download particular content at the time, and the device may responsively do so. As another example, the device may receive a content-notification message indicating that content is available to be downloaded, the device may responsively prompt the user for approval and receive user approval. In response to the user approval, the device may then download the content, as another instance of foreground downloading.
Both background and foreground downloading can be used, in combination or separately, to provide a versatile channel-presentation program on a communication device. Such a channel presentation-program, for instance, may allow a user to selectively view content of one or more channels (akin to TV channels), each of which may be focused on a particular subject (such as sports, weather, or pop-music, for instance). For each channel, the channel-presentation program may be arranged to periodically background-download the most current channel content from a designated URL. Alternatively, a network server may be arranged to periodically transmit the most current channel content to the device, as either a background-download or a foreground-download (e.g., with a content-notification message triggering the device to obtain user approval before downloading the designated content). Conveniently, whenever a user of the device then selects a desired channel in the channel-presentation program, the program can present the user with the latest set of content that was background-downloaded for that channel, without having to wait for the device to download the content.
Furthermore, through interaction with the channel-presentation program, the user may direct the program to update its content channels at the time through a foreground-download. For example, when the user first turns on the channel-presentation program, the user's initiation of the program may implicitly direct the program to update the content-channels at the time. As another example, the channel-presentation program may include an "update" function that the user can invoke in order to direct the program to update the content-channels. In response to such user requests, the channel-presentation program would thus initiate a foreground download of the latest channel content.
In order to conserve storage space and network resources, such a channel-presentation program may be arranged to download just a limited portion of each channel's content when conducting channel-updates, regardless of whether the updates are conducted through foreground or background downloading. For instance, the program may be arranged to send an HTTP request message to a URL that represents or points to such partial content. With this arrangement, when a user selects a particular channel, the program may then present the user with the just that downloaded portion of the channel's content, to conveniently give the user a flavor for the full channel content. If the user wishes to receive the full channel content, the user may then invoke a "full" function in the channel presentation program, which would direct the program to download the full channel content for presentation to the user. In particular, the program may download a full version of the content by sending an HTTP request message to a URL that represents or points to the full content.
For instance, the channel-presentation program may define a "news" channel that presents news stories, and the program may be set by default to download just a headline and first portion of each news story when performing a foreground or background channel update. When a user selects the news channel, the program may then present the user with a list of headlines, and the user may click on a desired headline to invoke presentation of the previously downloaded first portion of the corresponding story. After reading that first portion, if the user then wishes to view the full version of the story, the user may invoke a "full" function of the channel-presentation program to cause the program to download and present the full version of the story.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for dynamic variation of content-download depending on foreground or background nature of download


The present invention relates to certain substituted tetracyclic fused quinoline derivatives of formula (I): ##STR1## wherein: R.sup.1 is hydrogen, hydroxy, fluoro, chloro, bromo, iodo, methoxy or amino;. R.sup.2 is hydrogen, hydroxy, methoxy or amino; PA0 R.sup.3 is hydrogen, hydroxy, methoxy, methoxymethoxy, amino, --OCONH.sub.2, [2(5H)-3,4-dihydro-3-oxyfuranone], 2-hydroxyethoxy, 2-aminoethoxy, 3-hydroxypropoxy or 3-aminopropoxy; or taken together with R.sup.2 or R.sup.4, methylenedioxy or ethylenedioxy; PA0 R.sup.4 is hydrogen, hydroxy or amino; PA0 Z is --CH.sub.2 --, --O-- or --NH--; and PA0 a) X.sup.1 is hydrogen; PA0 X.sup.2 is hydrogen, hydroxy, fluoro, chloro, bromo, iodo or methoxy; and PA0 X.sup.3 is hydrogen or hydroxy; or PA0 b) X.sup.2 taken together with X.sup.3 is methylenedioxy or ethylenedioxy, and X.sup.1 is hydrogen PA0 i) at least one of R.sup.1 through R.sup.4 is other than hydrogen.. or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof provided that:

Before a living cell can reproduce, its DNA strands must unwind from their normal coiled configurations and assume a topology favorable for replication. To allow this unwinding the enzymes known as topoisomerases serve to introduce "swivels" in DNA strands. Without such a mechanism the DNA could not replicate, and hence the cell could not reproduce and proliferate. For detailed explanations of the topoisomerase function see A. Lenninger, Principles of Biochemistry, 813, Worth Publishers, New York (1982); L. F. Liu, "DNA Topoisomerases," CRC Critical Review in Biochemistry, 1-24, 15 (1983) and H Vosberg, "DNA Topoisomerases: Enzymes that Control DNA Conformation," Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, 19, Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1985). It has been recognized for some time that cell proliferation might be controlled by inhibition of topoisomerases and that such control might be particularly useful in halting the spread of tumors and related malignancies and ultimately destroying them. See E. Nelson, et al, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 81, 1361 (1984).
On the basis of mechanism of action, topoisomerases have been categorized as Type I and Type II (often referred to as "topo I" and "topo II", respectively). The clinically useful antitumor agents adriamycin, mitoxantrone, etoposide and m-AMSA have been reported to work by inhibiting the function of Type II topoisomerase. Camptothecin, a natural product antitumor agent, has been found to inhibit the function of Type I topoisomerase as have certain synthetic camptothecin analogs (see Wall, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,456). It is now believed that a compound which could effectively inhibit the functions of either or both Type I and Type II would be a potent antitumor agent.


Apparatus for coupling and decoupling a data terminal to a computer system of the kind that continues to interact with a device only while the computer system detects interaction by the device. The apparatus includes switching circuitry for connection between the data terminal and the computer system; the switching circuitry has a first mode in which a path is provided for interaction between the data terminal and the computer system, and a second mode in which the path is disabled and the data terminal may engage in other activities. The apparatus also includes communication circuitry, responsive to the switching circuitry, for interacting with the computer system at times when the path is disabled, in order to cause the computer system to continue to interact with the communication circuitry during those times and then to be immediately available for interaction with the data terminal when the path is again provided. In other aspects, multiple data terminals are served simultaneously from a single bi-phase communications processor of the kind having a RISC processor containing an integral coax interface, and crossover distortion is removed in the course of deriving a processed digital signal from positive and negative digital signal sample components that were formed by positive and negative threshold comparisons and which appear at a given sampling clock rate.

This invention relates to interfacing terminals and computer systems.
Recently, the cost and size of computer hardware has been dramatically reduced, leading to the widespread use of large and complex interconnected networks of computers. In such networks, incompatible communication protocols may be used by different vendors for terminal-to-computer and computer-to-computer communications.
The incompatibility of protocols is particularly apparent when updating computing hardware and changing from one vendor to another (and one protocol to another). For example, consider a system including a mainframe and terminals manufactured by a first vendor. Ideally, if the system's managers wished to change hardware vendors, they would first purchase a new mainframe from the second vendor, and simply plug the new mainframe into the existing system. Thereafter, the existing terminals (from the first vendor) would be used with either the new or old mainframes. After the users were accustomed to the new mainframe, the old mainframe could be removed from the network, and new terminals (from the second vendor) could be purchased and used with the new mainframe.
During the transition period, it would be desirable to use existing terminals to access both mainframes, thus avoiding the additional cost of new terminals from the second vendor, and the inconvenience of having two terminals on every user's desk. Even if new terminals are purchased with the new mainframe, the users will still need to access the old mainframe until all activities have been transferred to the new mainframe.
It is not simple to connect one vendor's terminals to another vendor's mainframe. For example, consider the task of connecting a terminal manufactured by International Business machines Corporation of Armonk, New York (IBM), to a mainframe manufactured by Digital Equipment corporation (DEC) of Maynard, Mass. An issue that must be confronted in this case is that IBM terminals communicate with a so-called synchronous communication protocol, whereas DEC terminals communicate with an asynchronous communication protocol.
In an IBM system using a synchronous communication protocol, the "cluster control unit" (or CCU, which acts as a go-between for the terminals and the mainframe) regularly polls the terminals for new actions that have been performed by the user and transmits the results to the mainframe. The CCU also sends commands to the terminals which update their screens. The terminals must acknowledge each poll within a short time interval (approximately 5 .mu.sec), by transmitting any recent keystrokes or other actions. Likewise, each screen update command must also be acknowledged. In contrast, in a DEC system using an asynchronous communication protocol, keystrokes or other actions are transmitted to a terminal server (TS) as they are received from the user. In a DEC asynchronous system, the terminal is never polled.
There are several known conversion devices that interconnect hardware from different vendors such as IBM and DEC. These conversion devices consist essentially of conversion hardware and (in the case of a converter interfacing IBM terminals to DEC and IBM mainframes) connections to the IBM terminal, the IBM CCU and the DEC TS. The conversion hardware routes (and, where necessary, converts to a form appropriate for the target main frame) the user's keystrokes and other terminal information to one or the other of the mainframes. Typically, to switch the terminal and converter between mainframes, the user enters a "hot key" sequence. To detect the hot key sequence, the conversion hardware "listens in" on all keystrokes entered by the user at the terminal, and switches mainframes when the hot key sequence is detected.
In known conversion devices, e.g., those that interconnect terminals to IBM and DEC mainframes, when the user switches "off" the IBM mainframe (to work on the DEC mainframe), from the IBM CCU's perspective, the terminal becomes totally unresponsive to polls or other commands. When the IBM CCU notices that the terminal is unresponsive (which occurs after about 15 unanswered polls), the CCU assumes that a communication error has occurred. As a result, the CCU kills the user's processes and logs the user out (i.e., the user's "session" is terminated). Thus, when a user switches "off" and back "on" the IBM mainframe, he must log back into the IBM system, and re-initialize any programs that were running.

Correcting crossover distortion produced when analog signal thresholds are used to remove noise from signal


Provided is a dry etching method for an oxide semiconductor film made of In—Ga—Zn—O, in which an etching gas containing a hydrocarbon is used in a dry etching process for the oxide semiconductor film made of In—Ga—Zn—O formed on a substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dry etching method for an oxide containing In, Ga, and Zn (hereinafter, referred to as "In—Ga—Zn—O"), and more particularly, to a dry etching method for an oxide semiconductor In—Ga—Zn—O in manufacturing microelectronic components such as a semiconductor element, a semiconductor integrated circuit, ° and an electrode.
2. Description of the Related Art
As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-103957, in recent years, research and development regarding a semiconductor film made of In—Ga—Zn—O and growth conditions for the semiconductor film have been conducted.
K. Nomura et. al, Nature, vol. 432, 25 Nov. 2004, p. 488-492 and E. M. C. Fortunato et. al, Advanced Materials, 2005, 17, No. 5, p. 590-594 disclose that patterning of a produced film made of In—Ga—Zn—O or a film made of Ga—Zn—O has been performed by a lift-off method.
Regarding the dry etching, it is known that Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-335874 discloses a technique in which a process gas containing methane is used for a dry etching method for a transparent oxide conductive film made of, for example, zinc oxide (ZnO).
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H03-077209 discloses that, when a transparent conductive film made of an ITO formed on a glass substrate is subjected to dry etching, reactive dry etching using a mixture gas of hydrogen and hydrocarbon is employed while heating an ITO film. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-087301 discloses that a conductive film mainly made of SnO2, In2O3, and ZnO is subjected to dry etching by using hydrogen iodide.
In the conventional semiconductor dry etching, a fluorine-based gas is generally used as an etching medium.
However, the lift-off method has a problem in that a photoresist is melted and deformed at high temperature. Further, the lift-off method has another problem in that, in removing a photoresist, a patterned edge of a film to be vapor-deposited rides up, with the result that wirings provided through the patterned edge are liable to be broken and the production yield is low.
Further, the photoresist patterned by a photolithography process is used as an etching mask for reactive ion etching (RIE). In this case, there arises a problem in that it is difficult to remove a nonvolatile material, which is deposited on a surface of the resist after the etching, even by cleaning with supersonic waves.
Accordingly, it is necessary to process the film made of In—Ga—Zn—O, and various etching methods are under review in order to obtain a film having excellent reproducibility and a desired shape. There are two main types of etching methods, that is, wet etching in which a sample is immersed in a chemical agent, and dry etching in which an etching medium having a gas phase is used. In principle, in the wet etching method, etching advances isotropically, which raises a problem in that a phenomenon such as undercut of a lower portion of a mask, corrosion of a pattern due to adhesion failure between a mask and a coated film, or penetration of an etchant occurs. Further, there arises another problem in that etching residues float and remain on a device. Accordingly, replacement of the etchant is required at high frequency, which may lead to a large consumption of the etchant.
On the other hand, the dry etching method is advantageous in that chemically active ions generated in plasma are vertically made incident on a surface of a processed material due to directivity of the ions, whereby a processed shape has faithful processing characteristics for the mask pattern.
As a general dry etching method, a reactive ion etching (RIE) method is employed. A principle of the RIE is simply described as follows. An etching gas is introduced in a vacuum container having a parallel plate electrode, and high frequency power is applied to the electrode. Then, the etching gas is ionized by electrons which are rapidly accelerated due to a high frequency electric field, to thereby obtain a plasma state of the etching gas. Neutral active species (radicals) or ions generated in the plasma react on the substrate surface, which advances etching. A basic reaction mechanism is described as follows. As one example of the etching in which chemical reaction is dominant, active species are adsorbed to produce secondary products, and the active species are desorbed, thereby advancing etching. As another example of the etching in which a sputtering effect is dominant, accelerated positive ions collide with the substrate, and the substrate is physically etched.
However, the above-mentioned cited references do not disclose a specific dry etching for In—Ga—Zn—O, or include embodiments thereof. The dry etching of the film made of In—Ga—Zn—O using CF4 is disadvantageous for mass production in that the etching rate is as low as 20 angstrom/min. Further, etching selectivity with respect to a generally used insulating film (e.g., SiN or SiO) is low.
Further, in the dry etching method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H03-077209, there arises a problem in that, in a case where an ITO is not heated, In and a carbon-based deposit are formed on the ITO film, and a predetermined configuration pattern is hardly obtained. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H03-077209 does not disclose possibility of use of the dry etching for the film made of In—Ga—Zn—O, and the etching rate.
In the conventional dry etching for a semiconductor made of, for example, silicon, a fluorine-based gas is used as an etching medium in many cases. The dry etching of the film made of In—Ga—Zn—O using CF4 is disadvantageous for mass production in that the etching rate is as low as 20 angstrom/min. according to the experimental results. Further, the etching selectivity with respect to SiN, SiO, or the like generally used for an insulating film is low.
On the other hand, in a case of using a halogen gas, examples of a product that is reacted with an In—Ga—Zn—O film may include a halide containing In, Ga, and Zn, such as GaF3, GaCl2, GaCl3, GaBr3, InF3, InCl, InCl2, InCl3, InBr2, ZnF2, and ZnCl2. Those halides have a boiling point of 1000° C., 535° C., 201° C., 279° C., 1200° C., 608° C., 560° C., 600° C., 632° C., 1243° C., and 428° C., respectively. Those halides each have a high boiling point of the reactive product, a low volatility, and a low vapor pressure. Accordingly, if the substrate temperature during the etching is not set high, the reactive product cannot be desorbed and are redeposited, which raises a problem of polluting an etching chamber. Further, when a plastic film resin substrate is used, it is undesirable to perform etching using the halogen gas since the resin substrate normally has a low heat resistance. In particular, the plastic resin substrate has a low etching resistance with respect to the plasma of the halogen gas. For this reason, the substrate surface may be made rough and may have irregularities. In a case where the irregularities are formed on the substrate surface as described above, wirings may be broken by steps of the irregularities, which reduces the production yield.

Dry etching method for oxide semiconductor film


A communication system is provided that allows a Hybrid Access Terminal (HAT) that is monitoring, or is engaged in a circuit voice call in, a circuit switched network and has a dormant packet data session anchored on a packet switched network, to send packet data to, and to receive packet data from, a packet data network connected to the packet switched network without having to switch to the packet switched network and even though a packet data session is not established in the circuit switched network.

The evolution of cellular communications has resulted in a proliferation of networks of different technologies and corresponding different air interfaces. In order to provide nearly universal coverage and a continuity of communications, wireless mobile stations have been, or are being, developed that are capable of operation in each of multiple networks, wherein each such network implements a different technology than the other networks of the multiple networks. Among the different network technologies are CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technologies, such as CDMA 2000 HRPD (High Rate Packet Data), that are capable of providing HRPD communication services, and conventional, or circuit switched, CDMA cellular communication technologies, such as a CDMA 3G1X.
Currently, the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) standards provide a Short Data Burst (SDB) feature for 3G1X systems that permits a transfer of data frames between a packet data network and a mobile station (MS) over a traffic channel of the 3G1X network when the MS is engaged in an active voice or packet data call and over a common channel of the 3G1X network when the MS's packet data session is dormant and the MS is not engaged in a voice call. The 3GPP2 standards further provide a similar functionality for HRPD communication systems, that is, a Data Over Signaling (DOS) feature, for a transfer of 'higher layer' data between an HRPD network and an MS over either a common channel or a traffic channel of the HRPD network. For example, the SDB and DOS features may be used to transfer instant messaging text, email, or a web page to an MS otherwise engaged after a packet data communication session is established between the MS and the 3G1X or HRPD network, respectively.
As network operators begin deploying HRPD networks in combination with their 3G1X networks, some operators plan to allocate circuit-based, or circuit switched, services exclusively to 3G1X network resources and to transfer all packet data traffic received from or intended for the Internet via the HRPD networks. In such hybrid systems, when the MS is in the 3G1X network, for example, and is active with a circuit voice call or is idle and monitoring a 3G1X paging channel, the MS cannot exchange HRPD DOS with the Internet via the HRPD network. In order to provide such packet data to such an MS, it has been proposed, in U.S. patent application publication no. 2004/0120283, that when packet data arrives from the Internet for the MS, the HRPD network request the 3G1X network to page the MS to request that the MS move to the HRPD network so that the packet data can be delivered to the MS. Further, if an MS in the 3G1X network needs to send small amounts of data to the packet data network, the MS will have to drop its circuit call if it has one and move to the HRPD network in order to transfer the packet data. After the MS has switched to the HRPD network, when a circuit switched voice call (a 3G1X service) is received for an MS that is monitoring or active with a packet data session on an HRPD network, the MS is "cross-paged" on the HRPD network, that is, is notified, via a page from the HRPD network, of the 3G1X service. The MS must then leave the packet data session on the HRPD network (which may go dormant) and move back to the 3G1X network to accept the circuit voice call. Alternatively, an MS may be configured to return to the 3G1x after a period of time when no additional packet data is sent or received on the HRPD network. The need for an MS in a 3G1X system to switch back to the packet data network where its packet data session is anchored in order to send or receive a small amount of packet data, possibly dropping any circuit voice call in the process, then returning back to the 3G1X circuit network to resume circuit services, is inconvenient for the user of the MS and wasteful of system resources.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved method and apparatus for transferring packet data between an MS in a 3G1X network and the MS's packet data session which is anchored on a packet data network without the MS having to leave the circuit network and move back to the packet data network.

Method and apparatus for an exchange of packet data between a wireless access terminal and a packet switched communication system via a circuit switched communication system


In a method and apparatus for treating fluids, a pump delivers a fluid flow from a fluid source to a manifold. The manifold divides the fluid flow into first and second fluid flows, which are delivered from the manifold to a housing. The housing includes therein a first vortex nozzle positioned in opposed relationship to a second vortex nozzle. The first fluid flow enters the first vortex nozzle to create a first rotating fluid flow, and the second fluid flow enters the second vortex nozzle to create a second rotating fluid flow. The first and second vortex nozzles impinge the first and second rotating fluid flows in a collision chamber, thereby treating the fluid.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for treating fluids and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation to an improved fluid delivery system for transporting a fluid to a vortex nozzle assembly housed therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,521 discloses a vortex nozzle assembly constructed with a pair of vortex nozzles positioned within a housing in opposed relationship. The housing maintains the axial alignments of the nozzles and their respective nozzle exits and, further, introduces fluid into the vortex nozzles. The fluid enters an interior tapered vortex tube of each vortex nozzle through a straight, round, port tangent to a toroidal cavity. The toroidal cavity is adjacent to a large end of the tapered, conical vortex tube, which is normal to the nozzle axis. The fluid departs from this toroidal section and progresses spirally out toward a nozzle exit as more fluid continuously enters the port. The transition from the toroidal shape to the conical shape is critical. If the inside edge of the cone is tangent to the outside of the toroid, the fluid exits too quickly to form complete coverage of the interior of the vortex tube. Conversely, if the inside edge of the cone starts at the bottom quadrant of the torrous, the exiting fluid interferes with the incoming flow and causes much turbulence.
As fluid is forced spirally out each vortex tube, centrifugal energy flattens a circular section of fluid against the side of the tapered vortex tube. This action accelerates the fluid as it spirals out toward the exit, creating a void inside the vortex tube chamber. When the fluid exits the walls of the vortex tube, it accelerates radially forming a hollow fluid cone. The hollow fluid cone from one vortex nozzle impacts with the hollow fluid cone from the other vortex nozzle inside the housing, which forms a liquid lined, closed chamber. This closed chamber develops a substantial vacuum due to the void caused by the centrifugal energy of the vortex. The energy from the impact of the two hollow fluid cones in the presence of this substantial vacuum effects changes to the fluid.
It is desirable and beneficial for the fluid to form a uniform and thin film, thus exposing the maximum amount of the surface area of the fluid to the effect of the vortex chamber. Additionally, this thin film of fluid becomes the interior liquid wall of the vortex reaction chamber. If the fluid is not uniformly distributed down the walls of the tapered vortex tube when it exits the nozzle, instabilities will develop in the impact pattern between the two nozzles leading to inefficiencies in nozzle performance. These irregularities in fluid distribution are inherent when one starts with a single, circular fluid cross-section entering normally to the axis of the nozzle and attempts to develop that fluid into a uniform, thin-filmed annular section.
Increasing the length of the vortex tube aids in the uniform film development by allowing the fluid more time to develop a stable flow pattern; unfortunately, the additional length greatly increases the frictional losses. These frictional losses lessen the impact energy when the two hollow fluid cones exiting the nozzles collide, thereby limiting the efficiency of the nozzle. The added length also decreases the centrifugal energy available, as the length must be added to the large end of the vortex tube. This makes the toroidal section larger and decreases the rotational speed for a given inlet velocity.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,913 adds another inline vortex tube to each nozzle to eliminate a singular entrance port. This has some beneficial effect, particularly when the paired vortex tubes are properly sized and positioned relative to each other. However, properly sizing and positioning of the tandem design nozzle pairs can prove challenging. One must carefully determine the relative sizes and placements as the vortex tube can interfere rather than amplify each other.
Accordingly, there is a long felt need for an improved fluid delivery system for transporting a fluid to a vortex nozzle assembly housed therein. The improved fluid delivery system more efficiently transports fluid to permit a more uniform film thickness in an individual vortex nozzle of the vortex nozzle assembly. The improved fluid delivery system further provides greater application design latitude but in a less complicated arrangement as was accomplished with either the single entry or the tandem nozzle design.

Method and apparatus for treating fluids


A first alternating stack of first insulating layers and first sacrificial material layers with first stepped surfaces is formed over a substrate. A first retro-stepped dielectric material portion is formed on the first stepped surfaces. A second alternating stack of second insulating layers and second sacrificial material layers with second stepped surfaces is formed over the first alternating stack. A second retro-stepped dielectric material portion is formed on the second stepped surfaces. A first conductive via structure is formed through the second retro-stepped dielectric material portion, a bottommost insulating layer of the second alternating stack, and the first retro-stepped dielectric material portion. The sacrificial material layers are replaced with electrically conductive layers. The first conductive via structure is electrically connected to a first electrically conductive layer that replaces a first sacrificial material layer, and is electrically isolated from each second electrically conductive layer in the second alternating stack.

Recently, ultra-high density storage devices using three-dimensional (3D) memory stack structures have been proposed. For example, a 3D NAND stacked memory device may be formed from an array of an alternating stack of insulating materials and spacer material layers that are formed as electrically conductive layers or replaced with electrically conductive layers over a substrate containing peripheral devices (e.g., driver/logic circuits). Memory openings are formed through the alternating stack, and are filled with memory stack structures, each of which includes a vertical stack of memory elements and a vertical semiconductor channel. Semiconductor devices or metal interconnect structures may be provided underneath the alternating stack.

Three-dimensional memory device containing through-memory-level contact via structures


There are provided systems and methods for dynamic authentication through user information and intent. A user may wish to purchase an item that they view on a merchant marketplace using a computer of mobile phone. The merchant for the merchant marketplace may register the user's intent to purchase the item by receiving the user's actions while browsing the marketplace. The user may further provide user information with the merchant, such as a biometric reading, identifier, or other information. When the user then arrives at a merchant location to purchase the item and complete a transaction using a payment instrument, the merchant may process the user's intent and information to determine how confident the merchant is that the user is entitled to utilize the payment method. Such confidence rating may correspond to whether the merchant believes the transaction is fraudulent or if the user is misrepresenting their identity.

A user, such as a consumer, may wish to purchase an item and make a trip to a merchant location to purchase the item. During checkout of the item, however, the user may be required to go through an arduous process of providing sufficient information to the merchant to verify the user's identity and protect the merchant from fraud. This may be especially noticeable in the case of large expenses. While both the merchant and user may wish to streamline the process, the merchant may have policies requiring the most recent customer information and have a high degree of confidence in the validity of the transaction. Thus, the user may be required to submit new information, review old information, and/or complete a lengthy checkout processes. However, users would prefer to provide the least amount of information the least number of times, as well as not being required to explicitly provide such information. This causes authentication and identification processes of the merchant to be at odds with the desires of the user, leading to a less desirable purchasing experience.
Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are best understood by referring to the detailed description that follows. It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, wherein showings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of the present disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same.

Dynamic authentication through user information and intent


The present invention relates to a method of inhibiting N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor-mediated ion channel activity (NMDA receptor activity), comprising contacting a neuronal cell (e.g., hippocampal neuron, spinal cord cell) with an effective amount (e.g., 1 to 500 .mu.M) of a derivative of pregnenolone sulfate. Derivatives of pregnenolone sulfate that inhibit NMDA receptor activity include pregnenolone sulfate in which the A ring includes at least one double bond or is fully unsaturated, the double bond at the C5-C6 position is reduced, the moiety at the C3, C10, C11 or C13 position is modified, alone or in combination. It further relates to pregnenolone sulfate derivatives which have modifications at other positions (e.g., C5, C7, C10, C16, C17, C18, C19, C20, C21), alone or in combination, and are inhibitors of NMDA recepteor activity. The pregnenolone sulfate derivatives differ from pregnenolone sulfate at least one position. The present invention also relates to a method of modulating or altering (e.g., potentiating; inhibiting) excitatory glutamate-mediated synaptic activity comprising contacting neurons with pregnenolone sulfate and derivatives of pregnenolone sulfate.

L-Glutamate is thought to be the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the vertebrate central nervous system and is known to activate at least three major, pharmacologically distinct classes of glutamate-gated ion channels: N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), .alpha.-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionate (AMPA), and kainate receptors. These three inotropic receptors are named according to their selective agonists.
NMDA receptors have attracted particular attention because of their importance in normal brain function and in pathophysiological conditions such as epilepsy and cerebral ischemia (Rothman, S. M. and Olney, J. W., Trends Neurosci., 10:299-302 (1987)). The NMDA receptor appears to be essential for the induction of long-term potentiation (Collingridge, G. L. and Bliss, T. V. P., Trends Neurosci., 10:288-293 (1987)), a proposed underlying mechanism for learning and memory (Madison, D. V., et al., Annu. Rev. Neurosci., 14:379-397 (1991)), ischemic cell death, epilepsy, and other neurological disorders (Simon, R. P., et al., Science 226:850-852 (1984); Choi, D. W., J. Neurosci. 10:2493-2501 (1990) such as hypoxic neuronal damage (Simon, R., et al., Science, 226:850-852 (1984)), schizophrenia (Carlsson, M., et al., Trends Neurosci., 13:272-276 (1990); Watchel, H., et al., Trends Pharmacol. Sci., 11:219-220 (1990)) and excitotoxicity (Onley, J., et al., Brain Res., 221:207-210 (1981)). The integral channel of the NMDA receptor is permeable to Na+, K+, and Ca.sup.2+. NMDA receptor activation thus increases intracellular Ca.sup.2+ in neuronal cells, and this process is thought to evoke glutamate-induced neurotoxicity (Madison, D. V., et al., Annu. Rev. Neurosci., 14:379-397 (1991)).
Thus, inhibition of NMDA receptor activity would be useful for protecting against various disorders including glutamate-induced neurotoxicity.

Inhibition of NMDA receptor activity and modulation of glutamate-mediated synaptic activity


A low-power compact computer comprises a processor having relatively low-power consumption, a supporting chipset having conventional power consumption, and a conventional random access memory storage circuit.

Computer technology has increased rapidly over the past few decades. As integrated circuits for performing the central processor unit (CPU) functions, such as Intel's Pentium, have evolved, the power requirements have also increased dramatically. The power requirements are listed in terms of total dissipated power (TDP). The greater the TDP, the more power the chip needs to operate, and also the more heat the chip will generate. This heat causes problems for engineers designing compact computer systems. For example, a typical Pentium CPU for desktop applications has a TDP of 84-115 Watts. The upcoming Pentium dual core CPU is specified at 130 W. Compatible conventional desktop chipsets are specified with TDP of about 11-20 W. If an engineer were to design a high power processor into a small chassis, the cooling requirements would dictate numerous fans causing significant undesirable noise and extended airflow outside the chassis. For example, conventional computers generate acoustic noise in the range of 35 dBA which is noticeable to many users. Any increase in noise may be annoying to users.
With regard to laptop computers, engineers can select mobile versions of CPUs, which are less power hungry but also more expensive. For example, a mobile Pentium has a TDP of 22-27 W. What's more, the mobile CPUs often require specific mobile chipset combinations and mobile memory configurations. While the mobile chipsets are specified with only marginally lower TDP (e.g. about 5-11 W), they are significantly more expensive than desktop chipsets. In addition, mobile memory (small outline dual inline memory modules) is often significantly more expensive than desktop memory. This is one reason why laptop computers tend to be more expensive than desktop computers.
What is needed is a low-power compact computer for desktop applications that employs low power CPU advantages while also providing a price point that is commercially attractive to desktop consumers.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based navigation system with signal fault detection is provided. A least one controller is configured to; determine a true carrier phase measurement associated with each satellite signal received at each antenna of a plurality of spaced antennas; resolve integer ambiguities in true carrier phase measurement differences; and calculate at least one variable of a first navigation solution based on the obtained first set of resolved integer ambiguity measurements. The at least one controller is further configured to apply a solution separation process to repeatedly; calculate the at least one variable of a second navigation solution; determine a difference between the at least one variable of the second navigation solution and the first navigation solution; and detect a fault in satellite signals when the determined difference exceeds a defined threshold.

The determining of altitude and heading information is needed for safe aircraft travel, Global Positioning System Attitude and Heading Reference System (GPAHRS) can be used to determine headings under dynamic conditions such as turns and speed changes. However, during a straight path of travel the accuracy of heading solutions from a low cost (low grade) GPAHRS is not reliable. Hence typically commercial flights which travel mainly straight and level need a separate heading sensor. Traditionally magnetometers have been used as a heading sensor to provide heading solutions. The use of magnetometers, however, has limitations. One limitation occurs with long haul commercial flights that often cut through the Polar Regions where the magnetic field is unsuitable for heading determination. Another limitation is that magnetometers are costly and sensitive to the installation environment. Hence alternative methods are preferred. One solution is to use Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) using two or more antennas to determine attitude and heading based on true carrier phase differences between the antennas. However, a method for how to best assure integrity of attitude and heading solution based on this type of system is needed.

Signal fault detection for global navigation satellite system using multiple antennas


Improved routing architectures including one or more high speed input/output (I/O) bypass paths are provided for use in, for example, programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The output bypass paths add additional routing connections to the routing architecture, providing faster connections between the output of a logic element (LE) in the PLD and external circuitry. In one embodiment, an output bypass path is used for directly connecting the output of the LE to the input of an I/O multiplexer of an I/O block. In another embodiment, the output bypass path also bypasses the I/O multiplexer, providing a direct connection between the output of the LE and a bypass multiplexer of the I/O block. Also provided is an input bypass path which provides direct connections between an input buffer of the I/O block and an otherwise dangling conductor at the periphery of the PLD's routing architecture.

The present invention relates generally to routing architectures for use in, for example, programmable logic devices (PLDs). More particularly, this invention relates to improved routing architectures using one or more high speed input/output (I/O) bypass paths.
PLDs are well known as is shown, for example, by Jefferson et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,215,326 and Ngai et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,407,576. In general, a PLD is a general-purpose integrated circuit device that is programmable to perform any of a wide range of logic tasks. Instead of having to design and build separate logic circuits for performing different logic tasks, general-purpose PLDs can be programmed in various different ways to perform those different logic tasks. Many manufacturers of electronic circuitry and systems find the use of PLDs to be an advantageous way to provide various components of what they need to produce. For the purposes of this description, the term PLD encompasses any digital logic circuit configured by or for the end-user, and includes a programmable logic array (PLA), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an erasable and complex PLD, and the like.
The basic building block of a PLD is a logic element (LE) that is capable of performing limited logic functions on a number of input variables. Each LE in a PLD typically provides a combinational logic function such as a look-up table (LUT), and one or more flip-flops. The input of the flip-flop may programmably be selected to be either the output of the LUT, or one of the input pins of the LE. Other multiplexing circuits may exist to dynamically select between the output of the LUT and one of the inputs of the LE using other logic signals. Moreover, each LE can programmably select as one of the outputs the output of the LUT, which is the combinational output, or the output of the flip-flop, which is the registered output.
To facilitate implementation of complex logic functions, LEs in a PLD are arranged in groups to form one or more logic array blocks (LABs). For example, each LAB in a PLD may include eight LEs, and the LAB may be programmed to provide any one of a plurality of logic functions by using control bits. The LABs in a PLD, meanwhile, are arranged in a one or two dimensional array and are programmably connectable to each other using a PLD routing architecture. The routing architecture of a PLD (e.g., an FPGA), moreover, typically includes an array of signal conductors having programmable interconnections which are used to route data and output enable signals. For example, the routing architecture may include several horizontal and vertical conductor channels, where each of these channels includes one or more horizontal or vertical signal conductors, respectively. Additionally, the conductors in a given channel may span all of the LABs in a given row or column, or rather, may span only a subset of the LABs in the row or column (e.g., 4 LABs). These types of conductors are generally referred to herein as segmented conductors.
The routing architecture of a PLD typically also includes internal conductors associated with (e.g., located inside) each LAB. Additionally, drive circuitry is used to provide inputs to the LEs and route outputs from the LEs to the conductors both within the LAB and outside the LAB. For example, a first set of internal conductors within a LAB may be driven by multiplexers (e.g., one associated with each LE) that select from routing signals outside the LAB, while a second set of internal conductors can be used to carry signals solely generated by LEs within a given LAB.
In order to allow external signals to enter the PLD for processing and to allow logic signals produced by the PLD to be applied to external circuitry, PLDs also include I/O circuitry. For example, a PLD may include I/O blocks and I/O pads for conveying signals from within the PLD to external circuits as well as from external circuits to within the PLD. These I/O blocks and I/O pads are typically arranged at the periphery of a chip, and include various connections to the routing architecture of the PLD. Moreover, in typical use, a portion of the I/O pads can be configured for input purposes and a different portion can be configured for output purposes. There may also be, for example, some pins associated with I/O pads 170 that are used as bidirectional pins which will dynamically change from input pins to output pins.
In many conventional PLDS, such as an FPGA, a signal traveling in either direction between an LE and an I/O pad passes through a number of components (e.g., multiplexers, signal conductors and programmable interconnections of signal conductors) to reach its destination. Meanwhile, each of these components adds a respective delay to the signal transfer process, sometimes resulting in a prohibitively large propagation delay (e.g., the pin-to-pin data transfer speed may not be fast enough to support certain applications) for the PLD.

Routing architecture with high speed I/O bypass path


A pop-up module for an electronic device. The pop-up module includes a pop-up member, a base where the pop-up member is rotatably installed, a first elastic member, a projection unit disposed in the pop-up member, a moving member, a second elastic member, a first rotating lever unit, a operating unit including a movement portion and a driving portion, a second rotating lever unit including a contacting portion and a hanging portion, and a third elastic member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pop-up module for an electronic device, and more particularly, to a pop-up module that includes a pop-up member and is used in an electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A flash device is generally used to illuminate scenes that do not have enough available light in order to adequately take a photograph with a photographing apparatus (e.g., a camera or a camcorder). As photographing apparatuses have been gradually miniaturized, they are sometimes designed to have a pop-up flash structure so that a flash device can be exposed to the outside of the photographing apparatus only when necessary. Furthermore, many other electronic devices in addition to photographic apparatuses have been configured to have a pop-up structure due to space and design limitations.
Accordingly, the size of a pop-up structure should be reduced in order to effectively use the inner space of a corresponding device. In addition, there is a need for a simple pop-up structure in order to reduce manufacturing costs.


The present disclosure provides a display device. The display device includes a first substrate, the first substrate being provided with a first relief groove, a second substrate, the second substrate being provided with a second relief groove, and a sealant. The sealant is sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate so as to seal the first substrate and the second substrate. Furthermore, the sealant is spaced apart from outer edges of the first substrate and the second substrate. The first relief groove is located between the sealant and the outer edge of the first substrate, and the second relief groove is located between the sealant and the outer edge of the second substrate.

For a display device in related techniques, a damage crack will extend to the inside of the display device when its edge bumps against something and gets damaged. When the crack extends to the sealant, the sealant will be easily impaired. This affects the encapsulation effect of the display device, and in turn affects the use of the display device.

Ordos Yuansheng Optoelectronics Co., Ltd.


A system and method for recognizing a target and then guiding a projectile to that target. Initially, unique 3D features of the target are obtained and stored in a data base. The projectile is then directed to the general area of the target and the scene in that general area is observed by the projectile and compared with the data base on a three dimensional basis. When a target is located which contains the unique 3D features of the target of interest within some preset maximum margin of error, the projectile is then directed to that target.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a lock-on-after-launch (LOAL) guidance system and, more specifically, to such a guidance system using three dimensional lock-on-after launch (3D.sub.-- LOAL) scene reconstruction.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Much of the prior art relating to LOAL guidance systems relates to variations of the theme of projecting three dimensional (3D) models into their two dimensional (2D) representations and then registering these representations to an image. Such systems are exemplified by Ditzler, W. R., et al., "Multispectral Image Correlation for Air to Ground Targeting," presented at symposium for "Low-Level and Nap of the Earth (N.O.E.) Night Operations, " Rome, Italy, October, 1994.
In the current state of the missile guidance autonomous LOAL algorithms, a painstaking procedure known as "Prebriefing" or "Target Reference Preparation" is required. "Prebriefing" is the act of preparing a description of the target that the algorithm requires in order to locate the target and "prebrief" is the output of prebriefing. In the prebriefing task, the mission planners must follow a rule based approach in which they model a few salient features of the target area which are: (1) unique in shape and (2) visible in contrast to the missile at its preselected lock-on point. Thus, the mission planner must know "geometry" and "signature". Geometry information can be obtained rather easily, but signature further requires identifying the material types of the target objects and factoring in weather (wind, cloud cover, atmosphere, sun angles, etc.) and internal heat sources (heating/cooling, generators, boilers, etc.). Although the main signature question is whether there exists a moderate amount of contrast for certain regions, this can still be extremely time consuming.
Performance level prediction can also be extremely time consuming because extensive Monte Carlo based (randomized) simulations with feedback iteration on the prebriefing must be performed. Once the prebriefing is prepared, the missile is ready for launching.
Although the actual prebriefing model is three dimensional in nature and defined in a world coordinate system, it is only applicable to a limited set of missile approaches and viewing ranges. Once the missile has flown into this "basket" of approach angles and ranges, the three dimensional template is projected into the two dimensional image planes, hidden surfaces are removed and the template is registered to the image. Here, the two dimensional nature of the registration process becomes a limiting factor in the accuracy of aimpoint (the point the missile tries to guide to in the target area) placement. For example, small errors in position or orientation can cause perspective differences in the image that dilute the registration. Fortunately, there is some tolerance to transformation inaccuracies in this method, however this method provides no mathematical mechanism for correcting these transformation errors. For this reason, aimpoints offset from the center of this template must also be kept to short distances because even small rotation errors can result in quite large aimpoint offset errors which degrade overall circular error probable (CEP), the minimum radius around the aimpoint which contains 50 percent of the actual missile impact points. In many cases, multiple templates must be defined for various stages of the mission to overcome these errors and accommodate pixel-on-target constraints due to target size.

Lock-on-after launch missile guidance system using three dimensional scene reconstruction


A perforator for perforating a web. The perforator has a rotatable drum for supporting the web; an arm having a punch, which rotates integrally with the drum; a driver for swinging the arm, which rotates integrally with the drum; and a taper rib which does not rotate with the drum, in which the taper rib is provided with a roller gear cam for engaging with the taper rib which is provided on a circumference concentric with the drum in a cross section perpendicular to an axis of the drum, so that the taper rib causes the driver to swing and the punch perforates the web with rotation of the drum.

The present invention relates to a rotary perforator which can perforate a web such as a film, tape and paper at high speed and quality, wherein the maintenance of the rotary perforator can be simplified and the productivity is high, and further the present invention relates to a method for perforating the web with the rotary perforator, and furthermore relates to the web which has been perforated by the rotary perforator.
Since the rotary perforator can be operated at high speed, its productivity is high, and further the rotary perforator is advantageous in the reduction of manufacturing cost. Accordingly, it is widely put into practical use. A conventional rotary perforator is shown in FIG. 12, which is commercially available, and other rotary perforators of the prior art are disclosed in the specification of the U.S. Pat. No. 3,916,744, the official gazette of Japanese Patent Application Open to Public Inspection No. 44583/1975 (shown in FIG. 13), and the official gazette of Japanese Utility Model No. 39036/1988.
From the viewpoint of improvements in productivity, perforators must be operated at high speed and quality, and further their maintenance must be simplified. However, the conventional perforators do not meet the requirements.
For example, according to the U.S. Pat. No. 3,916,744 and Japanese Patent Application Open to Public Inspection No. 44583/1975 (shown in FIG. 13), a disk 202, the center of which is eccentric to a main shaft around which a drum 201 is rotated, is provided close to the drum 201 by which film perforation is conducted. On the disk 202, a plurality of arms 203 provided with punches are fixed onto the disk 202. When the disk is rotated in accordance with the rotation of the drum, the arm 203 is displaced radially on the disk since there is a distance between the center 205 of the drum and the center 206 of the disk. As a result, the punch section 204 mounted on the tip of the arm 203 rotated integrally with the drum 201, is linked with the arm 203, so that the punch section 204 can be swung around a predetermined shaft (not shown) which is supported so that it can be rotated integrally with the drum. Therefore, the punch section 204 is oscillated around the shaft, and perforates a film in cooperation with a plurality of dies (not shown) provided along the circumference of the drum 201 corresponding to the punch sections 204. In FIG. 13, the film is supplied from the left as shown by an arrow mark, and wound around the drum 201, and then the film advances to the right as shown by an arrow mark. Since FIG. 13 is a front view, only a portion of the punch section 204 is illustrated in the drawing.
This kind of machine is capable of conducting a high speed perforating operation. However, since the main shaft of the drum and the center of the disk are shifted, that is, the center of the disk is eccentric to the main shaft of the drum, the arm body and the punch section are not aligned on a line in some stage of the rotation of the disk which is rotated around the drum. As a result, a load is given to a portion of the arm, so that the frequency of maintenance operations is increased. Because of the aforementioned disadvantage, it is not possible to stably conduct perforation at high speed and quality.
The aforementioned disadvantage caused by the load partially given to the arm due to the eccentricity between the main shaft of the drum and the center of the disk, is solved by the aforementioned machine available on the market and also solved by the machine disclosed in the official gazette of Japanese Utility Model 39036/1988.
These machines utilize a channel cam mechanism. These mechanisms are structured in the following manner: an arm body 133 is provided to a cam groove 122 through a cam follower 131. Accordingly, the occurrence can be prevented in which an arm body 133 and a punch section 156 are not aligned on a line in the radial direction of a disk (groove cam) 121. However, even in the aforementioned machine, a load is given to the connection of the arm body and the punch section. That is, in order to improve the efficiency of force given to the punch, it is effective to increase the ratio of the distance from a shaft 152 to a roller 153, to the distance from the shaft 152 to a punch 155. However, when the ratio is increased in the aforementioned manner, dimensions of the apparatus are increased. Therefore, a load given to the roller is increased. When a play is caused in the roller, it is successively caused between the cam groove 122 and the cam follower 131. As a result, vibrations are caused in the apparatus, and accuracy of perforation is deteriorated. Consequently, it becomes difficult to carry out perforating operations at high speed and quality.
In FIG. 12, numeral 1 is a film, numeral 100 is a main body which is not rotated, numeral 111 is a drum, numeral 112 is a die which is provided along the circumference of the drum, numeral 113 is a flange which is rotated integrally with the drum, numeral 133A is a groove which receives the roller 153 connecting the arm body 133 and the punch section 156, and numeral 151 is a bracket which supports the shaft 152 of the punch section 156 and is rotated integrally with the drum 111.
In the case of the machine available on the market, the arm body 133 is brought into contact with a guide 114. Accordingly, when the groove-cam mechanism is displaced in the radial direction, the arm body 133 slides on the surface of the groove. The guide surface is flat, so that lubricating oil is not maintained in a good condition on the surface. Therefore, the arm body 133 seizes up, and it can not be slid smoothly, so that the accuracy of perforation is affected. When an excessive amount of lubricating oil is supplied to the sliding portion, there is a possibility that the supplied oil spills and stains the film surface.
The punch to carry out perforating operations is provided at the tip of the punch section 156. When the punch is worn out, it is ground down. Accordingly, the length of the punch is reduced. The punch must be set at a predetermined position so that it can be engaged with the die. However, when the length of the punch is changed, the punch position is also changed, so punch engaging accuracy is lowered. Therefore, the punching performance is deteriorated, and depending on the case, punching operations can not be carried out. When the aforementioned defective punching operations are conducted a large number of times, productivity is remarkably lowered, and it is difficult to obtain products of high quality.
FIGS. 14 and 15 show the operations of the punch 155 and the stripper 154 of an apparatus available on the market. A slide groove 158 is formed at the tip of a lever 156 illustrated in FIG. 12, and a compression spring 157 is provided into the bottom portion of the slide groove 158. Further, the stripper 154 is slidably inserted into the slide groove 158. The stripper 154 is pushed outside of the slide groove 158 by the spring 157. A stopping device (not shown) is provided so that the stripper 154 can not be excessively protruded from the slide groove 158. FIG. 14 shows a state in which the stripper 154 is brought into contact with the film 1 located on the die 112 provided on the drum 111 surface, and the punch 155 has entered the die 112 and completed a perforating operation of the film 1. The stripper 154 is separated from the film surface concurrently when the punch 155 is disengaged from the punched hole of the film, or immediately after that, so that the film 1 can not be raised when the punch 155 is separated from the die 112. However, as shown in FIG. 15, there is a possibility that the surface of the film 1 is damaged by the stripper 154 in the following manner: from when the punch 155 has perforated the film 1, to when the stripper 154 is separated from the film 1, the distance between the edge 154A of the stripper 154 and the rotary shaft 152 of the lever 156 is changed from R shown in FIG. 14 to R' shown in FIG. 15; and as a result, the stripper 154 rubs the film surface in the range from R to R' by the force of the spring 157 and the weight of the stripper 154. Further, in the process in which the stripper 154 is brought into contact with the film 1 and presses the film 1 against the die 112, there is a possibility that the same problem is caused. At worst, the film 1 is displaced from the appropriate position on the die 112, and can not be perforated appropriately.

Rotary perforator, method for perforating a web, and web perforated by the rotary perforator


A method for seismic loss assessment including receiving by a computer system computer-readable input data regarding a seismic hazard and building conditions, generating by the computer system one or more mitigation options and for each of the mitigation options, configuring the computer system to: determine a structural response, determine damage states from the structural response, determine an outcome of each of the damage states; and, output a representation of each of the outcomes for each of the damage states. The output is used in a seismic risk mitigation plan and/or design for one or more building structures.

The state-of-practice in seismic mitigation design is a building code-based prescriptive procedure that targets the life safety of occupants. Buildings are designed to a specific code, which is dictated by governmental or quasi-governmental authorities. While safety of occupants is essential, it is often insufficient for protecting properties and businesses against earthquake risk as damage to property and loss of building functions are all expected outcomes of code-based seismic design. Thus, in areas where building code is not enforced (i.e. existing buildings), stakeholders are often not motivated to invest in seismic upgrades due to the unclear connection between investment and risk mitigation. For owners and stakeholders of buildings in earthquake-prone locations, the earthquake risk is a multifaceted quantity that can be measured by dollar loss, downtime, death and injury and other relevant impact indices that are meaningful to the stakeholder's interest. Often, these impact indices can be evaluated if the extent of the damage to buildings and the contents that support the normal operations are known. Furthermore, having a building-specific guide map that relates relevant numeric impact indices to a complete range of feasible risk mitigation options facilitates informed decision-making and the establishment of business cases for the reduction of seismic risk.
Currently, there are two types of existing methods that evaluate property seismic risk outside of the scope of the building code. The mainstream catastrophe risk models (CAT models) used for seismic risk assessment of buildings and portfolio of buildings calculate the probability of reaching a general damage state (i.e. lightly damaged, moderately damaged or severely damaged) based on general building attributes (i.e. year built, type of construction material, location) through a statistical correlation analysis. Although it is straightforward to perform parametric analysis with a CAT model to compute the impact by inputting different combinations of building attributes, these global analyses are more appropriate for evaluating average impacts of large portfolios. They are generally insufficient for generating reliable assessments of the actual risk exposure and identifying risk mitigating options for specific buildings as they do not differentiate buildings based on their actual occupancy, structural system, contents and non-structural elements.
On the other hand, recently emerging building-specific risk assessment procedures that explicitly model the structural and non-structural damages is much more reliable for predicting the seismic risk for a given property, and allows a designer to evaluate earthquake financial and downtime impacts. However, such a procedure provides only passive assessment for conventional construction types, and must rely on an iterative analysis-redesign procedure, usually based on the building code, to achieve risk mitigation goals, which cannot be practically done for many different options in a design office because it is cost-prohibitive. These models rely on a specific, known building design. To apply such models and methods to the design phase itself would require computer processing and design resources that are impractical, as a full design of each modification to a building design must be simulated and put through an earthquake analysis.
There is accordingly a need in the art for an improved system and method for earthquake risk mitigation and/or assessment.

System and method for earthquake risk mitigation in building structures