The manufacturing method comprises: a softening step of softening a straight glass tube in a heating furnace; a moving and placing step of moving the softened glass tube so that the glass tube is placed on the top of the mandrel; and a winding step of winding the glass tube placed on the top of the mandrel around the periphery of the mandrel. The mandrel is disposed beneath the glass tube starting to get soft, and the glass tube being soft is perpendicularly lowered in order to be placed on the top of the mandrel. In the winding step, the winding speed Vr at which the glass tube is wound around the mandrel is higher than the moving speed Vs at which chuck units holding the ends of the glass tube move toward the mandrel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to manufacturing methods of double-spiral arc tubes and to double-spiral arc tubes that are each formed by hanging and holding the substantially center of a softened glass on the top of a mandrel and winding the glass tube around the periphery of the mandrel.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an energy-saving era has started, low-pressure mercury discharge lamps that have high lamp efficiency and long lives, especially fluorescent lamps, have been attracting attentions. The inventors of the present invention have been studying the possibility of applying a glass tube bent into a double spiral to an arc tube used in such a fluorescent lamp. The advantageous effect of forming an arc tube into a double spiral is that this kind of arc tube has a longer discharge path and higher light-emission luminous flux than an arc tube that is of the equal size on the exterior, e.g. an arc tube including three U-shaped glass tubes that are joined together. The following describes manufacturing methods of a double-spiral arc tube. (For example, see the Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 08-339780.)
FIGS. 1A and 1B show the process of bending a straight glass tube into a double spiral. FIG. 2 shows the positional relationship between a heating furnace and a mandrel.
As shown in FIG. 2, the heating furnace and the mandrel have a positional relationship by which the mandrel is disposed in front of the heating furnace so that the axis of the mandrel extends perpendicularly.
The following explains the process of forming a double spiral.
First, a glass tube 900 is heated with the use of a heating furnace 910, which could be an electric furnace. This heating process is performed, as shown in FIG. 1A, by placing an intermediate portion of the glass tube 900, which is to be formed into a double spiral, inside the heating furnace 910, and heating it until the intermediate portion gets soft.
When the intermediate portion of the glass tube 900 placed inside the heating surface 910 has become soft, the glass tube 900 is taken out of the heating furnace 910 by holding both ends thereof. The glass tube 900 is moved (in the direction indicated by the arrow) from the heating furnace 910 to above the mandrel 920 disposed in front of the heating furnace 910, like the glass tube 900a shown with the imaginary lines in FIG. 2. The glass tube is then positioned with the top 921 of the mandrel 920, like the glass tube 900b shown with the other imaginary lines in FIG. 2.
As shown in FIG. 2, the mandrel 920 has, at the top 921 thereof, a pair of hook units 923 and 924 by which the glass tube 900 is hung and held. As shown in FIG. 1B, the mandrel 920 also has, on the periphery thereof, winding grooves 922 along which the intermediate portion of the glass tube 900 is to be wound so as to be formed into a desired double spiral.
After the central portion 901b of the glass tube 900, shown in FIG. 2, is positioned between the pair of hook units 923 and 924, the mandrel 920 is rotated in the B2 direction as well as shifted (or moved) in the C direction, as shown in FIG. 1B.
As a result of the rotation of the mandrel 920, the glass tube 900 is hung and fixed on the hook units 923 and 924 positioned on the top 921 of the mandrel 920. Also as a result of the rotation and the shift of the mandrel 920, the glass tube 900 is wound along the winding grooves 922 on the mandrel 920.
It should be noted that the glass tube 900 is inflated during the winding process by nitrogen gas with a constant pressure being sent into the glass tube 900 from the ends, which is hung and held by the hook units 923 and 924 of the mandrel 920. With this arrangement, a portion of the outer surface of the glass tube 900 that is positioned on the winding grooves side is made abut on the wall surface of on the winding grooves 922 on the periphery of the mandrel 920, so that the cross sectional shape of the glass tube 900 conforms to the cross sectional shape of the winding grooves 922 of the mandrel 920.
When the glass tube 900 being wound around the mandrel 920 has made transition from the soft state to a hard state due to a temperature fall, the mandrel 920 is rotated in the reverse direction of the B2 direction, and the glass tube 900 being wound is removed from the mandrel 920. Thus, a glass tube 950 formed into a double spiral as shown in FIG. 1C is obtained.
Thereafter, various kinds of processing are applied to the obtained glass tube 950 according to methods that are publicly known. The processing includes: removal of the ends of the glass tube 950; application of a phosphor onto the inner surface of the glass tube 950; and enclosing and attaching electrodes at the ends of the glass tube 950. Thus, an arc tube will be obtained.
According to a conventional manufacturing method, however, there have been products with defects frequently because, for example, the glass tube 900 has not properly been wound along the winding grooves 922 of the mandrel 920, or even if the glass tube 900 has been properly wound, the double spiral happens to be deformed.
More specifically, there have been many cases where, when the glass tube 900 is wound around the mandrel 920, the glass tube 900 comes out of the winding grooves 922 of the mandrel 920, as shown in FIG. 3 (indicated with "954").
In another case, as shown in FIG. 4, although the glass tube 950 is formed into a double spiral, the circumferential diameter of the double spiral gets large in some part (indicated with "951"), or the diameter of the glass tube gets small in some part (indicated with "952", or, to the contrary, the diameter of the glass tube gets large in some part (indicated with "953").
As a result of manufacturing arc tubes as trial mass-production by a conventional manufacturing method, the incidence ratio of having defective products as mentioned above during the process of forming straight glass tubes into double spirals was approximately 50 percent.

Manufacturing methods of double-spiral arc tubes

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A steering control apparatus includes: a friction torque setting mechanism setting a friction torque value to be applied to a steering based on information representing a status of a vehicle; a target steering angle setting mechanism setting a target steering angle based on the set friction torque value; an adding friction torque setting mechanism setting an adding friction torque based on a deviation between the set target steering angle and a steering angle; and a steering friction torque controller controlling a friction torque applied to the steering by an actuator based on the set adding friction torque.

Japanese Patent No 3901928 (referred to as '928 patent, hereafter) discloses a controller for an electric power steering device comprising controlling means for controlling driving a motor based on a motor current instruction value, said controller comprising target steering torque setting means for setting a target steering torque based on a steering torque and a vehicle speed; assist current calculating means for calculating an assist current instruction value based on a steering torque, the target steering torque and the motor current of the motor; target steering angle setting means for setting a target steering angle for returning the steering wheel back to a neutral position based on the steering angle and the vehicle speed; a target steering angular velocity setting means for setting a target steering angular velocity based on a deviation of the steering angle from the target steering angle and the vehicle speed; target converging current setting means for setting a target converging current based on a deviation of the steering angular velocity from the target steering angular velocity; and determining means for determining whether a user releases his/her hands from the steering wheel based on the steering torque, wherein the output of the target converging current of the target converging current setting means is made valid or restrained according to the determination result of the determining means, and the output is added to the assist current instruction value to generate the motor current instruction value.
According to the '928 patent, if the situation in which the user releases his/her hands from the steering wheel is detected, the target converging current set based on the deviation of the steering angle from the target steering angle for returning the steering wheel back to a neutral position is added to the assist current instruction value to generate the motor current instruction value. Thus, even under the situation in which the steering torque is not generated, a torque corresponding to the target converging current for returning the steering wheel back to a neutral position is additionally generated, which improves a capability of returning the steering wheel to the neutral position.
In order to reduce necessary power for maintaining the steering angle and improve stability in maintaining the steering angle, it is possible to mechanically apply a friction torque to a steering system. However, since an appropriate friction torque differs depending on a status of the vehicle such as a vehicle speed, a steering angle, etc., it is desirable to generate the friction torque not by means of a mechanical mechanism but by means of electric control.
With respect to this point, according to the '928 patent, the friction torque is generated using the target converging current by means of electric control, though such a situation is limited to a specific situation in which the user releases his/her hands from the steering wheel. However, since the friction torque is generated as a function of a steering velocity (steering angular velocity), it is not possible to reproduce static friction. Specifically, since the steering velocity is zero in a static state, it is not possible to generate the friction torque in such a static state. For this reason, according to the '928 patent, it is not possible to reduce the power required to maintain the steering angle and improve stability in maintaining the steering angle, and it is not possible to reduce steering pull in traveling straight forward, either.

Steering control apparatus and a steering apparatus using the same


A discharge chute assembly for a turf mower having a resilient deflector and a frame connecting the deflector to a mower deck proximate to a side discharge outlet. The frame includes one or more extension elements which engage the deflector. In one embodiment the extension elements are captured within pockets defined within the deflector. The pivoting frame mass facilitates a quick recovery to a guarded condition after the deflector rises in contact with an obstruction. Additionally, the frame mass allows the deflector to maintain an upright, unguarded orientation without additional biasing forces which is useful, for example, during a machine loading operation.

Turf cutting equipment, such as rotary mowers, have a cutting deck carrying one or more turf cutting implements within a cutting chamber. Open access to the cutting chamber is often provided to allow for wider dispersal of grass clippings. Side discharge mowers may have an access provided at a laterally disposed side of the cutting deck and be equipped with a discharge deflecting chute to keep debris thrown from the mower blade at a very low altitude. Many known discharge deflecting chutes are generally rigid and are often damaged during use from contact with obstacles.


A Schottky barrier silicon carbide device has a Re Schottky metal contact. The Re contact 27 is thicker than 250 Angstroms and may be between 2000 and 4000 Angstroms. A termination structure is provided by ion milling an annular region around the Schottky contact.

The present invention relates to methods of making semiconductor devices and in particular to methods of providing Schottky contacts to compound semiconductor layers utilized in semiconductor devices.
The fabrication and operation of diodes function and Schottky) and basic transistor devices are well known. New technologies have developed needs for higher speed and power transistors capable of withstanding extreme operating conditions such as high temperatures, current, and radiation. Silicon carbide devices have the potential to fulfill these needs but have yet to achieve commercial success. One obstacle to using silicon carbide in electronic devices is the difficulty in providing reliable and durable electrical contacts to the device.
Whenever a metal and a semiconductor are in intimate contact, there exists a potential barrier between the two that prevents most charge carriers (electrons or holes) from passing from one to the other. Only a small number of carriers have enough energy to get over the barrier and cross to the other material. When a bias is applied to the junction, it can have one of two effects: it can make the barrier appear lower from the semiconductor side, or it can make it appear higher. The bias does not change the barrier height from the metal side. The result of this is a Schottky Barrier (rectifying contact), where the junction conducts for one bias polarity, but not the other. Almost all metal-semiconductor junctions will exhibit some of this rectifying behavior.
Schottky barrier diodes (SBD's) in Si are only practical to around 70V-100V, limited by excess leakage under reverse bias. Using SiC allows use of SBD's at much higher voltages, up to 1200V. Diodes are used as high-voltage rectifiers in many power switching applications. Whenever current is switched to an inductive load such as an electric motor, high-voltage transients are induced on the lines. To suppress these transients, diodes are placed across each switching transistor to clamp the voltage excursions. PN junction diodes can be used for this application, but they store minority carriers when forward biased, and extraction of these carriers allows a large transient reverse current during switching. Schottky barrier diodes are rectifying metal-semiconductor junctions, and their forward current consists of majority carriers injected from the semiconductor into the metal. Consequently, SBD's do not store minority carriers when forward biased, and the reverse current transient is negligible. This means the SBD can be turned off faster than a PN diode, and dissipates negligible power during switching. SiC Schottky barrier diodes are especially attractive because the breakdown field of SiC is about eight times higher than in silicon, enabling much higher voltage operation compared to Si. SiC Schottky barrier diodes can be used in place of Si PN diodes, enabling faster switching speeds and greater efficiency. In addition, because of the wide bandgap, SiC SBD's should be capable of much higher temperature operation than silicon devices.
However, conventional SiC Schottky barrier diodes experience problems. Many conventional SiC Schottky diodes use nickel (Ni) as a metal for the Schottky contact. The Ni is typically annealed on the backside to provide an ohmic contact and left unannealed on the front side to provide the Schottky contact. Ni is reactive with SiC and even at low temperatures the reaction proceeds until the Ni Schottky contact becomes ohmic. At high current densities, the Ni—SiC diodes become hot and, over time, tend to anneal the Schottky contact. Given temperature variations and time and the current carried by the Ni—SiC diodes, it is virtually inevitable that they will degrade and become resistors. This can have catastrophic consequences for the electronic device or system that is relying upon the Ni—SiC Schottky diode to conduct or block current.
The ternary phase diagram was calculated for the system composed of rhenium, silicon and carbon. The ternary diagram is calculated assuming constant temperature, pressure, and the neglect of ternary compounds of Re, Si, and C. To calculate the ternary phase diagram, the Gibbs Phase rule is employed, which demands that at constant temperature and pressure only three phases are allowed simultaneously. This is discussed in References 1 and 2. In a practical sense this means that tie lines—lines which connect compounds and elements that are thermodynamically stable with each other and do not react—are not allowed to cross in the diagram, because at that point 4 phases would be allowed to exist, which is forbidden by Gibbs' Phase Rule. These tie lines are calculated by considering the Gibbs Free Energy of all of the possible reactions of the constituent compounds and elements of the system (in this case, Re, Si, C, and the Re silicides). Based on the Gibbs Free Energy, if none of the reactions proceed for any given pair of reactants, the pair is connected by a tie line. This procedure is repeated until all possible pairs of reactants have been considered. The resulting ternary phase diagram is shown in FIG. 6. Thermodynamic data for the calculation is taken from Reference 3.
The ternary phase diagram in FIG. 6 makes quite clear that Re is thermodynamically stable with respect to SiC over the temperature range from 300 to 1100 K. This means that a film of Re will not react with SiC to form Re silicides over this temperature range. No Re carbides are stable in the temperature range of 300 to 1100 K. An example of the stability of Re on SiC has been discussed in Reference 4. Reference 4 shows Re stable on beta-SiC at 1100° C.
As to first order the electrical properties of a system are governed by physical properties, the fact that the Re will not react with SiC means that because the Re contact is a Schottky barrier, it will remain a Schottky barrier. When, but not until, the Re-SiC system temperature increases to over 1100K, the Re reacts to form a Re-silicide, and the electrical properties may change. The Re/SiC ternary phase diagram makes quite clear the long lifetime and durability of the Re-SiC contact, useful for devices from diodes to MESFETs.

Method and device with durable contact on silicon carbide


A liquid jet head that pressurizes liquid and ejects the liquid through nozzles includes: a nozzle opening surface having two nozzle rows each having openings of the nozzles linearly aligned in plurality; a pair of wall surfaces intersecting the nozzle opening surface at end sections of the nozzle opening surface, the wall surfaces being aligned with the nozzle rows, respectively; and pressure chambers that are in communication with the nozzles for reserving the liquid to be pressurized, formed in each of the pair of wall surfaces, wherein the liquid pressurized in the pressure chambers flows in a direction along each of the pair of wall surfaces, respectively.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to liquid jet heads for ejecting liquid and liquid jet apparatuses equipped with the liquid jet heads.
2. Related Art
Liquid jet apparatuses that eject liquid, such as, for example, functional liquid, ink and the like onto an object, such as, a sheet of paper, a glass substrate, and the like, for forming specified patterns and images thereon have been known. In such apparatuses, pressure chambers are provided in liquid flow paths where liquid, for example, ink flows, and liquid jet heads are used wherein pressures are applied to ink in the pressure chambers by using the electrostriction of piezoelectric elements, whereby the ink is ejected as ink droplets through nozzles located at the very ends of the flow paths.
Because there are needs for thinner liquid jet heads, for example, a structure described in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application JP-A-6-234218 is often used. In this structure, the pressure chamber is disposed in parallel with a plane in which the nozzles are formed. In other words, the pressure chamber is formed with its lengthwise direction being generally orthogonal to the ink ejection direction, whereby a deformation displacement of the vibration plate that composes the pressurizing unit can be made larger, and the thickness of the liquid jet head in a direction perpendicular to the nozzle opening surface where the nozzles are formed can be made thinner.
The liquid jet head described above is provided with a reservoir that is in communication with the pressure chamber and serves as a supply flow path for supplying ink to the pressure chamber. The reservoir is provided for stably replenishing ink in the pressure chamber upon ink ejection.
Accompanied by the trend toward higher image quality of images photographed by digital cameras in recent years, higher resolution prints are demanded. As a solution to such demands, it is well known that minimization of ink droplets may be effective, and it is also effective to increase the level of integration of nozzles to be formed on a liquid jet head. One of the methods to increase the level of integration is to shorten the distance between rows of nozzles.
When a plurality of rows of nozzles are formed on a liquid jet head by using the structure of a liquid jet head described in the aforementioned document, in particular, when there are two rows of nozzles, the distance between the rows of nozzles may be narrowed by placing the pressure chamber outside with respect to the rows of nozzles, for example, as indicated in FIG. 3 of the aforementioned document. However, an ordinary liquid jet apparatus may be used to eject plural kinds of liquids, such as, liquids in multiple colors (for example, yellow, magenta, cyan, black, etc.). Therefore, in order to eject plural kinds of liquids, a liquid jet head having multiple rows of nozzles, for example, four rows of nozzles, eight rows of nozzles, etc., is required. In this case, a pressure chamber is formed between the nozzle rows, such that the distance between adjacent ones of the nozzle rows needs to be made longer than at least the length of the pressure chamber in its lengthwise direction. As a result, the dimension of the pressure chamber in its lengthwise direction would impose a limitation to higher integration of nozzles.
Also, the reservoir is formed at a position that does not overlap the nozzles in a plane as viewed from the nozzle opening surface side, such that, when many nozzle rows, such as, four rows, eight rows or the like, are formed, the distance between adjacent ones of the nozzle rows would become greater according to the forming region of the reservoir.

Liquid jet head and liquid jet apparatus


A plastic bag holder (10) for installation on a cabinet door (200) wherein the holder (10) comprises a mounting unit (11) including an inverted generally U-shaped bracket member (20) dimensioned to receive the top (201) of a cabinet door (200) and a support unit (12) formed integrally with the mounting unit (11) and including a generally C-shaped bag support member (40) having a base portion (41) and a pair of mirror image outwardly projecting curved support arms (42) (42xe2x80x2) having a generally cruciform cross-sectional configuration over a substantial portion of their respective lengths; wherein the opposed ends of the support arms (42) (42xe2x80x2) define a front opening in the support unit (12) that is dimensioned to allow the passage of the upper end (101) of a plastic trash bag (100) to pass through said front opening.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of cabinet mounted trash bag holders in general and in particular to a reinforced dual armed trash bag holder that allows the top of the trash bag to be withdrawn through the open front of the holder.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,498,652, 4,669,689; 5,085,385; 5,154,378; and, 5,163,645, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse cabinet door attached trash bag holding devices.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical cabinet mounted trash bag holder device that does not require specialized hardware to mount the device on the cabinet door and employs a reinforced dual arm arrangement that permits the top of the trash bag to be withdrawn through the front of the device.
As most people are all too well aware, the usefulness of a cabinet mounted trash bag holder cannot be denied; however, they are normally poorly designed and have a limited useful life due to their inherently flimsy construction.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a long-standing need among the general populace for a new and improved long lasting, sturdily constructed cabinet mounted plastic trash bag holder which is quick to install and easy to use both with respect to installing and removing a bag relative to the holder device; and, the provision of such a construction is the stated objective of the present invention.
Briefly stated, the cabinet mounted trash bag holder device that forms the basis of the present invention comprises in general a mounting unit and a support unit formed integrally with the mounting unit.
As will be explained in greater detail further on in the specification, the mounting unit comprises a generally inverted U-shaped bracket member which is adapted to receive and frictionally engage the upper portion of a cabinet door wherein the bracket member is provided with a plurality of stiffening elements to provide both rigidity and support to the bracket member.
In addition, the support unit comprises a pair of mirror image support arm members having a generally cruciform cross-sectional configuration wherein the support arm members have an inherent resiliency that allows the arms to be inwardly deformed to accept the folded over top of a plastic bag which is frictionally engaged by the support arms in their relaxed position; and, wherein the arms define a front opening that allows the upper portion of the plastic bag to be inserted and withdrawn through the front opening.


A Y-Lock tracheal stent system consisting of a stent device, for emplacement in the larynx, and a stent delivery system. A method for employing the stent delivery system to emplace the stent device.

The larynx is an organ located in the human neck between the pharynx and the trachea. Nine cartilages make up the larynx including three single cartilages (epiglottic, thyroid and cricoid) and three paired cartilages (arytenoid, corniculate, and cuneiform). The larynx is further comprised of two flexible vocal folds that serve as the valve controlling the flow of air through the larynx for phonation or preventing the passage of solids and liquids to the trachea. The vocal folds are supported by the arytenoid cartilages. Muscles attached to the arytenoid cartilages control the degree of opening of the folds. Vocal fold length and tension can be controlled by rocking the thyroid cartilage forward and backward on the cricoid cartilage, by manipulating the tension of the muscles within the vocal folds, and by moving the arytenoids forward or backward.
Externally induced physical trauma can cause deformation of the structure of the larynx thereby interfering with the proper functioning of the vocal folds. There are also, for example, several disorders that can cause functioning of the vocal folds to degrade including:
Presbylarynx is a condition in which age-related atrophy of the soft tissues of the larynx results in weak voice and restricted vocal range and stamina.
Vocal cord paresis is weakness of one or both vocal folds that can greatly impact daily life.
Vocal cord plegia in which all voluntary movement of the vocal folds is lost.
Idiopathic laryngeal spasm.
Laryngomalacia that is a very common condition of infancy, in which the soft, immature cartilage of the upper larynx collapses inward during inhalation, causing airway obstruction.
Post radiation nerve and muscle injury.
Post-surgical nerve and muscle injury.
In some cases, the treatment of these conditions involves the placement of a mechanical support mechanism or stent to restore the required geometry to the structure of the larynx. For these modalities, the anchoring of the stent must be sufficiently secure to insure that the desired abduction force is stably applied. Some desirable features for such a stent include:                Biologically non-reactive—The stent should be of a construction and fabricated of materials that are biologically non-reactive.        Endoscopic Placement—The stent should be capable of endoscopic delivery with minimum potential for damaging to the contacted tissues.        Conformal—The stent should readily conform to the dimensions of the installation site and exert the required level of support force.        Atraumic—The stent should not migrate below nor cause degradation to the surface of the contacting tissue.        Repositionable—The stent should be repositionable by endoscopic methods even after an extended time period.        Removable—The stent should be endoscopically removable with minimal tissue damage.

Y-lock tracheal stent system and method of use


The invention provides compounds according to the general formula (1) which bind to the NR1H4 receptor and act as agonists, antagonists or mixed agonists/antagonists of the NR1H4 receptor. The invention further provides methods of treating diseases and/or conditions through binding of the nuclear receptor by the compounds and the production of medicaments using the compounds.

Multicellular organisms are dependent on advanced mechanisms of information transfer between cells and body compartments. The information that is transmitted can be highly complex and can result in the alteration of genetic programs involved in cellular differentiation, proliferation, or reproduction. The signals, or hormones, are often simple molecules, such as peptides, fatty acid, or cholesterol derivatives.
Many of these signals produce their effects by ultimately changing the transcription of specific genes. One well-studied group of proteins that mediate a cell's response to a variety of signals is the family of transcription factors known as nuclear receptors, hereinafter referred to often as "NR". Members of this group include receptors for steroid hormones, vitamin D, ecdysone, cis and trans retinoic acid, thyroid hormone, bile acids, cholesterol-derivatives, fatty acids (and other peroxisomal proliferators), as well as so-called orphan receptors, proteins that are structurally similar to other members of this group, but for which no ligands are known (Escriva, H. et al., Ligand binding was acquired during evolution of nuclear receptors, PNAS, 94, 6803–6808, 1997). Orphan receptors may be indicative of unknown signaling pathways in the cell or may be nuclear receptors that function without ligand activation. The activation of transcription by some of these orphan receptors may occur in the absence of an exogenous ligand and/or through signal transduction pathways originating from the cell surface (Mangelsdorf, D. J. et al., The nuclear receptor superfamily: the second decade, Cell 83, 835–839, 1995).
In general, three functional domains have been defined in NRs. An amino terminal domain is believed to have some regulatory function. A DNA-binding domain hereinafter referred to as "DBD" usually comprises two zinc finger elements and recognizes a specific Hormone Responsive Element hereinafter referred to as "HRE" within the promoters of responsive genes. Specific amino acid residues in the "DBD" have been shown to confer DNA sequence binding specificity (Schena, M. & Yamamoto, K. R., Mammalian Glucocorticoid Receptor Derivatives Enhance Transcription in Yeast, Science, 241:965–967, 1988). A Ligand-binding-domain hereinafter referred to as "LBD" is at the carboxy-terminal region of known NRs. In the absence of hormone, the LBD of some but not all NRs appears to interfere with the interaction of the DBD with its HRE. Hormone binding seems to result in a conformational change in the NR and thus opens this interference (Brzozowski et al., Molecular basis of agonism and antagonism in the oestrogen receptor, Nature, 389, 753–758, 1997; Wagner et al., A structural role for hormone in the thyroid hormone receptor, Nature, 378, 690–697, 1995). A NR without the HBD constitutively activates transcription but at a low level.
Coactivators or transcriptional activators are proposed to bridge between sequence specific transcription factors and the basal transcription machinery and in addition to influence the chromatin structure of a target cell. Several proteins like SRC-1, ACTR, and Grip1 interact with NRs in a ligand enhanced manner (Heery et al., A signature motif in transcriptional coactivators mediates binding to nuclear receptors, Nature, 387, 733–736; Heinzel et al., A complex containing N-CoR, mSin3 and histone deacetylase mediates transcriptional repression, Nature 387, 43–47, 1997). Furthermore, the physical interaction with repressing receptor-interacting proteins or corepressors has been demonstrated (Xu et al., Coactivator and Corepressor complexes in nuclear receptor function, Curr Opin Genet Dev, 9 (2), 140–147, 1999).
Nuclear receptor modulators like steroid hormones affect the growth and function of specific cells by binding to intracellular receptors and forming nuclear receptor-ligand complexes. Nuclear receptor-hormone complexes then interact with a hormone response element (HRE) in the control region of specific genes and alter specific gene expression.
The Farnesoid X Receptor alpha (FXR; hereinafter also often referred to as NR1H4 when referring to the human receptor) is a prototypical type 2 nuclear receptor which activates genes upon binding to promoter region of target genes in a heterodimeric fashion with Retinoid X Receptor (hereinafter RXR, Forman et al., Cell, 81, 687–93, 1995). The relevant physiological ligands of NR1H4 seem to be bile acids (Makishima et al., Science, 284, 1362–65, 1999; Parks et al., Science, 284, 1365–68,1999). The most potent is chenodeoxycholic acid, which regulates the expression of several genes that participate in bile acid homeostasis.
Farnesol, originally described to activate the rat ortholog at high concentration does not activate the human or mouse receptor. FXR is expressed in the liver, small intestine, colon, ovary, adrenal gland and kidney. Like LXR-α, NR1H4 is involved in autocrine signaling.
FXR is proposed to be a nuclear bile acid sensor. As a result, it modulates both, the synthetic output of bile acids from the liver and their recycling in the intestine (by regulating bile acid binding protein). Upon activation (e.g. binding of chenodeoxycholic acid), it influences the conversion of dietary cholesterol into bile acids by inhibiting the transcription of key genes which are involved in bile acid synthesis such as CYP7A1 or in bile acid transport across the hepatocyte membranes such as the bile acid transporters BSEP (Bile Salt Export Pump) and NTCP (Na-Taurocholate Co-Transporter). This seems to be a major mechanism of feedback regulation onto bile acid synthesis. Moreover, NR1H4 seems to be the crucial receptor for maintaining bile acid homeostasis within the hepatocyte and therefore might be an appropriate drug target to treat diseases that result from impaired bile acid production, impaired export into the bile canaliculi or impaired bile flow in general such as cholestatic conditions. Loss of function of NR1H4 results in major changes in bile acid homeostasis on the organism level (Lu, et al., Mol Cell. (2000) 6(3):507–15; Goodwin, et al., Mol Cell. (2000) 6(3):517–26; Sinal, et al., Cell (2000) 15; 102(6):731–44).
The synthetic compounds, 1,1-bisphosphonate esters, appear to display a number of similar activities to the two identified prototypes of natural FXR agonists, farnesol, and chenodeoxycholic acid. Like farnesol, the 1,1-bisphosphonate esters increase the rate of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase degradation and like bile acids they induce the expression of the Intestinal Bile Acid Binding Protein (I-BABP) and repress the cholesterol 7 α-hydroxylase gene. Certain 1,1-bisphosphonate esters also bind to FXR. (Niesor et al., Curr Pharm Des, 7(4):231–59, 2001). That means that activation of FXR could lead to opposing effects such as lowering the rate of cholesterol synthesis by increasing degradation of HMG-CoA Reductase and increasing the cholesterol pool by inhibition of cholesterol degradation into bile acids. The FXR agonist chenodeoxycholic acid does not change cholesterol and lipoprotein levels significantly in patients, although a repression of bile acid synthesis as well as a decreased HMG-CoA reductase activity was observed (Einarsson et al., Hepatology, 33(5), 1189–93, 2001) confirming that cellular cholesterol synthesis and degradation are controlled by numerous regulatory loops including the coordinate regulation of HMGCoA reductase and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase and that compounds modulating FXR acitvity might have different effects on blood lipid parameters.
In the course of functional analysis of certain 1,1-bisphosphonate esters, it was shown that these compounds, which are known to bind to FXR also induce apoptosis in a variety of cell types, similar to the isporenoids farnesol and geranylgeraniol, which are also known as weak FXR binders (Flach et al., Biochem Biophys Res Com, 270, 240–46, 2000).
To date only very few compounds have been described which bind the NR1H4 receptor and thus show utility for treating diseases or conditions which are due to or influenced by said nuclear receptor (Maloney at al., J Med Chem, 10; 43(16):2971–4, 2000).
It is currently believed that FXR agonists might be useful to treat cholestatic conditions because they result in an upregulation of bile acid transport activity across the canalicular hepatocyte membrane (Plass, et al., Hepatology. (2002) 35(3):589–96; Willson, et al., Med Res Rev. (2001) 21(6):513–22). In contrast, it is believed that compounds that act as FXR antagonists or at least as mixed agonists/antagonists might reduce total serum cholesterol (Urizar, et al., Science (2002) 31; 296(5573):1703–6).
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide for novel NR1H4 binding compounds. It is thus an object of the present invention to provide for compounds which by means of binding the NR1H4 receptor act as agonist or antagonist or mixed agonist/antagonist of said receptor and thus show utility for treating diseases or conditions which are due to or influenced by said nuclear receptor.
It is further an object of the invention to provide for compounds which may be used for the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of cholesterol or bile acid associated conditions or diseases. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is an object of the invention to provide for cholesterol lowering or anti-cholestatic compounds. It is also an object of the invention to provide for compounds that may be used for the manufacture of anticancer medicaments or apoptosis-inducing medicaments in general.
It is further an object of the invention to provide for compounds which are orally available and can be used for an oral treatment of the diseases mentioned afore.

FXR NR1H4 nuclear receptor binding compounds


A method for producing aromatic compounds from fatty acid oils including heating a fatty acid oil to a temperature between about 100° C. to about 800° C. at a pressure between about vacuum conditions and about 200 psia for a time sufficient to crack the oil and produce a cracked fatty acid oil; removing undesired materials, unreacted oil, heavy ends, and light ends from the cracked fatty acid oil; heating the resulting purified cracked fatty acid oil to a temperature between about 100° C. to about 800° C. at a pressure between about vacuum conditions and about 200 psia for a time sufficient to reform alkenes and alkanes in the cracked fatty acid oil into aromatic compounds and produce a reformed fatty acid oil; and extracting components from the reformed fatty acid oil to produce a mixture of chemical products containing between 5% and 90% aromatic compounds by weight.

One of the key challenges facing modern industrialized society is the rapid depletion of crude oil, which is the primary source for most transportation fuels and many organic chemicals. The petrochemical industry represents a substantial benefit to human society and the invention and commercialization of alternative sources for petrochemicals is of great importance.
One category of organic chemicals that is often produced from petroleum includes aromatics. These chemicals have a wide range of uses including serving as monomers for many types of polymers, paints, and coatings; serving as chemical intermediates for many types of industrial and consumer chemicals; and serving as valuable chemical components of heterogeneous transportation fuels such as gasoline, diesel, aviation gasoline, and jet fuel.
Surprisingly, very little work has been done to develop a method of producing aromatics from renewable sources. Gruber et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0299109) describe a method for producing aromatic compounds from cellulosic/hemi-cellulosic/lignin biomass. According to Gruber's method, cellulosic/hemi-cellulosic/lignin biomass is subjected to fermentation with one or more micro-organisms to form one or more C2-C6 alcohols. The alcohols are converted into C2-C6 alkenes by dehydration and then isolated from other compounds. These C2-C6 alkenes are then catalytically reacted to form one or more aromatic hydrocarbons. To date, the only method based on the fermentation of cellulosic/hemi-cellulosic/lignin biomass to alcohols that has been commercialized involves the production of ethanol as a substitute for motor gasoline. Concerns with fermentation through alcohol pathways are the high consumption of water and low overall energy efficiency [Doherty, W. O. S., Mousavioun, P., Fellows, C. M., Value-adding to cellulosic ethanol: Lignin polymers, Industrial Crops and Products, Volume 33, Issue 2, March 2011, Pages 259-276., A. Széchényi, R. Barthos, and F. Solymosi, Aromatization of ethanol on Mo2C/ZSM catalysts, Catalysis Letters Vol. 110, Nos. 1-2, August 2006]. Thus, a need exists to provide an alternative pathway that can provide a source for aromatic chemicals so that demand can be satisfied as the available supply of source material, i.e., crude oil, is depleted while addressing concerns with fermentation through alcohol pathways.
During the scale-up of a process to noncatalytically crack fatty acid based oils including but not limited to crop oils and other triacyl glycerides; fatty acid lipids produced by microbes, fungi, and yeasts; and animal fats, in a continuous reaction system, an unusual cracking reaction product was obtained that has not been documented in previous literature nor was seen during previous batch reaction experiments. This cracking reaction product contains a high concentration of C2-C16 alkenes. This unusual result, coupled with subsequent catalytic reforming of these alpha alkenes, is the basis of a new process to generate renewable aromatics from fatty acid oils.

Production of aromatics from noncatalytically cracked fatty acid based oils


A variable timing system for a magnetoresistive random access memory circuit (MRAM IC) is embedded in an MRAM IC and includes a number of timing control circuits, where each timing control circuit generates a timing control signal. A number of variable timing circuits are each coupled to receive at least two of the timing control signals, and each of the number of timing circuits outputs a variable timing in response to the timing control signals. At least one MRAM timing driver is connected to receive the variable timing.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to magnetoresistive random access memory integrated circuits (MRAM IC's), and, more particularly, to variable timing circuits embedded in an MRAM IC.
2. Description of Related Art
The operation of an MRAM is similar to that of nonvolatile or "regular" memory technologies in that there is a read and a write operation. However, an MRAM requires more complex and more tightly controlled timing signals for both the read and the write operations to be successful than do most regular memories. Optimal timing relations including, for example, relative arrival times and signal duration, of the timing signals are affected by processing variations and operating conditions as is other electronic circuitry on an MRAM IC chip. In addition, variations in magnetic films inherent in MRAM IC technology influence and affect the set of optimal timing signals as well. The variations in magnetic films include chemical composition, orientation, and geometry, to name a few.
Due to the complex and sensitive nature of the required timing signals, it is desirable to have the ability to modify the timing signals after completed fabrication of an MRAM IC chip. Prior solutions involve having separate test vehicles and production parts where the production parts are preset with the values determined by the test vehicles. There remains a need for an MRAM IC having variable timing circuits that permit using the same part as both a test vehicle and a production part.

Method for generating adjustable MRAM timing signals


An electrical connector for a shielded, twisted-pair cable comprises a conductive isolator body, multiple conductive contacts, inner and outer insulators, and inner and outer ferrules. The isolator provides electrical shielding and isolation for the contacts and untwisted portions of the wires connected to the contacts. The inner and outer insulators prevent contact between the contacts and between the contacts and the isolator, an outer shell, or a connector insert. The inner ferrule maintains electrical contact between the isolator and the shielding sheath of the cable. The outer ferrule retains the inner ferrule in place and can establish continuity between the isolator and the outer shell or connector insert.

A wide variety of electrical connectors are available for terminating cables comprising multiple independent conductive wires, including twisted pairs of wires. Some of these are disclosed in:    U.S. Pat. No. 7,316,584 entitled "Matched impedance shielded pair interconnection system for high reliability applications" issued Jan. 8, 2008 to Mackillop et al;    U.S. Pat. No. 8,764,471 entitled "Electrical connector for high-speed data transmission" issued Jul. 1, 2014 to Dang; and    U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2014/0120769 entitled "High density sealed electrical connector with multiple shielding strain relief devices" published May 1, 2014 in the name of Dang.
The general problems of interference, noise, crosstalk, and attenuation that arise when high-speed signals are transmitted through cables and their connectors are common and well known, are described at varying levels of detail in some of the references cited above, and need not be repeated here. Problems related to reliability and reparability of electrical connectors used in such applications also are common.

Electrical connector for high-speed transmission using twisted-pair cable


An improved suspension system includes a plurality of slider pins which are biased radially outwardly into engagement with openings in the suspension rails of the suspension system and the mating openings in the slider rail. The slider pins are provided with spring clamp structure and a wedged surface. The wedged surface forces the spring clamp radially outwardly into engagement with the openings in the suspension rails to secure the slider pins. Upon withdrawal of the slider pins, the spring clamp is biased radially inwardly to facilitate removal.

This invention relates to a slider pin for a vehicle trailer suspension system that collapses to facilitate insertion or removal.
Trailer suspension systems are typically comprised of a pair of slider rails that carry the suspension system, axles and wheels. A number of slider pins are movable through the slider rails to move into openings on the trailer. By removing the pins, the suspension system may be adjusted along the length of the trailer as is necessary for the particular driving operation. As an example, during highway driving, it may be desirable to have the suspension system spaced more towards the rear of the trailer, while on city streets, it may be desirable to have the suspension system positioned more forwardly. The operator must remove the slider pins and move the location of the suspension system along the trailer to change the location.
Cam operated rods are turned by a handle to advance or withdraw slider pins from the openings in the trailer. Typically, a single handle may be rotated to turn a central rod which turns a cam and moves a linkage associated with each of the slider pins. In the prior art, the slider pins have been of approximately the same size as the holes in the slider rail and the trailer to insure a secure connection. These pins are thus tightly wedged into the holes. The prior art has typically utilized a manually actuated handle for turning the rod and withdrawing the linkages. The manual applied systems have been somewhat difficult to use in that the tightly wedged pins may sometimes be difficult to withdraw.
More recently, powered actuators have been utilized. However, a powered actuator requires an additional element and associated controls, and thus is somewhat undesirable.
In a disclosed embodiment of this invention, a manually operated slider pin actuation system is provided with a mechanism such that upon actuation of a withdraw of the slider pin collapses. More particularly, the diameter of the slider pin decreases such that the slider pin is no longer wedged into the opening. In this way, the slider pin is easily removable.
The inventive slider pin comprises, in one embodiment, a wedge surface at a forward end of the slider pin movable through a spring clamp. The spring clamp is preferably formed of chuck jaws spring biased inwardly against the wedge surface. As the wedge surface moves to insert the pin, the chuck jaws expand radially outwardly to engage the interior of the openings. On the other hand, upon initiation of withdrawal, the initial movement will be of the slider pin relative to the chuck jaws. The wedge surface withdraws allowing the chuck jaws to move radially inwardly. Now, the pins are not wedged in the openings.
In one embodiment, a jaw collar is positioned on the collar members to assist in holding the collar members during the movement of the slider pin to the locked position.
These and other features of the present invention can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description.


The present invention relates to an isolate canine influenza virus. The present invention relates to an isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding a hemagglutinin from a canine influenza virus. The present invention also relates to the protein or polypeptide encoded by the isolated nucleic acid molecule. Vaccines and detection and treatment methods relating to canine influenza viruses are also disclosed.

Canine influenza is a highly contagious respiratory infection of dogs that is caused by a virus. The canine influenza virus is closely related to the virus that causes equine influenza and it is thought that the equine influenza virus mutated to produce the canine influenza virus.
Two clinical syndromes have been seen in dogs infected with the canine influenza virus—a mild form of the disease and a more severe form that is accompanied by pneumonia. Dogs suffering with the mild form of canine influenza develop a soft, moist cough that persists for 10 to 30 days. Some dogs have a dry cough similar to the "kennel cough" caused by Bordetella bronchiseptica/parainfluenza virus complex. For this reason, canine influenza virus infections are frequently mistaken for "kennel cough." Dogs with the mild form of influenza may also have a thick nasal discharge, which is usually caused by a secondary bacterial infection. Dogs with the severe form of canine influenza develop high fevers (104° F. to 106° F.) and have clinical signs of pneumonia, such as increased respiratory rates and effort. Pneumonia may be due to a secondary bacterial infection.
Because this is a newly emerging disease, almost all dogs, regardless of breed or age, are susceptible to infection and have no immunity. Virtually all dogs that are exposed to the virus become infected and nearly 80% show clinical signs of disease. Fortunately, most affected dogs have the mild form. Fatal cases of pneumonia resulting from infection with canine influenza virus have been reported in dogs, but the fatality rate (5% to 8%) has been low so far.
The first recognized outbreak of canine influenza in the world is believed to have occurred in racing greyhounds in January 2004 at a track in Florida. From June to August of 2004, outbreaks of respiratory disease were reported at 14 tracks in 6 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Texas, and West Virginia). Between January and May of 2005, outbreaks occurred at 20 tracks in 11 states (Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin). Infection has also been confirmed in pet dogs in California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington State, and Washington, DC. These cases occurred in animal shelters, humane societies, rescue groups, pet stores, boarding kennels, and veterinary clinics.
A critical aspect of the canine influenza virus situation in dogs is the continued isolation of the virus as it moves through the canine population. While PCR detection of the virus may be useful in the treatment of the patient, simply identifying the presence of the virus does little for understanding how the virus may be changing as it continues to encounter susceptible dogs. Even with the introduction of vaccines, sequence analysis of the isolates will be needed to determine whether canine influenza virus changes as do human influenzas or does it follow the more conservative path of its parent virus equine influenza. Samples need to be forwarded to laboratories that are capable of isolating the virus so that strains are available for genetic analysis.
There is a need for rapid tests for diagnosis of acute canine influenza virus infection. Diagnosis may be confirmed through serologic testing. Antibodies to canine influenza virus may be detected as early as seven days after onset of clinical signs. There is also a need for vaccines or other treatment methods against canine influenza virus.
The present invention is directed to overcoming the deficiencies in the prior art.


A method for directly performing a data analysis, a logical design and a physical design processes on an EDIF file and an initial data, without utilizing Troll relational Database system, to create an optimized schema, a meta data and a processor load (PLD) without any overlapped process. First, the EDIF file and the initial data file are received and an initial system environment is set for creating the meta data and the processor load data. Further, a DBMS.sub.-- MODE.sp file and a DBMS.sub.-- REL.sp file are created such that the database mode specification file represent a recorded definition of a SET mode defined in all the EDIF files, and such that the database relation specification file represent a recorded definition of the relation in all the EDIF files which are being converted into Chill Syntax Structure. Various meta data corresponding to each processor are created based on the catalogue of transaction files. Additionally, the data format specification files and link data files are used in creating the PLD.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of directly creating meta data and processor load data in a mobile switching center; and, more particularly, to a method of effectively processing a successive change in a plurality of data and establishing a multiplicity of object systems on a real time basis, to thereby reduce time and resource required during the definition and creation of data, and further overcome a mismatch between the data.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In TDX-10 MX Mobile Switching Center based on a real time access of distributed data, meta data and processor load data("PLD") are created to compile a source program, based on an Exchange Data Input Form("EDIF") file and an initial data file on off-line, and both of the created data are loaded to corresponding processor in the mobile switching center.
The process of creating the meta data and the processor load data in the mobile switching center may be mainly divided into three steps.
Specifically, one is a data analysis step of searching and analyzing data to be used in each application program; another is a logical design step of defining collected data as a predetermined model; and the other is a physical design step of modifying the modeled data into an inner operation form of the object systems.
More specifically, in the data analysis step, data(relation) information necessary for creating the application program is registered through a Database administration System by a software block administrator, and the registered data is consisted of a best optimized schema by a Database administrator.
In the logical design step, the meta data is created by a Make Catalog (MKCATE) through the use of the schema formed at the data analysis step, wherein the Make Catalog functions as a support set of the logical design step, and the meta data includes information necessary for creating the PLD of the object systems and information necessary for compiling the application program.
In the physical design step, it is checked whether the initial data file registered by a user correctly corresponds to a relation structure defined by the Data Administration System, through the aid of TDX-10 Data generator(which is referred to as "T10DG"), and the initial data file is converted into an Initialized Relation Object File(which is referred to as "IROF") to be contained in the PLD, and the IROF is then combined together to create the PLD converted into the inner operation form of the mobile switching center.
In order to efficiently perform a sequence of the steps previously described, the EDIF file and the initial data file registered by the software block administrator in the above steps, i.e., the data analysis step, the logical design step and the physical design step, should be accurately verified, and a complex correlation between the files should be syntactically controlled. In addition, since the system types may be differed from each other, a number of PLD files are in need of being concurrently created to test each of the object systems.
However, supporting tools which have been utilized in the data analysis step, the logical design step and the physical design step create the optimized schema and the meta data by employing Troll relational Database system used in UNIX environment, to thereby perform both the data analysis and the logical design steps. In this case, performance of the Troll relational Database system results in an increased processing time.
In addition, when an error is occurred at a file during the physical design step, since the data analysis and the logical design steps or overlapped steps are performed with respect to all files, the conventional method suffers from shortcomings that it results in the increased processing time and an increased resource application, and it is difficult to control a complex correlation between the files.

Method of creating meta data and processor load data in a mobile switching center

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Onstitute


An ambulance cot is disclosed and the ambulance cot having a base frame configured for support on a surface, a litter frame configured for supporting thereon a patient and an elevating mechanism interconnecting the base frame and the litter frame and configured to interconnect the litter frame and the base frame in order to facilitate movement of the base frame and the litter frame toward and away from each other. A control mechanism is provided on the cot which is configured to facilitate the movement of the base frame and the litter frame toward each other and at differing speeds predicated on at least one of whether the base frame is supported on the surface and the litter frame is supported by an external support separate from the elevating mechanism.

Emergency Medical Service (EMS) personnel are required to handle the combined weight of a patient and the ambulance cot during various stages of maneuvering of the ambulance cot while separated from the ambulance. This cot manipulation often requires that the patient supported on the litter be lifted to various elevated heights above the floor. In some instances, the weight factor can cause EMS personnel injury that requires medical treatment.
As the inclusion of more and more sophisticated technology onto ambulance cots continues to occur, there is an increasing need to be able to quickly and accurately diagnose the complex equipment without requiring the ambulance cot to be removed from service.
Accordingly, it is advantageous to provide an ambulance cot equipped with an elevating mechanism to facilitate a lifting and lowering of the litter as well as an ability of the ambulance cot to communicate diagnostic issues in a convenient way without requiring removal of the ambulance cot from a field of use for a prolonged period of time.

Ambulance cot and hydraulic elevating mechanism therefor


An image forming optical system comprises, in order from an object side, a front lens group having negative refracting power, and a rear lens group having positive refracting power, wherein said front group comprises, in order from the object side, a first lens element having the negative refracting power, and a second lens element of a meniscus form having a convex surface directed toward an image side; wherein said first lens element has an aspherical surface that is a concave surface directed toward the object side in the vicinity of the optical axis, and negative refracting power at a position on the aspherical surface becomes weak as a distance between the position and the optical axis becomes large, and a surface directed toward the image side that is concave at least in the vicinity of the optical axis; and further the following conditions (1) and (2) are satisfied:1.0<|fG1|/FA<10  (1)1.0<fG2/FA<10  (2)where FA is a focal length of the whole optical system, fG1 is a focal length of said front group, and fG2 is a focal length of said rear group.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming optical system suitable for imaging apparatus using solid-state image sensing devices, such as CCD (Charge Coupled Device) and CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor), etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, motorcar equipped with a camera for vehicle that is mounted on vehicle has been widely used. The camera for vehicle was used only for observation by eyes in a monitor at the beginning stage. However, recently, it has been increasingly used also as camera for much advanced sensor, for detection of a white line, detection of deviation from traffic lane, detection of an obstacle, detection of a state of practice in swinging a golf driver, etc.
As for an image forming optical system used for such camera mounted on vehicle, it has been demanded that an image forming optical system has a large angle of view, concretely, diagonal angle of view is about 130 degrees or more, and high image quality, and further it is compact with a small number of sheets of lens, and can be produced by low cost, in order that a dead angle is made small as much as possible.
As the image forming optical system used for the camera for vehicle, a system in which a distortion generated is small has been demanded. In the optical system in which a large negative distortion is generated although it has a large angle of view as seen in an optical system using a fish-eye lens for example, there is a case that exact information on a circumference portion cannot be obtained since an image size of the circumference portion is very small compared with that of the central portion of the obtained image. Furthermore, there is a case that a shape of the image of an object that is actually observed with the naked eye may differ very much from that of an object image that is observed through a monitor since an image of a linear object is formed as a bent shape at the circumference portion.
Under such circumstances, examples of conventional image forming optical system in which an angle of view is comparatively large, and a distortion is corrected to some extent, and the number of sheets of lens is small have been shown in Publications of the Japanese unexamined patent application Toku Kai No. 2006-201674, Patent No. 2006-220691, Patent No. 2006-243092, and Patent No. 2006-301222.


The present invention provides a process for producing hydrogen halide and oxygen by a stable chemical reaction for a long time. In this method, hydrogen halide and oxygen are produced by reacting water and halogen as represented with the following formula: EQU H.sub.2 O+X.sub.2 .fwdarw.2HX+1/2O.sub.2 ( 1). (wherein, X represents a halogen), wherein porous silica having a mean pore diameter of 0.7 to 5 nm is used as catalyst. Preferably, hydrophilic functional groups are provided on the surface of said porous silica.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing hydrogen halide and oxygen and, more particularly, the present invention relates to a method for producing hydrogen halide and oxygen comprising chemically reacting water and a halogen using porous silica as a catalyst.
2. Description of the Related Art
Because hydrogen and oxygen are attracting attention as clean sources of energy, a method by which water is broken down electrochemically has been established for their production on an industrial scale. However, this method has problems in terms of cost since it requires a large amount of electrical power. In order to solve this problem, a method has been proposed for chemically decomposing water.
Namely, water is reacted with halogen to form hydrogen halide and oxygen after which the hydrogen halide is electrically decomposed to form hydrogen. According to this method, since oxygen is obtained by a chemical reaction and hydrogen is obtained at a much lower voltage as a result of electrically decomposing hydrogen halide instead of electrically decomposing water directly, it offers the advantage of being able to reduce the amount of electrical energy required.
However, in this type of method, since carbon granules are introduced in the reaction of halogen and water, these carbon granules react with oxygen formed by the reaction in the form of a side reaction resulting in the formation of carbon dioxide. Thus, this method had the problem of low reaction efficiency as a result of the carbon granules being consumed. In order to solve this problem, the inventors of the present invention have previously proposed the use of activated carbon as catalyst in place of carbon granules in the above-mentioned reaction system (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-301606). As a result of using this activated carbon, reaction with oxygen is inhibited, thereby making it possible to increase the reaction efficiency.
Since activated carbon reacts less with oxygen than carbon granules, and although reaction efficiency could be improved by using activated carbon as catalyst in the reaction system of water and halogen, activated carbon still reacted to a certain extent with oxygen, thus preventing this reaction from being completely inhibited. Therefore, the inventors of the present invention searched for a catalyst that did not result in the occurrence of this type of side reaction, thereby leading to completion of the present invention.

Method for producing hydrogen halide and oxygen


Pyrrole pyrazole compounds of formula I, compositions including these compounds and methods of their use are provided. Preferred compounds of formula I have activity as protein kinase inhibitors, including as inhibitors of PAK4.

Protein kinases are a family of enzymes that catalyze phosphorylation of the hydroxyl groups of specific tyrosine, serine, or threonine residues in proteins. Typically, such phosphorylation can dramatically change the function of the protein and thus protein kinases can be pivotal in the regulation of a wide variety of cellular process, including metabolism, cell proliferation, cell differentiation, and cell survival. The mechanism of these cellular processes provides a basis for targeting protein kinases to treat disease conditions resulting from or involving disorder of these cellular processes. Examples of such diseases include, but are not limited to, cancer and diabetes.
Protein kinases can be broken into two types, protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) and serine-threonine kinases (STKs). Both PTKs and STKs can be receptor protein kinases or non-receptor protein kinases. PAK is a family of non-receptor STKs. The p21-activated protein kinase (PAK) family of serine/threonine protein kinases plays important roles in cytoskeletal organization and cellular morphogenesis (Daniels et al., Trends Biochem. Sci. 24: 350-355 (1999); Sells et al., Trends Cell. Biol. 7: 162-167 (1997)). PAK proteins were initially identified by their interaction with the active small GTPases, Cdc42, and Rac, and their homology to yeast kinase Ste20 (Manser et al., Nature 367: 40-46 (1994)). In addition to mediating the regulation of actin cytoskeleton and cell adhesion by Cdc42 and Rac (Daniels et al., Trends Biochem. Sci. 24: 350-355 (1999)), it was determined that some PAK proteins protect cells from apoptosis (Gnesutta et al., J. Biol. Chem. 276: 14414-14419 (2001); Rudel et al., Science 276: 1571-1574 (1997); Schurmann et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. 20: 453-461 (2000)); modulate mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinase pathways (Bagrodia et al., J. Biol. Chem. 270: 27995-27998 (1995); Brown et al., Curr. Biol. 6: 598-605 (1996); Chaudhary et al., Curr. Biol. 10: 551-554 (2000); Frost et al., EMBO J. 16: 6426-6438 (1997); King et al., Nature 396: 180-183 (1998); Sun et al., Curr. Biol. 10: 281-284 (2000)); mediate T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) signaling (Yablonski et al., EMBO J. 17: 5647-5657 (1998)); and respond to DNA damage (Roig et al., J. Biol. Chem. 274: 31119-31122 (1999)). Through these diverse functions, PAK proteins regulate cell proliferation and migration.
The full-length PAK4 nucleic acid and amino acid sequences are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,013,500 and have been deposited in GenBank under accession numbers AF005046 (mRNA) and AAD01210 (amino acid). Modulation of human PAK4 activity is reported to result in alterations in cellular processes affecting cell growth and adhesion. For example, overexpression of PAK4 in fibroblasts leads to morphological changes that are characteristic of oncogenic transformation through induction of anchorage-independent growth and inhibition of apoptosis (Gnesutta et al., J. Biol. Chem. 276:14414-14419 (2001); Qu et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. 21: 3523-2533 (2001)).
PAK4 is an attractive target for developing therapeutic agents effective for use in processes and disorders involving cytoskeletal alterations, such as, for example, cancer.
For other background references, see U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0171357 and PCT Publication WO02/12242.

Pyrrolopyrazole, potent kinase inhibitors


A remote controlled robot system that includes a robot and a remote control station that communicate through a communication network. Communication with the robot is limited by a firewall coupled to the communication network. A communication server establishes communication between the robot and the remote control station so that the station can send commands to the robot through the firewall.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject matter disclosed generally relates to the field of mobile two-way teleconferencing.
2. Background Information
Robots have been used in a variety of applications ranging from remote control of hazardous material to assisting in the performance of surgery. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,458 issued to Wang et al. discloses a system that allows a surgeon to perform minimally invasive medical procedures through the use of robotically controlled instruments. One of the robotic arms in the Wang system moves an endoscope that has a camera. The camera allows a surgeon to view a surgical area of a patient.
Tele-robots such as hazardous waste handlers and bomb detectors may contain a camera that allows the operator to view the remote site. Canadian Pat. No. 2289697 issued to Treviranus, et al. discloses a teleconferencing platform that has both a camera and a monitor. The platform includes mechanisms to both pivot and raise the camera and monitor. The Treviranus patent also discloses embodiments with a mobile platform, and different mechanisms to move the camera and the monitor.
There has been marketed a mobile robot introduced by InTouch Technologies, Inc., the assignee of this application, under the trademark RP-7. The InTouch robot is controlled by a user at a remote station. The remote station may be a personal computer with a joystick that allows the user to remotely control the movement of the robot. Both the robot and remote station have cameras, monitors, speakers and microphones to allow for two-way video/audio communication. The robot camera provides video images to a screen at the remote station so that the user can view the robot's surroundings and move the robot accordingly.
The InTouch robot system typically utilizes a broadband network such as the Internet to establish a communication channel between the remote station and the robot. The robot can be located at a facility which has a firewall between the facility local network and the Internet. The firewall can inhibit remote access to the robot through the broadband network. It would be desirable to provide a system that would allow access to a remote robot that is protected by a local area network firewall.

Robot system that operates through a network firewall


A system and method of variable velocity control of a surgical instrument in a computer-assisted medical device includes a surgical instrument having an end effector located at a distal end of the instrument, an actuator, and one or more drive mechanisms for coupling force or torque from the actuator to the end effector. To perform an operation with the instrument, the computer-assisted medical device is configured to set a velocity set point of the actuator to an initial velocity and monitor force or torque applied by the actuator. When the applied force or torque is above a first force or torque limit it is determined whether a continue condition for the operation is satisfied. When the continue condition is satisfied the operation is paused and when the continue condition is not satisfied it is determined whether forced firing of the actuator should take place.

More and more devices are being replaced with autonomous and semiautonomous electronic devices. This is especially true in the hospitals of today with large arrays of autonomous and semiautonomous electronic devices being found in operating rooms, interventional suites, intensive care wards, emergency rooms, and the like. For example, traditional manual surgical instruments are being replaced by computer-assisted medical devices.
Minimally invasive surgical techniques using computer-assisted medical devices generally attempt to perform surgical and/or other procedures while minimizing damage to healthy tissue. Some minimally invasive procedures may be performed remotely through the use of computer-assisted medical devices with surgical instruments. With many computer-assisted medical devices, a surgeon and/or other medical personnel may typically manipulate input devices using one or more controls on an operator console. As the surgeon and/or other medical personnel operate the various controls at the operator console, the commands are relayed from the operator console to a patient side device to which one or more end effectors and/or surgical instruments are mounted. In this way, the surgeon and/or other medical personnel are able to perform one or more procedures on a patient using the end effectors and/or surgical instruments. Depending upon the desired procedure and/or the surgical instruments in use, the desired procedure may be performed partially or wholly under control of the surgeon and/or medical personnel using teleoperation and/or under semi-autonomous control where the surgical instrument may perform a sequence of operations based on one or more activation actions by the surgeon and/or other medical personnel.
Minimally invasive surgical instruments, whether actuated manually, teleoperatively, and/or semi-autonomously may be used in a variety of operations and/or procedures and may have various configurations. Many such instruments include an end effector mounted at a distal end of a shaft that may be mounted to the distal end of an articulated arm. In many operational scenarios, the shaft may be configured to be inserted (e.g., laparoscopically, thorascopically, and/or the like) through an opening (e.g., a body wall incision, a natural orifice, and/or the like) to reach a remote surgical site.
End effectors of different design and/or configuration may be used to perform different tasks, procedures, and functions so as to be allow the surgeon and/or other medical personnel to perform any of a variety of surgical procedures. Examples include, but are not limited to, cauterizing, ablating, suturing, cutting, stapling, fusing, sealing, etc., and/or combinations thereof. Accordingly, end effectors can include a variety of components and/or combinations of components to perform these surgical procedures.
Consistent with the goals of a minimally invasive procedure, the size of the end effector is typically kept small. One approach to keeping the size of the end effector small is to accomplish actuation of the end effector through the use of one or more inputs at a proximal end of the surgical instrument, where the proximal end is typically located externally to the patient. Various transmission components such as gears, levers, pulleys, cables, rods, belts, bands, and/or the like, may then be used to transmit actions from the one or more inputs along the shaft of the surgical instrument and to actuate the end effector. In the case of a computer-assisted, teleoperational medical device with an appropriate surgical instrument, a transmission mechanism at the proximal end of the instrument interfaces directly, or indirectly through other transmission components, with one or more actuators such as various motors, solenoids, servos, active actuators, hydraulics, pneumatics, and/or the like provided on an articulated arm of the patient side device or a patient side cart. The actuator(s) receive control signals produced in response to user commands provided through a master controller, and provide input to the instrument involving force and/or torque at the proximal end of the transmission mechanism; the various transmission elements ultimately transmit to actuate the end effector at the distal end of the transmission mechanism.
Because the size of the end effector is typically small, it may have a limited stiffness that may make is susceptible to flexing and/or splaying during some grasping, clamping, and/or stapling operations. Operating the instrument at a target velocity that is subject to a simple limit on the amount of applied torque and/or force applied to the transmission mechanism can often result in a grasping, clamping, and/or stapling operation with failed operations or a ragged velocity profile due to tissue variations over space or time, and different steps of the operation such as the different stages of forcing staples through the tissue in a stapling operation.
Accordingly, improved methods and systems for the operation of surgical instruments, such as a grasping, clamping, and/or stapling instruments, are desirable. In some examples, it may be desirable to reduce the amount of flexing and/or splaying of the instruments without unacceptably slowing down use of the instruments.

System and method for variable velocity surgical instrument


A two-part adhesive consisting of a first liquid comprising 100 parts by weight of a polymerizable vinyl monomer and from 0.1 to 20 parts by weight of an organic peroxide and a second liquid comprising 100 parts by weight of a polymerizable vinyl monomer and from 0.05 to 15 parts by weight of a reducing agent, wherein either one or both of the first and second liquids contain from 0.4 to 5% by weight of water, and the content of water is more than 0.2% by weight based on the total amount of the first and second liquids.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adhesive. More particularly, it relates to a two-part adhesive having water incorporated.
2. Discussion of Background
There is an increasing demand for adhesives which can be cured in a short period of time at room temperature, from the viewpoint of energy saving, labor saving, saving of resources, etc.
Heretofore, as room temperature quick-curing adhesives, a two-part type quick-curing epoxy adhesive, an anaerobic adhesive, an .alpha.-cyanoacrylate adhesive and a second generation acrylic adhesive (SGA) have been known.
The two-part type quick-curing epoxy adhesive is designed to be used in such a manner that a main agent and a curing agent are measured, mixed and coated on an object to be bonded, whereupon the main agent and the main components of the curing agent will react for curing. If the measurement and mixing of the main agent and the curing agent are inadequate, the two-part type quick-curing epoxy adhesive tends to undergo a substantial deterioration in the strength. Further, even if the measurement and mixing are conducted adequately, it still has a drawback that it is poor in the peel strength and impact strength.
The above-mentioned anaerobic adhesive is cured by shutting off air by pressing the adhesive composition between the objects to be bonded. Therefore, at the time of bonding, the adhesive is likely to be pressed out from the objects, and the adhesive at the portion which is in contact with air, will not be cured. Further, it has a drawback that it will not be cured also in a case where the clearance between the objects to be bonded, is large.
The above-mentioned .alpha.-cyanoacrylate adhesive provides excellent operation efficiency, but it has low peel strength and impact strength and is poor in the moisture resistance and water resistance. Thus, it has a disadvantage that its useful range is very much limited.
The above-mentioned second generation acrylic adhesive (SGA) is a two-part type. However, it has excellent operation efficiency in that it is unnecessary to accurately measure the two liquids, and it is capable of being cured quickly in from a few minutes to a few tens minutes by extremely rough measurement and mixing (in some cases, merely by contacting the two liquids). Yet, it provides high peel strength and impact strength, and curing of the portion pressed out of the objects to be bonded, is excellent. Therefore, an adhesive of this type has been widely used.
Such SGA is disclosed in e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,890,407 and 4,096,201. However, it has a drawback that it does not provide adequate adhesiveness to a metal object.
With respect to improvement of the adhesiveness of SGA to a metal, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,233,115 and 4,452,944 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 84964/1984 disclose that the adhesiveness to a metal object can be improved by an addition of a monomer of a phosphoric acid ester type. However, even such improvement is not yet adequate with respect to the improvement of the adhesiveness to iron or stainless steel, and it has been found that the adhesiveness to such a metal object tends to be poor, and the bond strength tends to deteriorate.


A test structure includes an active region formed in a semiconducting substrate, a first line formed above and extending over an upper surface of the active region, and a first isolation region formed in the semiconducting substrate, wherein the active region surrounds the first isolation region. The test structure further includes a first extension formed above the active region and on and in contact with an upper surface of the first isolation region, wherein the first extension extends laterally over the upper surface of the active region from a first side of the first line. Additionally, the first line and the first extension are comprised of at least one of a high-k layer of insulating material and a metal layer.

1. Field of the Invention
Generally, the present disclosure generally relates to the manufacturing of sophisticated semiconductor devices, and, more specifically, to various electrical test structures for evaluating semiconductor devices that employ high-k dielectrics and/or metal gate electrode structures.
2. Description of the Related Art
The fabrication of advanced integrated circuits, such as CPU's, storage devices, ASIC's (application specific integrated circuits) and the like, requires the formation of a large number of circuit elements in a given chip area according to a specified circuit layout, wherein field effect transistors (NFET and PFET transistors) represent one important type of circuit element used in manufacturing such integrated circuit devices. A field effect transistor, irrespective of whether an NFET transistor or a PFET transistor is considered, typically comprises doped source and drain regions that are formed in a semiconducting substrate that are separated by a channel region. A gate insulation layer is positioned above the channel region and a conductive gate electrode is positioned above the gate insulation layer. By applying an appropriate voltage to the gate electrode, the channel region becomes conductive and current is allowed to flow from the source region to the drain region.
For many early device technology generations, the gate electrode structures of most transistor elements have been made from a plurality of silicon-based materials, such as a silicon dioxide and/or silicon oxynitride gate insulation layer, in combination with a polysilicon gate electrode. However, as the channel length of aggressively scaled transistor elements has become increasingly smaller, many newer generation devices employ gate electrode stacks comprising alternative materials in an effort to avoid the short-channel effects which may be associated with the use of traditional silicon-based materials in reduced channel length transistors. For example, in some aggressively scaled transistor elements, which may have channel lengths on the order of approximately 14-32 nm, gate electrode stacks comprising a so-called high-k dielectric/metal gate (HK/MG) configuration have been shown to provide significantly enhanced operational characteristics over the heretofore more commonly used silicon dioxide/polysilicon (SiO/poly) configurations. These high-k dielectric materials (k value greater than 10) may include, for example, hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide, etc. Illustrative metal gate electrode materials include, for example, one or more layers of titanium (Ti), titanium nitride (TiN), titanium-aluminum (TiAl), aluminum (Al), aluminum nitride (AlN), tantalum (Ta), tantalum nitride (TaN), tantalum carbide (TaC), tantalum carbonitride (TaCN), tantalum silicon nitride (TaSiN), tantalum silicide (TaSi) and the like. The HK/MG structures may be formed using so-called "gate-first" or "gate-last" techniques.
To make an integrated circuit on a semiconducting substrate, the various semiconductor devices, e.g., transistors, capacitors, etc., are electrically isolated from one another by so-called isolation structures. Currently, most sophisticated integrated circuit devices employ so-called shallow trench isolation (STI) structures. As the name implies, STI structures are made by forming a relatively shallow trench in the substrate and thereafter filling the trench with an insulating material, such as silicon dioxide. One technique used to form STI structures initially involves growing a pad oxide layer on the substrate and depositing a pad nitride layer on the pad oxide layer. Thereafter, using traditional photolithography and etching processes, the pad oxide layer and the pad nitride layer are patterned. Then, an etching process is performed to form trenches in the substrate for the STI structure using the patterned pad oxide layer and pad nitride layer as an etch mask. Thereafter, a deposition process is performed to overfill the trenches with an insulating material, such as silicon dioxide. A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process is then performed using the pad nitride layer as a polish-stop layer to remove the excess insulation material. Then, a subsequent deglazing (etching) process may be performed to insure that the insulating material is removed from the surface of the pad nitride layer. This deglaze process removes some of the STI structures.
Numerous processing operations are performed in a very detailed sequence, or process flow, to form integrated circuit devices, e.g., deposition processes, etching processes, heating processes, masking operations, etc. One problem that arises with current processing techniques is that, after the STI regions are formed, at least portions of the STI regions are exposed to many subsequent etching or cleaning processes that tend to consume, at least to some degree, portions of the STI structures subjected to such etching processes. As a result, the STI structures may have an uneven upper surface and may not perform their isolation function as intended, which may result in problems such as increased leakage currents, etc. Furthermore, since the erosions of the STI structures is not uniform across a die or a wafer, such structures may have differing heights, which can lead to problems in subsequent processing operations. For example, such height differences may lead to uneven surfaces on subsequently deposited layers of material which may require additional polishing time in an attempt to planarize the surface of such layer. Such additional polishing may lead to the formation of additional particle defects, which may reduce device yields.
One particular problem arising in connection with the manufacturing of HK/MG gates is that, when the gate structure passes over or near an STI structure, and gate encapsulation is compromised, the high-k insulating material and/or the metal in the gate electrode, e.g., titanium nitride, can also be attacked by many common cleaning chemicals employed in semiconductor manufacturing operations. For example, the high-k insulating materials and/or the metal portions of the gate electrode may be attacked by hydrogen peroxide that is present to at least some degree in cleaning agents such as ammonium hydroxide, sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid, etc.
FIGS. 1A-1D are schematic drawings that will be referenced to further explain at least one common form of attack of high-k, metal gate structures. FIG. 1A is an illustrative example of a device 10 having an STI structure 14 formed in a semiconducting substrate 12 that has an upper surface 12S. Typically, after the pad oxide layer and pad nitride layer that are used in forming the STI structure 14 are removed, the upper surface 14S of the STI structure 14 (as initially formed) will be above the level of the surface 12S of the substrate 12. FIG. 1B depicts the STI structure 14 at a later point in fabrication wherein the STI structure 14 has been eroded by various cleaning operations which result in the formation of schematically depicted divots or notches 14D in the STI structure 14. The overall height of the STI structure is also typically reduced to some degree due to the consumption of the STI material during the various cleaning operations. FIG. 1C depicts an illustrative high-k, metal gate structure 16 that is formed above the STI structure 14. The gate structure 16 is comprised of a high-k insulating layer 16A (e.g., hafnium oxide), a metal layer 16B (e.g., titanium nitride) and a layer of polysilicon 16C. Also depicted in FIG. 1C are illustrative sidewall spacers 18 that are intended to be part of the encapsulation materials that protect the gate structure 16 from attack after it is formed. One problem that may arise when the gate structure 16 passes over or near an STI region is that there may be a breakdown in the encapsulation protection of the gate structure 16, as indicated in the region 20. When such encapsulation protection breaks down, the high-k insulation layer 16A and/or the metal layer 16B are subject to chemical attack which may create voids 22 under the polysilicon layer 16C.
FIG. 1D is a plan view of one illustrative example where the problems described above with respect to FIGS. 1A-1C may occur. FIG. 1D depicts a plurality of active regions 24A, 24B that are defined by an STI region 14. In the depicted embodiment, the illustrative gate structure 16 passes over the active region 24B and extends for a length 16E over the STI region 14. In some applications, the distance 16E may be on the order of 200-1000 nm. The portion of the gate structure 16 that is positioned over the active region 24B acts as a gate electrode structure for a transistor to be formed in and above the active region 24B. The gate structure 16 is provided with the extended length 16E to assist in patterning other gate structures (not shown). That is, better patterning definition is achieved when many closely spaced parallel lines are patterned instead of isolated lines.
In one example, it has been observed that the chemical attack of the high-k insulation layer 16A and/or the metal layer 16B occurs in the region 28 where the gate structure 16 passes near the active region 24A. In one example, the distance 26 between the edge of the active region 24A and the edge of the gate structure 16 may be less than 15 nm. After the chemical attack occurs in the region 28, it tends to propagate along the long axis of the gate structure 16 to the point where it may attack the portion of gate structure 16 that is positioned above the active region 24B and thereby degrade, if not destroy, the performance capabilities of the transistor device formed therein.
FIG. 2 depicts one illustrative example of a prior art test structure 30 for investigating attacks on high-k metal gate structures. The test structure 30 is generally comprised of a serpentine shaped body or line 34 that passes over or near various active regions 32 formed in a semiconducting substrate. The active regions 32 are bounded by STI regions 14. Conductive contacts 35 are formed on opposite ends of the line 34. The line 34 was generally comprised of a high-k gate insulation layer, a metal layer positioned above the gate insulation layer and a layer of non-silicided polysilicon positioned above the metal layer. Using this test structure 30, chemical attack of the high-k material or the metal layer of the line 34 could be determined by measuring the change in resistance level of the test structure, wherein an increase in the resistance level reflected a loss of some of the metal layer
The present disclosure is directed to various electrical test structures for evaluating semiconductor devices that employ high-k dielectrics and/or metal gate electrode structures that may at least reduce or eliminate one or more of the problems identified above.

Electrical test structure for devices employing high-k dielectrics or metal gates


An augmented reality device sends data representative of a field of view to a remote system. The field of view is comprises two portions, a first portion displayed to a user of the augmented reality device, and a second portion encompassing an area outside of the first portion. The remote system generates an element of an augmented reality display based on the second portion, and sends the element to the augmented reality device. When movement of the device causes the field of view to shift, the device includes the generated element in the augmented reality display.

An augmented reality device typically generate a version of the real-life surroundings of its user, augmented with additional components that may sometimes be described as graphical overlays. This process may be computationally intensive. At the same time, the computational power of augmented reality devices is typically limited. Furthermore, delays in generating the display can introduce lag, which has been known to induce nausea and other ill effects in the users of augmented reality devices.

Remote generation of augmented reality overlays


A light emitting device includes: a light emitting element; and a light transmissive member bonded to an emission surface of the light emitting element; wherein the light emitting element and the light transmissive member are bonded via a bonding portion that comprises a portion of the light emitting element and a portion of the light transmissive member; wherein the bonding portion contains at least one rare gas element selected from the group consisting of He, Ne, Ar, and Kr; and wherein a peak of a rare gas element distribution is positioned away from the emission surface in at least one of the light emitting element and the light transmissive member.

The present disclosure relates to a light emitting device and a method of manufacturing the same.
A light emitting device equipped with a light emitting element, such as a light emitting diode, and a wavelength conversion member that is excited by the light from the light emitting element and emits light having a different wavelength from that of the light emitted by the light emitting element has been in use. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-142326 discloses a light emitting device where a light emitting element is bonded to a phosphor part, which is a wavelength conversion member, by using a surface activated bonding method. It is believed that such a method of manufacturing a light emitting device can reduce manufacturing costs, and achieve good emission characteristics.