A process for producing open-celled, inorganic sintered foam products which comprises:. a. converting slip material comprising sinterable inorganic powder, a fluid, vaporizable material which makes this slip material capable of flow and, if desired, a material forming blowing gas into a foamed product in a foaming step with liberation of the blowing gas, PA1 b. subjecting this foamed product to a treatment which essentially makes the slip material incapable of flow and forms an open-pored intermediate body, with the steps a. and b. being able to proceed essentially simultaneously, PA1 c. removing material remaining from the fluid material and any further material from the intermediate body to form a green foam body, and PA1 d. sintering the green foam body to form the open-celled, inorganic sintered foam product.

The present invention relates to both ceramic and metallic open-cell foams for a wide range of applications, and processes, in particular continuous processes, for their preparation.
Inorganic foams are known per se. They are prepared by a wide range of processes with so far insurmountable disadvantages and therefore costs which are so high that said processes are used only in special cases. By far the most widely claimed process comprises infiltrating open-cell polymer foams with a slip which contains inorganic particles. The infiltrated polymer foam, generally a polyurethane foam, is carefully dried, the organic components are removed by slow controlled heating and the negative consisting of inorganic powder is sintered. This itself is the reason for the complicated, expensive preparation. Both the drying of the pore structure filled with slip and the removal of the organic components by pyrolysis are very time-consuming. In addition, the material thicknesses are limited to a few centimeters owing to the slow drying and pyrolysis. The preparation of such foams is described, for example, in DE-A 39,34,496 or EP-A 157,974. EP-A 440,322 describes the complicated technology for the preparation of open-cell ceramic foams by means of an arrangement of rollers for infiltration and compression of the infiltrated polymer foams.
A wide range of applications have been described for inorganic foams, owing to their high-temperature stability and resistance to media. Thus, DE-A 37,32,654, U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,656, U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,387, U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,882 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,939 claim ceramic foams as carriers for catalysts, for example for stack gas treatment. With their random arrangement of webs, ceramic foams give substantially better mass transfer than extruded honeycomb elements which may have no webs in the flow direction owing to the extrusion technology, the pressure loss very advantageously being small. This applies in particular when the pore volume is more than 50%, more advantageously more than 70%, of the total volume of the catalyst carrier and the webs have thicknesses of less than 1 mm. Small pressure losses are particularly important in the application as carriers in stack gas treatment (DE-A 35,10,170), in vehicle exhaust gas catalysts (DE-A 37,31,888) or in the application as diesel exhaust gas filters (EP-A 312,501). Frequently, ceramic foams are also claimed as filters for the purification of very hot melts, such as metal melts (U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,632) or for the filtration of hot gases (EP-A 412,931).
All these applications make use of the preparation of open-cell foams by the infiltration of open-cell polymer foams. The inorganic materials claimed are just as varied as the applications. For foams having low thermal expansion, the material used is lithium aluminum silicate or cordierite. Such foams have particularly high resistance to large, abrupt temperature changes, as must be possessed by a catalytic converter for motor vehicle exhaust gases (JP-A 6,1295,283). On the other hand, inert behavior to metal melts is important for filtering metal melts. Here, .alpha.-alumina, silicon carbide and SiO.sub.2 and in particular mixtures thereof are used (EP-A 412,673). Foams of silicon carbide are particularly suitable for the filtration of iron melts or melts of iron-containing alloys (WO 88/07403). Silicon nitride, too, is claimed as filter material of ceramic open-cell foams (DE-A 38,35,807). EP-A 445,067 describes Y.sub.2 O.sub.3 stabilized zirconium oxide or ZrO.sub.2 /Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 mixed ceramics as filters for molten metals.
In addition to the infiltration of polymer foams with inorganic slips, followed by drying, pyrolysis and sintering, other methods for the preparation of inorganic foams have also been disclosed:
WO 95/11752 describes a process in which metals are chemically deposited on an open-cell polymer foam and, after drying and pyrolysis, an open-cell metal foam which can be converted into a ceramic foam by oxidation is obtained. Here too, drying and pyrolysis are very complicated. Drying and pyrolysis are avoided by the process which is claimed in EP-A 261,070 and starts from a metal foam, preferably from aluminum foam, for the preparation of ceramic foams and in which the latter is then oxidized to the metal oxide. A disadvantage of this process is that a metal foam has to be prepared beforehand in some manner. A process for the preparation of metal foams (Fraunhofer-Institut fur Angewandte Materialforschung, Bremen) starts from an aluminum powder, with which titanium hydride powder is mixed. The powder mixture is heated in a mold to just above the melting point of aluminum, the titanium hydride decomposing and the resulting hydrogen expanding the molten aluminum. In this case, which is not generally applicable, the melting point of the aluminum and the decomposition temperature range of the titanium hydride are compatible with one another.
In other known processes, too, hydrogen is used as a blowing agent for the preparation of inorganic foams: thus, it is known that strongly alkaline alkali metal silicates or alkali metal aluminates can be mixed with a powder of a non-noble metal, preferably aluminum, the metal dissolving and hydrogen being evolved as a gaseous blowing agent. After the foams have been dried, they have to be treated with ammonium compounds in order to remove disadvantageous alkali metal ions. After sintering, such foams contain less than 0.5% of alkali metal ions (EP-A 344,284, DE-A 38,16,893).
A dry process for the preparation of ceramic foams comprises mixing ceramic powders with volcanic eruption products which, when heated to 900-1400.degree. C., expand the resulting melt with gas evolution (JP-A 6,0221,371). Foams prepared in this manner are used in particular as heat-insulating (closed-cell) building material.
JP-A 2/290211 describes a process for the preparation of ceramic filters for metal melts, in which resin particles of various sizes, preferably of foamed polystyrene, are bonded to one another and the voids are infiltrated with a ceramic slip. After drying at 500-600.degree. C., the organic components are removed by pyrolysis and the foam is then sintered in air at 1200-1800.degree. C.
Open channels in ceramic foams can also be produced by applying short organic fibers, such as cotton, polyamide fibers or acrylic fibers, or inorganic fibers, such as graphite fibers, to an adhesive surface, applying further fibers with an organic binder, infiltrating the laid fiber web with inorganic slip, drying, pyrolyzing and sintering (EP-A 341,203). Foams having a pore volume of less than 35% are said to be produced in this manner. They are used as filters for molten metals.
Finally, it is also known that ceramic foams can be produced by adding aqueous polymer dispersions to aqueous ceramic slips, beating the mixture like cream, until it has from 1.5 to 10 times the initial volume, to give a foam, running the foam into a mold, drying, removing the organic assistants by pyrolysis and then sintering (EP-A 330,963). The amount by weight of organic material is 65-95% and the amount by weight of dispersion (dry matter) is 5-50%, which has to be removed by pyrolysis. What is disadvantageous for the applications of such open-cell inorganic foams is that relatively large air bubbles, too, are beaten in and that a large part of the foam cells are closed. Air is occluded during beating, and the resulting cells are stabilized by the polymer dispersion and only some of them break open during drying.
Problems arise in attempts to fill the reactive components of polyurethane foams to a high degree with inorganic powders and, by their reaction with one another, directly to produce an open-cell polyurethane foam which has a high filler content and from which the organic components can be removed by pyrolysis owing to the open-cell character. The molar mass of the components at the beginning of foaming is in fact so low that the foaming mixture is not sufficiently elastic, with the result that the small foam bubbles burst too early and the gaseous blowing agent, CO.sub.2, escapes substantially unused. The poor elasticity also rapidly results in cracks in the material, from which the gaseous blowing agent likewise flows away unused.

Process for producing open-celled, inorganic sintered foam products


A manufacturing method for a semiconductor device, whereby poly-silicon serving as an etching stopper is formed above a redundant fuse at the same time as a cell plate is. A silicon nitride film, an oxide film, and another oxide film on the redundant fuse are consecutively etched using the poly-silicon as the etching stopper. Then the poly-silicon is etched.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and a manufacturing method for the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the density and speed of semiconductor devices have become increasingly greater and the manufacturing process for DRAMs has accordingly required more steps and become more complicated, making the manufacture of DRAMs difficult. With this increasing trend toward higher density and higher speed, it has become extremely important to accomplish an easy manufacturing method for producing inexpensive devices with high yield.
FIG. 5 shows an example of a conventional DRAM. The DRAM shown in FIG. 5 has a p-type semiconductor substrate 1, an oxide film for a device isolation 2, which has been formed by local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS), a gate oxide film 3, a gate electrode 4 composed of poly-silicon (polycrystalline silicon), and an oxide film 5 formed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD).
A source 6a and a drain 6b of a MOS transistor of a memory cell are both composed of an n-type semiconductor region. There are also provided an oxide film 7, which has been produced as a side wall film by the CVD, a bit line 8a of the memory cell, and a redundant fuse 8b for relieving a defective memory cell, both 8a and 8b being comprised of a conductive film made of tungsten (W) polycide.
The DRAM further includes an oxide film 9 formed using CVD, a poly-silicon 10 which has been formed using low pressure CVD and which provides a storage node, and a poly-silicon 11 which has been formed using low pressure CVD and which provides a cell plate. An ONO film serving as a capacitance insulating film of a capacitor is provided between the storage node 10 and the cell plate 11 although it is not shown in FIG. 5.
Further included in the DRAM are an oxide film 12 produced using CVD, an aluminum (hereinafter referred to as "Al") electrode wiring 13 of the first layer, an oxide film 14 formed using the spin-on-glass (SOG) process or the etchback process or the like, an Al electrode wiring 15 of the second layer, a silicon nitride film 16 formed as a protective film by using plasma CVD, and a cavity 17 formed above the redundant fuse 8b.
In the conventional DRAM, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a conductive film formed using the W polycide has been used as the redundant fuse 8b for relieving a defective memory cell. An extremely thick multilayer insulating film composed of the films 9, 12, 14, and 16 is formed on the redundant fuse 8b. To make the redundancy relief easier, it has been required to etch a major part of the insulating films 12, 14, and 16 and leave only insulating film 9 of approximately 200 to 400 nm on the redundant fuse 8b in a final step. This has been required to allow a defective memory cell to be replaced with a nondefective memory cell by cutting off the redundant fuse 8b.
For this reason, it has been important to form on the redundant fuse 8b the insulating film, namely, the oxide film 9, which is thin but is not so thin that the W polycide is exposed, so as to permit easy disconnection of the redundant fuse 8b. Since the multilayer composed of the different types of insulating films, namely, 9, 12, 14, and 16, is formed on the redundant fuse 8b, it has been extremely difficult to stably etch these insulating films 9, 12, 14, and 16 with good control. Accordingly, the redundancy relief yield has also been low.

Method of forming a semiconductor device by using a conductive film as an etching stopper


A system and a method for producing a low-latency video for transmission over a network. The low-latency video may be created by modeling a select portion of original video data and comparing a current frame of the model against previous frames of the model in order to estimate the select portions of the original video data. The estimated, select portions of the original video data may be combined with a remainder of the original video data (such as background images) in order to produce the low-latency video. Model data and the original video data can be transmitted over the network using different paths in order to ensure that the model data is transmitted as quickly as possible, thereby allowing enough time for a morpher to process the model data before combining the model with the original video data.

1. Field of the Invention
Example embodiments relate generally to wireless communication, and more particularly to a system and/or a method for reducing latency in two-way video conversations over a wireless (and/or wire-line) network. Jitter caused by latency due to network delay and video encoding/decoding may be reduced by modeling portions of the video image into a low-latency version of the video, and morphing this low-latency version with a conventional (large-latency) video.
2. Related Art
During two-way video conversations, network delays and the time required for video encoding/decoding may result in latency and jitter. Discernible pauses due to significant round-trip delay may also occur, making video conferencing unpleasant or confusing.
Video transmission delay is caused by a combination of: a) pre-coding scene analysis, b) coding time, c) large first-in, first-out (FIFO) buffers (VBV) designed to smooth transmission of variable sizes of compressed frames, and d) decoding time, along with inherent delays caused by camera acquisition and display time. These delays may combine to create delays with a time-duration of a large fraction of a second (up to half a second) in video that is being both transmitted and received on both sides of a video conference. While some of the components of this delay may be engineered to be somewhat smaller, a trade-off exists between factors including image quality, system complexity, processing power and fragility to input signal changes.
Network transmission time is another delay that compounds the video transmission delay. Network transmission time issues may include a combination of transmission latency and jitter. Because video is coded differentially, at a fixed frame rate, each frame must conventionally be received and decoded before starting on a next frame (otherwise errors in the final image may result). For this reason, an additional level of buffering delay is introduced prior to packets reaching a decoder. If the amount of buffering is reduced, an increase in the frequency of discernible errors in video due to jitter may be increased. A conventional approach to reducing network latency and jitter is to use a higher quality of service (QoS) network path (if one exists), which may be offered for instance in a 4G network. However, such high-QoS paths are generally relatively limited and costly in terms of network resources and management configurations.
While an audio stream generally does not suffer from the same effects of high-latency issues that video streams experience, a received audio-video stream may suffer from "lip-synchronization" issues where the image of a person speaking does not precisely match the audio channel.
In recent years, great strides have been made in computer analysis of the human body. For instance, well-known 3-D cameras, or 2-D image-plus-depth cameras may generate detailed models of a subject's face (using over 100 facial "landmarks") and skeletal body position in less than a frame of time. FIG. 1 shows an example of this conventional technology, where a raw image 100 of a person's face is assigned landmarks 102 (indicated by the labeled numbers 1 through 86). Model information may also be gleaned from the raw video 100 to produce a model of the person's face 104 using the model information in accordance with conventionally methods, as shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, a person's body position may also be modeled 106 by assigning landmarks to the person's skeletal joints using conventional methods.
FIG. 6 shows an example of a conventional method of morphing and texture mapping a two-dimensional object. Specifically, a two-dimensional object 500 may be extracted from an original image, and the image 500 may then be distorted into another shape (i.e., a morphed object 500a) that may fit onto a background image 502. A texture of the morphed object 500a may also be adjusted and/or blended with the background 502 (thus producing a morphed/texture mapped image 500a). A morphed/texture mapped image 500a may also be referred to as a 'warped' image.

System and method for reducing latency in video delivery


A system and method predict risks of failure or performance issues in a network to predictively position traffic flows in the network. For a traffic flow through a network, first data accumulated in a header of packets for the traffic flow is obtained, which header is populated by network elements along a path of the traffic flow through the network. Second data is obtained about the network in general including other network elements not along the path of the traffic flow. Machine learning analysis is performed to derive rules that characterize failure or performance risk issues in the network. The rules and topology data describing a topology of the network are applied to a model to create a topological graphical representation indicating failure or performance issues in the network that affect the traffic flow. A path for the traffic flow is modified based on the topological graphical representation.

With the recent outburst of various use cases like Augmented/Virtual Reality and Autonomous Vehicles or other real-time medical applications, there is shift in radical expectation on a network from best effort based connectivity to mandatory Service Level Agreement (SLA) constrained connectivity with a defined set of SLA requirements in terms of delay, jitter, packet loss etc. Several milliseconds of delay in a medical application or autonomous vehicle may be life threatening and mandates that the network is not only reliable, but also dynamic and elastic to accommodate the SLA requirements.
Such robust network requirements shift the expectation on the network to be predictive and pre-emptive instead of being just proactive.

In-situ OAM (IOAM) network risk flow-based “topo-gram” for predictive flow positioning


A liquid crystal display having an electrode pad for compensating for differences in resistance of electrode links. A pad portion in contact with a driving circuit includes a transparent electrode pattern having a length that depends on the length of an associated electrode link that is connected between the pad portion and a corresponding signal line at a pixel area on which a plurality of liquid crystal cells are arranged. Accordingly, resistance differences that depend on the length of the electrode links are compensated for using electrode pads, thereby making signal conductors with substantially equal resistances.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to liquid crystal displays, and more particularly to liquid crystal displays wherein resistance differences caused by electrode link length differences are substantially eliminated.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a liquid crystal display (LCD) controls light transmissivity using electric fields to display a picture corresponding to video signals. To this end, the LCD includes a liquid crystal display panel having liquid crystal cells arranged in a matrix, and driving circuitry for driving the liquid crystal display panel.
In a liquid crystal display panel, gate lines and data lines are arranged such that they cross each other. The liquid crystal cells are located in the areas defined by the crossing lines. The liquid crystal display panel includes pixel electrodes and a common electrode for applying electric fields to the liquid crystal cells. Each pixel electrode is connected, via source and drain electrodes of a switching thin film transistor, to a data line. The gate electrode of the switching thin film transistor is connected a gate line. By selectively applying appropriate signals to the various data and gate lines, a desired pixel voltage signal can be applied to each pixel electrode.
The driving circuitry includes gate drivers for driving the gate lines, data drivers for driving the data lines, and a common voltage generator for driving the common electrode. The gate drivers sequentially apply scanning signals (or gate signals) to the gate lines, which causes a row of thin film transistors with gates connected to a particular gate line to be driven. The data drivers sequentially apply data voltage signals to data lines, which causes a column of thin film transistors having electrodes connected to a particular data line to be driven. The common voltage generator applies a common voltage signal to the common electrode. Accordingly, the liquid crystal element driven by both a scanning signal and a data voltage signal is enabled. An electric field is then applied between the pixel electrode of that liquid crystal element and the common electrode, causing the light transmissivity to change in accordance with the data voltage signal, causing a pixel to be displayed.
The driving circuitry usually takes the form of chips that are mounted on tape carrier packages (TCP) of a tape automated bonding (TAB) system. The TCPs connect to electrode pads provided on a liquid crystal display panel. The electrode pads in turn connect via electrode links to signal lines at a pixel area. Thus, the driving circuitry electrically connects to the signal lines at a pixel area.
In an LCD, as the number of pixels increase to form a high-resolution picture, the available conductor width and conductor spacing becomes very small. Furthermore, a high integrated density of driving circuits in a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) employing a small liquid crystal device of below 6 inch enforces the pad spacing to be very small. As a consequence and as shown in FIG. 1, the electrode links between the electrode pads and the signal lines at the pixel area have lengths that vary in accordance with their positions. Since conductor resistance depends on conductor length, the electrode links have resistance that vary in accord with position.
FIG. 1 also shows an electrode arrangement of a gate pad-link portion in a conventional LCD. In FIG. 1, a gate pad 12 connected to a gate driving circuit (not shown) is provided at an edge portion of a lower substrate 10. The gate pad 12 applies a driving signal from the gate driving circuit, via a gate link GK, to a gate line GL that is arranged at a pixel area.
The gate pad 12 has a structure as shown in FIG. 2 and in FIG. 3. The gate pad 12 includes a gate pattern 16 formed on a substrate 26, a gate insulating film 22, and a protective film 24. The gate pattern, gate insulating film, and protective film are sequentially disposed on the substrate 26. An opening in the gate insulating film 22 and protective film 24 exposes a pad area of the gate pattern 16. A transparent electrode pattern 18 is in contact with the exposed gate pattern 16. That transparent electrode pattern 18 is also in electrical contact with the TCP having the driving circuit via a contact portion 20, shown in FIG. 2.
Turning back to FIG. 1, the gate links GK have lengths that depend on their positions, whereas they have the same width and thickness. Accordingly, the resistances of adjacent gate links GK only have a small difference. However, a large resistive difference exists between the 'A' portion, where the gate link lengths are relatively small, and the 'B' portion, where the gate link lengths are relatively large. As a result, the gate signals applied to the gate lines GL are distorted, causing picture quality deterioration.
Similarly, the data links between the data pads and the data electrodes also have a resistive difference according to the wire length. This resistive difference causes a distortion of the data signals applied to the data lines, which causes picture quality deterioration.
Therefore, a display having little or no differences in the resistances of gate links and/or of data links would be beneficial.

Liquid crystal display for equivalent resistance wiring


Aspects of the present invention provide novel compositions and methods based on novel calpastatin (CAST) genetic markers, such as missense mutations in exon 3 that result in G48D or P52L substitutions (NM_174003.2:c.271G>A and 283C>T), a G/T substitution in intron 3 (AAFC02060381.1:g.2110G>T) and a GAAA repeat in intron 8 (AAFC02060381.1:g.6700[(GAAA)4]+[(GAAA)5]. Particular aspects provide novel markers for fertility (e.g., daughter pregnancy rate, DPR) and longevity (e.g., productive life, PL) in, for example, dairy cattle. Additional aspects provide for novel methods comprising marker-assisted selection to improve fertility and/or longevity in dairy cattle. Therefore, in particular embodiments, a combination of genetic selection based on one or more of the novel CAST markers, and high PTA potentials of milk production traits, provides for improved reproductive traits in association with continued high milk production traits. Further aspects disclose a previously unrecognized XL domain in the human CAST gene, and thus provide for the use of human CAST XL domain mutants/variants as markers for human fertility and longevity.

Reproductive decline has been a challenge facing the dairy industry worldwide for several decades and has typically been blamed on selection for increased milk production [Sheldon I M, Dobson H. Reproductive challenges facing the cattle industry at the beginning of the 21st century. Reprod Suppl. 2003; 61:1-13]. In the United States alone, first service to conception rate has declined from approximately 65% in 1951 to 40% in 1996 [Butler W R. Review: effect of protein nutrition on ovarian and uterine physiology in dairy cattle. J Dairy Sci. 1998; 81:2533-2539], while the number of services per conception has increased from approximately 1.8 in 1970 to approximately 3 in 2000 [Lucy M C. Reproductive loss in high-producing dairy cattle: where will it end? J Dairy Sci. 2001; 84:1277-1293]. It was reported that during 1976 to 1978, the average number of days open (days between calving and the subsequent conception) was 122 days for Jerseys and 124 days for Holsteins [Washburn S P, Silvia W J, Brown C H, McDaniel B T, McAllister A J. Trends in reproductive performance in Southeastern Holstein and Jersey DHI herds. J Dairy Sci. 2002; 85:244-251]. However, days open increased to 152 days for Jerseys and 168 days for Holsteins by 1997 to 1999. In the United Kingdom, the conception rate to first service of dairy cows has declined from 65.4% (1975-82) to 44.3% (1995-98) at a rate of approximately 1% per year [Royal M D, Darwash A O, Flint A P, Webb R, Woolliams J A, Lamming G E. Declining fertility in dairy cattle: changes in traditional and endocrine parameters of fertility. Anim Sci 2000; 70:487-502]. Equivalent decreases in first—service conception rate have been also observed in dairy cattle in Ireland [Roche J F, Mackey D, Diskin M D. Reproductive management of postpartum cows. Anim Reprod Sci 2000; 61:703-712] and Australia [Macmillan K L, Lean I J, Westwood C T. The effects of lactation on the fertility of dairy cows. Aust Vet J 1996; 73:141-147]. Understanding the genetic causes of reduced fertility is essential to halt the currently observed fertility decline in lactating dairy cows.
To address the difficulties of achieving desired levels of reproductive performance in today's milking herds, a new fertility trait, the daughter pregnancy rate (DPR) was introduced as an indicator of sire fertility for genetic selection [VanRaden P M, Sanders A H, Tooker M E, Miller R H, Norman H D, Kuhn M T, Wiggans G R. Development of a national genetic evaluation for cow fertility. Dairy Sci 2004; 87:2285-2292]. Pregnancy rate is defined as the percentage of nonpregnant cows that become pregnant during each 21-day period. In fact, data for calculating DPR are taken from reported days open, which are calculated as date pregnant minus previous calving date. Date pregnant is determined from last reported breeding or from subsequent calving minus expected gestation length. For calculation of genetic evaluations, days open are converted to daughter pregnancy rate by the linear transformation of pregnancy rate=0.25 (233-days open). Evaluations are expressed as predicted transmitting ability (PTA) for DPR, and calculations are generated as a direct result of a bull's daughters performance [VanRaden P M, Sanders A H, Tooker M E, Miller R H, Norman H D, Kuhn M T, Wiggans G R. Development of a national genetic evaluation for cow fertility. Dairy Sci 2004; 87:2285-2292]. In addition, cow fertility is a major component of productive life (PL) or longevity. Improving both DPR and PL would lead to the increased productivity and profitability to the dairy industry.
Calpastatin (CAST) is an endogenous protease inhibitor that specifically acts on two Ca2+-independent proteases, μ-calpain and m-calpain by binding and forming an inactive complex. CAST is widely expressed in mammalian cells and tissues, including those related to reproduction. For example, the CAST gene is expressed in the human pituitary gland [Kitahara A, Takano E, Ontsuki H, Kirihata Y, Yamagata Y, Knaagi R, Murachi T. Reversed distribution of calpains and calpastatin in human pituitary gland and selective localization of calpastatin in adrenocorticotropin-producing cells as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1986; 63:343-348], the human placenta [Thompson V F, Saldana S, Cong J, Luedke D M, Goll D E. The calpain system in human placenta. Life Sci 2002; 70:2493-508], the human oocyte [Ben-Aharon I, Ben-Yosef D, Amit A, Shalgi R. Expression and immunolocalization of the calpain-calpastatin system in the human oocyte. Fertil Steril 2005; 83:1807-1813], the bovine corpus luteum [Orwig K E, Bertrand J E, Ou B R, Forsberg N E, Stormshak F. Involvement of protein kinase-C, calpains, and calpastatin in prostaglandin F2 alpha-induced oxytocin secretion from the bovine corpus luteum. Endocrinology 1994; 134:78-83], as well as during spermatogenesis in the testes of humans [Liang Z G, O'Hem P A, Yavetz B, Yavetz H, Goldberg E. Human testis cDNAs identified by sera from infertile patients: a molecular biological approach to immunocontraceptive development. Reprod Fertil Dev 1994; 6:297-305; Li S, Liang Z G, Wang G Y, Yavetz B, Kim E D, Goldberg E. Molecular cloning and characterization of functional domains of a human testis-specific isoform of calpastatin. Biol Reprod 2000; 63:172-178 and Wei S G, Wang L F, Miao S Y, Zong S D, Koide S S. Expression of the calpastatin gene segment during spermiogenesis in human testis: an in situ hybridization study. Arch Androl 1995; 34:9-12.], mice [Li S, Goldberg E. A novel N-terminal domain directs membrane localization of mouse testis-specific calpastatin. Biol Reprod 2000; 63:1594-1600] and rabbits [Wang L F, Miao S Y, Yan Y C, Li Y H, Zong C, Koide S S. Expression of a sperm protein gene during spermatogenesis in mammalian testis: an in situ hybridization study. Mol Reprod Dev 1990; 26:1-5]. Interestingly, the CAST protein was identified as one of the target antigens for anti-sperm antibodies found in infertile women [Koide S S, Wang L, Kamada M. Antisperm antibodies associated with infertility: properties and encoding genes of target antigens. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 2000; 224:123-132]. In vivo, CAST anti-BS-17 antibodies can block the fertilizing capacity of mouse sperm to fertilize ova by significantly reducing the numbers of developing embryos [Koide S S, Wang L, Kamada M. Antisperm antibodies associated with infertility: properties and encoding genes of target antigens. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 2000; 224:123-132]. All these results indicate that the CAST gene plays an important role in reproductive biology.
The primary structure of the calpastatin amino-acid sequence includes four internally repetitive domains (Domains 1-4) and one non-homologous domain at the amino-terminal end (Domain L) [Murachi T. Calpain and calpastatin. Rinsho Byori 1990; 38:337-346]. However, a new N-terminal peptide domain, named domain XL, was identified in cattle [Cong M, Thompson V F, Goll D E, Antin P B. The bovine calpastatin gene promoter and a new N-terminal region of the protein are targets for cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity. J Biol Chem 1998; 273:660-666]. This "XL" region contains sixty-eight amino acids, but shares no homology with other regions of calpastatin or with any known proteins. In vivo experiments showed that the "XL" region is a substrate for phosphorylation by protein kinase [Cong M, Thompson V F, Goll D E, Antin P B. The bovine calpastatin gene promoter and a new N-terminal region of the protein are targets for cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity. J Biol Chem 1998; 273:660-666].
It remains advantageous to provide further SNPs/STRs that may more accurately predict the fertility and longevity phenotypes of an animal and also a business method that provides for increased production efficiencies in livestock cattle, as well as providing access to various records of the animals and allows comparisons with expected or desired goals with regard to the quality and quantity of animals produced.
Citation or identification of any document in this application is not an admission that such document is available as prior art to the present invention.

Calpastatin markers for fertility and longevity

Washington State University Research Foundation


A controller checks ink quantity to be ejected to a specific area on a first side (specific area ink quantity) and determines an ink quantity ratio. The specific area is a strip-shaped area including a side edge on upstream side in a conveying direction of a paper sheet on the first side. When the ink quantity ratio is larger than a reference ink quantity ratio, the controller performs a black conversion process on pixels in a conversion target range. The conversion target range is a range corresponding to the specific area in the image data of the first side. The black conversion process is a process of converting a pixel to which three color inks, i.e. cyan, magenta, and yellow inks are to be ejected into a pixel to which only black ink is to be ejected.

The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus that includes a line head and performs image formation (printing or drawing) using ink.
There is an image forming apparatus that performs printing using ink. The image forming apparatus using ink may cause bleed through of ink that is ejected to a paper sheet and soaks into the paper sheet. In addition, a part of the paper sheet at which ink is adhered is bulged. The bulging may cause curl or ripple (cockling). An example of an inkjet recording apparatus as described below is known, in which bleed through, curl, and ripple are taken into consideration.
An inkjet recording apparatus capable of performing duplex printing is described, in which the number of print passes in simplex printing is different from that in duplex printing with respect to the same area, i.e. the latter is larger than the former. This technique focuses attention on the fact that as the number of print passes is larger, bleed through becomes less, curl amount becomes less, and cockling amount also becomes less. The number of print passes is changed between simplex printing and for duplex printing, so that the optimal number of print passes is set for each of them.
A paper sheet absorbs ejected ink. The part absorbing ink is bulged. As a result, an edge portion of a paper sheet in a sub-scanning direction (sheet conveying direction) may be largely curled (furled). The curl occurs in the direction opposite to the bulged surface (the surface to which the ink is ejected). For instance, when the ink is ejected to the upper surface of the paper sheet, an edge portion of the paper sheet is curled downward. In general, as more ink is ejected to the edge portion of the paper sheet, the curl amount becomes more.
When performing duplex printing, the head first ejects ink to one side of the paper sheet. After printing one side, front and back sides of the paper sheet are reversed. The paper sheet after reversing front and back sides is sent back to upstream of the head. Then, the paper sheet after printing one side is conveyed to the head. The head ejects ink to the other side of the paper sheet. Thus, both sides of the paper sheet are printed.
As distance between a nozzle (head) and a paper sheet is larger, a deviation of landing position of ink becomes larger. Therefore, distance between the nozzle and the paper sheet (paper sheet conveying path) is set small. For instance, the distance is set a few millimeters or smaller. As the distance is small, there is a problem that a paper sheet may be jammed in the gap between the head and the conveying path in duplex printing, when the curl amount of the edge portion of the paper sheet after printing one side is large. When the paper sheet is jammed, it is necessary to remove the jammed paper sheet. Then, productivity of the image forming apparatus is lowered. In addition, the jammed paper sheet may damage the head.
In order to reduce bleed through or curl, the inkjet recording apparatus described above increases the number of print passes. For instance, it increases the number of print passes by four to eight times per side. This increases the number of print passes for printing one sheet in duplex printing. This may cause substantial reduction in productivity (printing speed). A problem of productivity remains.

Image forming apparatus and method for controlling image forming apparatus


A pump dispenser has a body consisting of two hollow cylinders of dissimilar diameters, the diameters of the two cylinders defining an outer boundary of a pump chamber. A piston defines the inner boundary of the pump chamber. The piston also defines a slidable seal with both body diameters and is provided with an aperture which can function as an outlet port on a downstroke and an inlet port port on an upstroke. A stem cooperates with the piston to form a discharge path which can be opened or closed and also cooperates with the aperture to define the ports. The stem is biased to close the discharge port when the dispenser is in rest position.

Pump dispensers are manually operated devices typically disposed on the top of a container of fluid for dispensing the fluid in a desired form from a dispenser nozzle. Dispensers of this type employ a cylindrical body structure, at least one piston and separate inlet and outlet ports individually controlled by separate means for opening and closing them.
The present invention is directed toward a new type of pump dispenser which employs combined inlet and outlet ports and a single means for opening and closing these ports in suitable sequence. This dispenser is characterized by a simplified structure having fewer and less complicated components and manufacturable at significantly reduced cost. This dispenser also has other advantages as described in more detail below.

Pump dispenser with combined inlet and outlet ports


A retractable awning which finds a particular use on recreational vehicles, mobile homes or the like having slide-out units is mounted on the side of the vehicle and has longitudinally extensible support arms that support a roll bar having the outer edge of an awning sheet secured thereto with the inner edge being secured to the side wall of the vehicle. The awning is movable between a retracted position adjacent to the side wall of the vehicle and an extended position with the support arms being biased toward their extended position with internal gas springs so that initial movement of the awning from the retracted to the extended position allows the support arms to automatically longitudinally extend providing a large arc for the roll bar which allows it to clear or extend above and beyond an extended slide-out unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to retractable awnings, and more particularly to a retractable awning for use on a recreational vehicle with the awning being particularly useful over a slide-out unit found in some recreational vehicles, mobile homes and the like.
2. Description of the Known Art
Many relatively new mobile homes, recreational vehicles or the like are provided with a large rectangular opening in one side wall thereof in which a box-like enclosure commonly referred to as a "slide-out unit" is disposed for slidable movement between a retracted and extended position. When the slide-out unit is extended, it forms a perpendicular extension from the side wall of the mobile home, thereby enlarging the internal usable space. When the unit is retracted, it is drawn into the interior of the mobile home and the unit is normally only retracted when the mobile home is transported. When the slide-out unit is retracted, an outer wall of the slide-out unit, which is parallel with the side wall in which the unit is mounted, becomes coplanar with the side wall. One problem with slide-out units has resided in the fact that debris such as leaves, blowing trash and the like will frequently collect on the top of the slide-out unit while the unit is extended, and when the unit is retracted into the interior of the mobile home, the debris is also brought into the interior.
It should also be noted that the outer wall of slide-out units frequently has a window therein, and it is sometimes desirable to provide a retractable awning for the window. While retractable awnings are available which may be used for such windows, they are limited in use to providing protection only for the window.
Awnings for recreational vehicles having slide-out units are known in the art, with an example of such being disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,056, which is of common ownership with the present application. In the awning disclosed in that patent, an awning sheet is secured along an inner edge to the side of the mobile home or the like, with the opposite edge being secured to a torsionally biased roll bar that is rotatably disposed on the outer ends of support arms pivotally mounted to the outer face of the slide-out unit. As the slide-out unit is extended, so too is the awning sheet so that it automatically covers the top of the unit when the unit is extended. The awning has the added advantage of being pivotable away from the outer wall of the slide-out unit so as to additionally serve as an awning over the window in the outer wall of the slideout unit.
While the awning described in the aforenoted U.S. Patent has met with notable success, there has been an expressed need for an awning that forms a cover for a slide-out unit, serves as an awning over a window in the slide-out unit and works independently of the slide-out unit so that the awning is not always deployed upon an extension of the slide-out unit.
It is to satisfy the additional desires of consumers having vehicles or mobile homes with slide-out units that the present invention has been developed.

Retractable awning for recreational vehicle or the like


A relay is provided having a contact set that is disposed in a cover and in a spring bracket, wherein the rows of contacts are isolated by an isolation configuration comprising at least one fixed partition provided on the cover and at least one oppositely oriented fixed partition provided on the spring bracket, and additionally at least one movable actuator is disposed in the space between the cover and the spring bracket, wherein the isolation configuration comprises two mutually parallel and mutually spaced-apart partitions provided on the cover and one partition provided on the spring bracket engaging between the partitions provided on the cover.

In relays of this type, the rows of contacts of the contact set are separated from each other either only by air paths or by movable or fixed ribs. Usually, an actuator is disposed between the ribs. The actuator is designed T-shaped or U-shaped and which is supported on the armature and on the movable parts.
EP 0 634 767 B1 discloses a relay having a contact set. In FIG. 2, the relay is shown with a cover and a spring bracket.
Two fixed partitions are disposed in each case on the cover and two fixed partitions are also disposed on the spring bracket situated thereunder. Between these partitions, a movable horizontal actuator having a vertical flange is disposed. The vertical flange is disposed between the partitions, partially covering the partitions of the cover and of the spring bracket. This achieves an isolation between the rows of contacts.
According to the prior art, it is therefore known that both the cover and the spring bracket have fixed vertical partitions, a movable actuator having at least one vertical flange being disposed therebetween. The desired isolation distance is therefore achieved by means of the fixed partitions and the movable vertical flange of the actuator.
With the subject matter of EP 0 192 928 A1, an electromagnetic relay according to the preamble of independent claims 1 to 3 has become known in which the partitions 25 provided on the cover extend over the partitions 23 provided on the spring bracket. The actuator, however, is disposed outside this space between the partitions provided on the cover and on the spring bracket, on the side wall of the cover. This results in a very space-consuming design, as the actuators are disposed on the outside of the mutually overlapping partitions, thus resulting in a very wide housing design. The drive of the actuator is disposed between the partitions in the center of the interior of the spring bracket, which is associated with the drawback that this makes the housing very wide. The contacts are disposed on the actuator actuating the contact springs. The actuator therefore is also the contact carrier. The actuator therefore cannot provide any additional isolating effect between the active and the passive contact springs. If unwanted contact erosion occurs in the region of the contact sets, unwanted malfunctions can occur, such as contact closure within a contact.
EP 0 954 001 A1, which relates to a similar electromagnetic relay, shows only a very short partition 71 provided on the cover that projects into the interior of the relay and engages into a V-shaped upwardly open groove 49 of two short V-shaped partitions 63 disposed on the top side of the spring bracket. This is associated with the drawback that no protection of the contacts is provided at all by the partition provided on the cover and the partitions provided on the spring bracket.
From DE 34 37 544 C2, a low-voltage relay has become known in which only a middle divider 26 is disposed between two contact chambers that engages with the lower free end thereof into a corresponding V-shaped, upwardly open groove between two legs on a spring bracket.
Each contact chamber houses one contact. The actuator is designed as a galvanically conductive element, and the contacts in the two contact chambers therefore are galvanically connected to one another. The middle divider 26 does in fact also have the function of preventing contact erosion from entering from one side into the other, but since the contacts of one chamber are galvanically connected to the contacts of the other chamber, isolation between the contacts on one side of the chamber and the contacts on the other side of the chamber is of no significance, as these are contacts that are galvanically connected to each other.
FIG. 1 shows an isolation configuration for a relay according to the prior art. The isolation configuration 1 substantially comprises a cover 2 and an opposed spring bracket 3.
On the cover 2, a vertically downwardly extending first partition 5 is disposed. The opposed spring bracket has a partition 6 extending vertically upward toward the cover. A movable actuator 4 is disposed between the two components that are the cover 2 and the spring bracket 3 and the associated partitions 5 and 6. The actuator 4 has two vertical flanges 7 that surround the two partitions 5 and 6. In the present embodiment, the isolation of the contact set is achieved via the two partitions 5 and 6 and the two flanges 7 of the movable actuator 4.
FIG. 2 shows a further embodiment according to the prior art. Here, the flanges 7 of the actuator are movably disposed between the vertical partitions 5 and 5′ of the cover 2 and the partitions 6 and 6′ of the spring bracket 3. This is the reversal of the embodiment according to FIG. 1, because there the flanges 7 and 7′ enclose the individual partitions 5 and 6.
The at least one actuator 4 is a part of the isolation configuration and acts as isolating separation between the two contact rows 11, 12. It is moved in the direction perpendicular to the drawing plane of the figures in the directions of arrow 10. In the prior art, the actuator 4 is integrated in a disadvantageous manner by the flange 7 thereof according to FIG. 2 or the flanges 7, 7′ according to FIG. 1 into the isolation configuration and deteriorates the leakage-current properties and isolation properties of the relay, as the insulating overlap of the stationary opposing partitions provided on the cover and on the spring bracket is deteriorated by the actuator 4 movable therebetween.

Relay having rows of contacts that are separated by an isolation configuration


The present invention provides a printed circuit board having an area of non-resist portion, where each non-resist portion expands gradually toward the back end of a land array in the dipping direction A. Thus the area of solder deposition also expands in the region of the land array, thereby excessive solder does not remain up to the back end of the land array, and resultantly the amount of solder buildup at the backside in the dipping direction A can be reduced. Further, the present invention makes it unnecessary to dispose a dummy land for the prevention of solder buildup at the backmost portion of the land array, and thus the space used for a dummy land can be utilized effectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printed circuit board having land arrays to which solder is applied by flow soldering when an electronic part, in particular an element having plural terminals aligned in a line like an IC, is mounted thereon.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the case of a land array for multiple terminals on a conventional printed circuit board, on which a surface mount IC element having plural terminals aligned in parallel is mounted by dip soldering, the length of the exposed portion, not covered with a resist, of each land has heretofore been identical. As a result, when flow soldering is applied, solder is likely to spread excessively at the backside, in the direction of flow, of the land array for multiple terminals and there is a tendency to form a solder buildup and cause short-circuiting between terminals.
With regard to the problem, Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 038663/1991 describes the technology that reduces the amount of solder buildup at a land having a reduced width by: forming a land the width of which reduces as the distance from the front end of the land increases toward the backside of the land in the direction of the flow of flow soldering; further forming a dummy land acting as a solder reservoir in the vicinity of the back end of the land; and thereby making use of the surface tension of molten solder.
Likewise, JP-A No. 290065/1998 describes the technology that reduces the amount of a solder buildup by: disposing a dummy land at one side of a land relative to the direction of the flow of flow soldering; connecting the dummy land to the land at the back end thereof in the direction of the flow of the flow soldering; and thereby making the dummy land absorb molten solder through the connection.
Further, JP-A No. 142810/2003 discloses the technology that makes short-circuiting hardly occur between terminals by: connecting the land, in a land array for multiple terminals, at the back end in the direction of the flow of flow soldering to a dummy land disposed on the backside of the land in the flow direction through a constricted portion; and making it difficult for the solder once introduced into the dummy land during flow soldering to flow back by the hindrance of the constricted portion.
Furthermore, Japanese Registered Utility Model No. 3088837 discloses the technology that makes short-circuiting hardly occur between terminals by means of: forming the land, in a land array for multiple terminals, at the back end in the direction of the flow of flow soldering so that the width thereof may be wider than those of the other lands; and dividing with silk the land of a wider width into two sections in the direction perpendicular to the direction of dipping.
However, there have been the following problems in the prior technologies explained above.
In order to solve the problem of solder buildup formed on the backside in the direction of the flow of flow soldering, in the above prior technologies, a dummy land is disposed in the vicinity of the relevant land where solder buildup is anticipated and the dummy land is used as a land for a solder reservoir to introduce excessive solder.
In the case of a land array for multiple terminals which is used for surface mount and tends to form solder buildup, since the spaces between adjacent terminals are narrow, it is not practical to adopt the technology disclosed in the aforementioned document of Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 038663/1991 or JP-A No. 290065/1998, wherein each land is provided with a dummy land. Further, when the technology described in the aforementioned document of JP-A No. 142810/2003 or Japanese Registered Utility Model No. 3088837 is applied, a space for the disposition of a dummy land or the like is inevitably required at the back end, in the direction of the flow of flow soldering, of an aligned land array. In addition, in the case of disposing a dummy land only at the back end, accumulated solder cannot be absorbed sufficiently in some cases.

Printed circuit board with soldering lands


An intelligent mobile product application control system capable of controlling product application by calculating control values on a per position basis from data that has traditionally been used to generate digital land area maps. The system includes a vehicle having coupled thereto at least one distributed network including at least one intelligent control module having a geographic raw data processor. The intelligent control module is responsive to raw geographic information data for controlling at least one actuator device in a manner that results in at least one predetermined product being applied to a predetermined geographic land area at variable rates determined by the raw geographic information data.

Present mobile product application control systems are generally designed for simple closed loop control of a multiple loop network or are otherwise directed generally toward a single open loop distributed network. At present, the maximum amount of loops that can be added to a multiple closed loop network typically would approach ten. Beyond this value, the overall packet structure and network control would become cumbersome, requiring significant redesign of the overall closed loop system.
A typical closed loop system is laid out with a host controller located within the cab of a vehicle, made up of a processor with associated input and output devices. This host controller is typically directly linked to a second controller located within the cab, which is responsible for all communication to devices on the chassis of the vehicle. Such a system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,773 to Ortlip, issued Dec. 23, 1986 entitled "Method and Apparatus for Spreading Fertilizer." Another system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,876 to Monson et al., issued Jun. 23, 1993 entitled "Variable Rate Application System" and assigned to the Assignee of the present invention. Both the '773 and '876 patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
In closed loop systems such as those stated above, the addition of loops as a result of further control requirements adds great complexity to the system wiring. This results in a realistic limit to the amount of loops that can be added to a single system. Beyond this limit, the amount of wiring becomes too great and routing the wiring is a considerable challenge. At present, it is felt that ten loops is the approximate limit for a single host system for the type described above.
Software construction also places many constraints on the design and application of a control system. The common top down design has certain flow characteristics that define a specific flow path within the operating system. This also limits the effective amount of devices that can be controlled with a single system, as eventually the communication link to the devices becomes the limiting factor.
The aforementioned software construction implies that any changes in the requirements, such as the inclusion of an additional loop on the vehicle, often causes sweeping changes within the code. This also has obvious trickle-down effects that are not desired within the flow structure of the program.
Thus, debugging and testing become required parts of the system maintenance, requiring large amounts of capital and time to assure a simple change has not caused greater errors elsewhere in the system (often occurring in totally unrelated places).
One solution to the many problems stated herein before was addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,924, to Monson et al., issued Sep. 26, 1995, entitled "Mobile Control System Responsive to Land Area Maps", and assigned to the Assignee of the present invention. The '924 patent is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein. The inventive system disclosed and claimed by Monson et al. in the '924 patent effectively eliminated the requirement for multiple closed loops by utilizing a single open loop distributed network. This was accomplished with the use of modern hardware and software capabilities. In particular, the system utilized object oriented software design as well as Microsoft.RTM. Windows.RTM. interfacing, distributed network controls and Echelon.TM. LonWorks.TM. network technology.
For the aforementioned reasons, it becomes immediately apparent that existing closed loop product application control system designs are by no means desirable, and entirely new approaches are required. While the solution provided by Monson et al. in the '924 patent addressed many of the problems associated with closed loop product application control systems, a need still exists for a system architecture which, to a great extent, is independent of the media and network protocol utilized. The present invention described in detail hereinafter offers an additional solution to the stated problems.

Intelligent Mobile product application control system


A carpet washing attachment with a vacuum hose attached to a washing head with a liquid line feeding water/cleaning fluid into washing head is disclosed. Washing head is formed of hollow members and a cover sealed to the top washing head with the vacuum hose attached to the cover. This forms cleaning area which is surrounded by the hollow members. Each of the hollow members has water jet holes located on the inner part of the washing head such that the water exiting the holes is projected inward so that the jets of water come to an apex and intersect at a given distance X from the bottom of the washing head. The angle of the jets and the spacing of members should be chosen such that the distance X is roughly the depth of the carpet pile to be washed.

Many carpet washing devices are known in the art. The various known devices always have to balance the wear on the carpet with the amount of cleaning provided. Many carpet cleaning devices have rotating brushes to scrub the carpet, however, this causes wear of the carpet fibers. In prior art carpet washing devices the water jet was given access to the base of the carpet pile by moving brushes contacting the carpet pile and moving to one side, allowing the water jets access to the base of the carpet pile. This contact of the brushes with the carpet pile increases wear on the carpet and can damage the carpet over time. The present design eliminates or reduces the manual friction of the carpet caused by the brushes.
Carpet cleaning devices that merely spray water on which is then vacuumed up are known, however this are generally less effective in getting dirt out of the carpet, particularly out of pile of the carpet.
The foregoing example of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.


A method for imparting stress to the channel region of a transistor is provided. In accordance with the method, a semiconductor layer (307) is provided which has a dielectric layer (305) disposed beneath it. A trench (319) is created which extends through the semiconductor layer and into the dielectric layer, and the trench is backfilled with a stressor material (320), thereby forming a trench isolation structure. A channel region (326) is defined in the semiconductor layer adjacent to the trench isolation structure.

The use of a thin layer of strained silicon in the channel layer of CMOS devices has been found to improve the performance characteristics of these devices. The presence of strain in the channel layer causes the individual silicon atoms within that layer to be forced farther apart or closer together in their lattice structure than would be the case in the unstrained material. The larger or smaller lattice spacing results in a change in the electronic band structure of the device such that current carriers (i.e., electrons and holes) have higher mobilities within the channel layer, thereby resulting in higher currents in the transistor and faster circuit speeds.
In CMOS devices, strained channel layers may be achieved by imparting local mechanical stresses to the device. Electron mobility, and therefore NMOS performance, may be improved by imparting tensile stress along (i.e., parallel to) the direction of current flow or orthogonal to the direction of current flow. Hole mobility, and therefore PMOS performance, may be enhanced by imparting compressive stress parallel to the direction of current flow, and by imparting tensile stress perpendicular to the direction of current flow.

Deep STI trench and SOI undercut enabling STI oxide stressor


A method measuring a body fat by using a body fat measurement device including an optical detector and at least two light sources, the method including: detecting an optical signal which is scattered by a biological tissue by the optical detector, and measuring a first optical signal intensity and a second optical signal intensity; calculating a slope the first optical signal intensity and the second optical signal intensity by using a distance between a first light source unit and a second light source unit, and a difference between the first optical signal intensity and the second optical signal intensity, the first optical signal intensity corresponding to the first light source unit and the second optical signal intensity corresponding to the second light source unit; and measuring a thickness of body fat of the biological tissue from the calculated slope.

1. Field
The present invention relates to a body fat measurement device and method, and more particularly, to a body fat measurement device and method which can measure a thickness of body fat by using a relation between a distance of at least two light sources and an optical signal intensity which is detected from a biological tissue corresponding to each light source.
2. Description of the Related Art
Health and beauty are critical issues for people living in modern society, accordingly a wellbeing trend seeking a healthy and enjoyable life is currently booming. One criterion for health estimation is measuring an obesity rate. There are various methods of measuring the obesity rate, and a body fat ratio is usually one of criteria for measuring the obesity rate, and also the body fat ratio may be one criterion for people on a diet for beauty purposes.
The methods of measuring a body fat ratio include a body average density measurement measuring weight in the water, a skinfold test calculating the body fat ratio by measurement thickness of fat in a specific point of a body, a body impedance analysis calculating the body fat ratio by measuring a resistance in a body by flowing a weak current in the body, a weight and waist relation table measuring the body fat ratio by using a weight and a waist size, and the like. However these methods need mostly complicated equipment and are inaccurate when measuring the body fat ratio.
Currently, a body fat measurement method using a light is suggested to readily and accurately measure body fat with a simple equipment. A body fat measurement device using the light is based on a theory that when a light emitted from a light source is emitted at a measurement point of a body, backward scattering occurs in the body, and subsequently a body fat is measured by measuring a scattered optical signal using an optical detector.
In comparison to other body fat measurement methods, the above-described body fat measurement method is non-invasive, and may quickly measure the thickness of body fat. Accordingly, the body fat measurement device is manufactured in a small size and is generally included in a portable device. Here, the accuracy of measurement must be guaranteed without being restricted to a certain time, place, or operator when measuring the thickness of body fat. However, a portable body fat measurement device according to the conventional art is manufactured in a small size, and constructed as a portable device or installed in a mobile terminal and the like. Thus, the portable body fat measurement device may not accurately measure the thickness of body fat at all times.
Accordingly, a body fat measurement device which a user can carry without restriction to a certain time or a certain place, and accurately measure thickness of body fat is required.

Body fat measurement apparatus and method of operating the apparatus


A microscope apparatus includes a microscope, and a time-resolved spectroscopy unit, a first light-guiding unit for guiding light from the speetroscopy unit into the microscope, a second light-guiding unit for guiding the light from the microscope into the spectroscopy unit. The microscope includes an illuminating optical system and an observing optical system. The time-resolved spectroscopy unit includes an ultrashort optical pulse source, a beam splitter for splitting the ultrashort optical pulse into a reference beam and another beam, an optical system for generating a pump beam and a probe beam from the beam other than the reference beam, and an imaging device for time-resolved spectroscopy for capturing an interference pattern formed by the light guided by the second light-guiding unit and the reference beam. A two-dimensional lightwave conversion optical system is interposed between the second light-guiding unit and the imaging device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microscope apparatus capable of carrying out time-resolved spectroscopy in a minute region under microscope observation.
This application is based on patent application Nos. 2004-182923, 2004-214699, 2004-217543, and 2004-218950 filed in Japan, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
An example of a known technology for carrying out time-resolved spectroscopy using a microscope is described below.
According to such a known technology, pulsed laser beams are focused on a subject and fluorescence emission produced at a minute area in the vicinity of the focal point is detected. Then, the energy transfer is measured based on the characteristics of how the fluorescence emission changes over time.
According to this technology, the environment of a fluorescent molecule included in a specimen can be analyzed based on the fact that the fluorescence lifetime of the molecule changes depending on the distance between the fluorescent molecule and other fluorescent molecules.
Recently, in the technical fields of optical communication and physical measurement, optical signals that change within an extremely short period of time on the order of picoseconds (1 ps=10−12 s) to femtoseconds (1 fs=10−15 s) are often used. The change of an optical signal within such an extremely short time period can be observed by a measuring device with excellent time resolution, for example, a time-resolved spectroscopy apparatus such as a time/2D-space conversion optical system.
The time/2D-space conversion optical system includes a diffraction grating, a one-dimensional Fourier transformation optical system, a time-to-frequency conversion filter, and a one-dimensional inverse Fourier transformation optical system.
Observation of an optical signal using such a time/2D-space conversion optical system is carried out as described below.
First, a signal beam having a plane wavefront is incident at an angle on the diffraction grating to obtain a diffracted beam whose propagation direction and spatial phase distribution intersect at an angle equal to the incident angle of the signal beam to the diffraction grating.
Next, Fourier transformation is performed on the horizontal component of the diffracted beam by the one-dimensional Fourier transformation optical system to obtain the spectral distribution of the signal beam as a spatial distribution.
The spectral distribution obtained in such a manner is filtered using the time-to-frequency conversion filter, which is disposed at a position where the spectral distribution is projected, so that the frequency of the extracted frequency components increases sequentially in the vertical direction.
Inverse Fourier transformation is performed on the horizontal components of the filtered lightwave by the one-dimensional inverse Fourier transformation optical system to obtain a lightwave distribution representing time delay in the horizontal direction and the distribution of the extracted spectral components in the vertical direction. A quasi-two-dimensional spectrogram is formed on the plane intersecting with the horizontal direction representing different degrees of time delay in the lightwave distribution.
By emitting a reference transform-limited (TL) pulse wavefront on the plane intersecting with the horizontal direction representing different degrees of time delay in the lightwave distribution so that the plane matches the wave surface of the emitted plane wavefront, an interference pattern caused by the lightwave distribution and the reference TL pulse wavefront is generated on the plane.
The interference pattern generated in such a manner corresponds to the change in intensity of the lightwave distribution over time. Therefore, by analyzing this interference pattern, information on the amplitude and phase of the signal beam to be measured can be obtained.


A method for determining a salt concentration of a hydrocarbon fluid using a conductivity sensor and a hydrocarbon testing solution includes forming the hydrocarbon testing solution. The electropolymerizable monomer is operable to form a resultant associated polymer at a peak potential of the electropolymerizable polymer. The method includes introducing the hydrocarbon testing solution into the conductivity sensor. The method includes inducing a range of potential across the hydrocarbon testing solution such that at least a portion of the electropolymerizable monomer polymerizes. The range of induced potential includes the peak potential of the electropolymerizable polymer. The method includes detecting a range of electrical current associated with the range of potential induced. The method also includes the step of determining the salt concentration of the hydrocarbon fluid using the range of potential induced and the range of electrical current detected.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to processing hydrocarbon fluids. More specifically, the field relates to an apparatus, method and system for monitoring salts in a hydrocarbon fluid.
2. Description of the Related Art
The amount of salt in a hydrocarbon fluid is a significant factor in several types of transport and refining process problems. Fouling, deactivation of catalyst and severe corrosion are indications of long-term exposure to salt in a feed. The type and amount of salt in the hydrocarbon fluid depends mostly on the source, which in turn can reflect the severity in which hydrocarbons are being drawn from the source or the overall age of the source field. In addition, residual salt water from shipment tankers or handling mishaps can also contaminate the hydrocarbon fluid to a point where the consumer cannot effectively process it. The presence of salt in the hydrocarbon fluid, even as low as in the parts per million (ppm) range, can cause significant damage to refining and chemical processing equipment over a short period.
Dispersed, small water droplets in the hydrocarbon fluid dissolve and retain the salt. The chemical composition of the salt can vary; however, typically the salt found in produced hydrocarbon fluid is sodium chloride with lesser amounts of calcium and magnesium chlorides.
The determination of the salt concentration in the hydrocarbon fluid, especially hydrocarbon fluids made of a crude oil or a natural gas condensate, takes significant amount of effort using current methods. Current testing techniques cannot reliability or with the necessary sensitivity (sub-ppm) determine salt concentration in a timely manner. Laboratory testing and offline measurements are the only reliable means for accurately determining salt concentration in the hydrocarbon fluid to this level. American Standard Test Methods (ASTM) D 3230 & D 6470 are the standardized laboratory tests for measuring the salt concentration in a crude oil. ASTM D 3230 is an electrometric method that requires extensive sample preparation with numerous solvents, including xylene, 1 butanol and methyl alcohol. ASTM D 6470, a potentiometric technique, requires extensive sample preparation as well as additional equipment and labor. Besides being off-line and not expedient, the other procedural and equipment requirements for both of these methods limit their application towards online or "real time" salt concentration determination. As with any testing method, the "human element" can also inadvertently influence the results and add a layer of variability.
Current online salinity sensors depend on directly testing non-conductive paraffinic materials in an attempt to detect the presence of an electroactive specie (that is, salt) in the bulk fluid. Existing sensors use conductive electrodes inserted into flowing crude oil. The salinity sensors apply potential directly into the hydrocarbon fluid in an attempt to determine conductivity of the bulk fluid. This technique sacrifices the testing apparatus by having anodic and cathodic ions directly attack the elements of the apparatus. Corrosion on the sensor probes occurs due to conductive-metal reduction-oxidation reactions on both the working and counter electrodes when water is present. The salts also precipitate directly onto the surface of the probes. Salt on the surface of the probes causes physical deterioration through galvanic pitting even during periods of non-use. Modification to the probe surface area also changes the meaning of surface-area sensitive responses, for example, surface current density or voltage per unit area. The technique is also not accurate because of the general non-conductivity of the bulk hydrocarbon fluid. The presence of heavy paraffin materials can also cause variations in salinity values. As for the method of testing, conductivity can change when a shift in temperature occurs, leading to varying salinity values for the same hydrocarbon fluid sample.
Measuring the salt content in hydrocarbon fluid down to the sub-ppm level before introducing the material to transportation, refining or a desalting process is desirable. Currently, there are no useful techniques to determine salt concentration to the ppm level considered both expeditious and reliable enough to meet commercial transportation and refining needs. A testing apparatus, method and system that makes it possible for expedient salinity determination is desirable. The apparatus and system should be reliable and resilient in the hydrocarbon fluid, especially in use with a salinity treatment system.

Apparatus, method and system for detecting salt in a hydrocarbon fluid


A wet electrolytic capacitor that includes a sintered porous anode body containing a dielectric layer, a fluid electrolyte, and a cathode is provided. At least one longitudinally extending channel is recessed into the anode body. The channel may have a relatively high aspect ratio (length divided by width), such as about 2 or more, in some embodiments about 5 or more, in some embodiments from about 10 to about 200, in some embodiments from about 15 to about 150, in some embodiments from about 20 to about 100, and in some embodiments, from about 30 to about 60.

Wet tantalum capacitors are increasingly being used in the design of circuits due to their volumetric efficiency, reliability, and process compatibility. Such capacitors typically have a larger capacitance per unit volume than certain other types of capacitors, making them valuable in high-current, high power and low-frequency electrical circuits. Also, the unit cell voltage in this type of capacitor is generally higher due to the formation of a dielectric metal oxide film over the anode surface. Thus, wet tantalum capacitors are often used in applications where high capacitance, high voltages, good reliability, and a long operation life are needed, such as medical, industrial, defense, aerospace, drilling, etc. More particularly, in these applications, the wet tantalum capacitors are typically employed as filtering/coupling capacitors for DC/DC converter circuits. One problem with the conventional wet tantalum capacitors used in such circuits, however, is that they generally require a very large size (volume) to achieve a high level of capacitance and power output for the DC/DC converter circuit. Furthermore, attempts to reduce the size of such capacitors with an equivalent level of electrical performance have proven to be problematic.
As such, a need currently exists for a wet capacitor that is capable of exhibiting good volumetric efficiency, both in terms of its capacitance and its ability to help increase the power output of the circuit in which it is employed.

Wet electrolytic capacitor containing an improved anode


A Ficus maclellandii plant that has wide leaves and is tolerant of stress conditions and has rapid growth habit.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of the Ficus maclellandii. The varietal denomination of the new cultivar is Ficus `Amstel King`.
The new variety was discovered as a mutation in a controlled planting of Ficus maclellandii in a greenhouse in Aalsmeer, The Netherlands. The mutation did not result from tissue culture but was isolated in a glass house as a discovered mutation.

Ficus maclellandii plant named Ficus Amstel King


A cordless phone includes a base station coupled to a local line and a personal station communicating with the base station by radio. The base station includes a first channel unit for operatively coupling the personal station to the line so that communication between the personal station and an external station connected to the local line is carried out via the local line and the base station. A second channel unit is provided in the phone for operatively coupling the personal station to a digital highway through which digital data is transmitted so that extension communication between the personal station and an internal station, such as electric equipment, connected to the digital highway, is carried out via the digital highway and the base station. The cordless phone further has a switching circuit for selectively activating either one of the first or second channel units, based on control information supplied from the local line, the personal station or the digital highway.

(1) Field of the invention
The present invention generally relates to a cordless phone and a cordless phone system using such cordless phone, and more particularly to a cordless phone and a cordless phone system in which an extension communication between cordless phones and control of domestic electric equipments can be performed.
(2) Description of related art
Recently, demand for cordless phones has been rapidly grown because of the convenience thereof. There is a case where many cordless phones are used in a large office. In addition, a cordless phone system has been also proposed in which a plurality of cordless phones are connected to a PBX so that an extension communication between the cordless phones, general calling to the cordless phones, a paging operation, calls to other stations via an outside line, data transmission and so on can be performed. There is a desire for simple and high performance cordless phone systems to be used in small offices and homes.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional cordless phone. Referring to FIG. 1, a cordless phone is constituted of a base station 1 and a personal station 16. The base station 1 has a local line interface 2, a personal station interface 8, a channel switch 6, a tone signal source 7 generating tone signals such as a ringing tone signal (RT), and controller 15. The channel switch 6 selectively makes a channel between the local line interface 2 and the personal station interface 8 and a channel between the tone signal source 7 and the personal station interface 8. The local line interface 2 is connected to a local line and has a hook circuit 3 (F) performing an open/close control of a loop, a call detecting circuit 4 for detecting a calling signal and a sender 5 sending dialing signals (push-button signals). The personal station interface 8 has a voice-band processing circuit 9, a mixer 10, a radio unit 11 including a control channel and a voice channel, an MSK modem 12 and a data transmitter-receiver 13 connected to an antenna 14. The MSK modem 12 converts 1/0 digital signals respectively into 1200/1800 Hz analog signals and vice versa. The controller 15 controls the local interface 2, the channel switch 6 and the personal station interface 8.
When a calling signal transmitted via the local line is received by the base station 1, a detecting signal C output from the call detecting circuit 4 is supplied to the controller 15. The controller 15 supplies the lamp signal L and a switching signal S respectively to the personal station interface 8 and the channel switch 6. Due to the switching signal S, the channel switch 6 makes a channel connecting the tone signal source 7 to the personal station interface 8 so that the tone ringer signal (TR) is supplied to the personal station interface 8. The lamp signal L is converted into an analog signal by the MSK modem 12 and supplied to the radio unit 11 via the mixer 10. Then the lamp signal L is transmitted from the control channel of the radio unit 11 to the personal station 16. As a result, a calling lamp of the personal station 16 is turned on. A frequency band of the tone ringer signal (TR) is limited to a predetermined band by the voice-band processing circuit 9, and mixed with an MKS signal by the mixer 10. A signal corresponding to the tone ringer signal (TR) is supplied from the mixer 10 to the radio unit 11, and transmitted via the voice channel of the radio unit 11 to the personal station 16. As a result, a tone ringer is made to ring in the personal station 16. At this time, when an off-hook operation of the personal station 16 occurs, an off-hook signal F is supplied to the controller 15 via the data transmitter/receiver 13. The controller 15 causes the hook circuit 3 to be in an off-hook state and supplies a switching signal to the channel switch 6. The channel switch 6 makes a channel between the local line interface 2 and the personal station interface 8, so that communication between the personal station 16 and calling station can be performed via the base station 1.
In a case where the personal station 16 calls another station, first, an off-hook operation of the personal station is carried out. The off-hook signal depending on the off-hook operation F is transmitted from the personal station 16 to the base station 1 by radio and supplied to the controller 15 via the data transmitter/receiver 13. The controller 15 causes the hook circuit 3 to be in the off-hook state and supplies a switching signal S to the channel switch so that the channel between the local line interface 2 and the personal station interface 8 is formed. Under this condition, an operator of the personal station 16 recognizes a dial tone and carries out a dialling operation. Dial data D depending on the dialling operation in the personal station 16 is supplied to the controller 15 via the data transmitter/receiver 13. The controller 15 supplies the dial data D to the sender 5 and the sender 5 supplies a dialling signal corresponding to the dial data D to the local line.
The above conventional cordless phone can carry out communication with an external station via an outside line (the local line). However, in a system having a plurality of the above conventional cordless telephones, extension communication between the cordless telephones cannot be performed. If the base station 1 is constituted so that a plurality of personal stations 16 are coupled thereto, extension communication between personal stations 16 can be performed via the base station 1. However, in this case, the number of channels which can be provided in the base station 1 and an area where radio communication between personal stations and the base station 1 can be performed are limited, and the cost thereof increases.
FIG. 2 shows a conventional telephone exchange system using a PBX. Referring to FIG. 2, two cordless phones are connected to a PBX 21. The cordless phones are constituted of base stations 1 and 1' and personal stations 16 and 16'. The PBX 21 has line circuits 22 connected to the base stations 1 and 1' of the cordless phones, a digital exchange network 29, a trunk circuit 30 and a controller 33. Each of the line circuits 22 accommodates a 2W subscriber line connected to the base station 1 (1') of a corresponding cordless phone. Each of the line circuits 22 has a loop detecting circuit 23, a battery feed and ringing circuit 24, a terminating circuit 25 of the subscriber line, a 2-to-4 wire converter 26, a coder 27 and a decoder 28. The trunk circuit 30 has a DC detecting circuit 31 and a loop open/close circuit 32. The trunk circuit 30 has also the terminating circuit 25 of a local line, the 2-to-4 wire converter 26, the coder 27 and the decoder 28 in the same manner as each of the line circuits 22. The PBX 21 can be connected with analog telephones, digital telephones and domestic electric equipments controlled by the digital telephone. The controller 33 controls the line circuits 22, the exchange network 29 and the trunk circuit 30.
In the conventional telephone exchanging system shown in FIG. 2, when a first cordless phone calls a second cordless phone, the PBX 21 forms a channel between the base station 1 of the first cordless phone and the base station 1' of the second cordless phone. As a result, an extension communication between the first and second cordless phones can be carried out via the PBX 21.
In the PBX 21, the battery feed and ringing circuit 24 must supply a voltage of 48v to the 2W-subscriber line so that a loop current in a rage of 10-30 mA is supplied to the 2-W subscriber line. Under this condition of the PBX 21, each of the cordless phones can be normally operated. This condition is the same as that to be satisfied in an exchange provided in a public communication network. The PBX satisfying the above condition is expensive, so that it is difficult to introduce the PBX to a system used for small offices and homes.
Due to decreasing the voltage supplied to the 2W-subscriber line and to limitation of the current supplied to the 2W-subscriber line, the cost of the PBX can decrease. Such PBX is often referred to as a simplified switching unit. However, in the system provided with the simplified switching unit, electrical characteristics thereof are sacrificed for the cost. In addition, a degree of decreasing of the cost is small.

Cordless phone and cordless phone system using such cordless phone


An electrical fuse (e-fuse) includes a fuse link including a silicided semiconductor layer over a dielectric layer covering a gate conductor. The silicided semiconductor layer is non-planar and extends orthogonally over the gate conductor. A first terminal is electrically coupled to a first end of the fuse link, and a second terminal is electrically coupled to a second end of the fuse link. The fuse link may be formed in the same layer as an intrinsic and/or extrinsic base of a bipolar transistor. The gate conductor may control a current source for programming the e-fuse. The e-fuse reduces the footprint and the required programming energy compared to conventional e-fuses.

The present disclosure relates to integrated circuits, and more specifically, to a non-planar silicided semiconductor electrical fuse.
Different parts of an integrated circuit (IC) may be coupled using an electrical fuse (e-fuse). E-fuses can be 'programmed' to change interconnections within the IC. More particularly, metal within the fuse link can be caused to migrate by application of a prescribed current controlled by a transistor. Once sufficient metal has migrated, the fuse link is open or blown, stopping current from passing through the fuse. One challenge presented by electrical fuses is that they occupy a large footprint in ICs due to the size of the fuse and the associated current source needed to program them. Electrical fuses also include a planar fuse link that has a large footprint. Typically, the size of the e-fuse is limited by the size of the gate conductors within a particular technology node. Accordingly, one approach to reduce the size of e-fuses includes reducing the fuse link size to the minimum gate conductor length allowed by a technology node.

Non-planar silicided semiconductor electrical fuse


The present invention relates to a bicycle seat providing comfort during both leisure and high performance riding. The invention comprises a suspension frame system, an adjustable nose pad, an arcuate seat pad with a center opening, a movable nose pad, and a gap between the nose pad and the seat pad.

1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to a bicycle seat providing comfort during both leisure and high performance riding.
2. Description of Related Art
Note that the following discussion refers to a number of publications by author(s) and year of publication, and that due to recent publication dates certain publications are not to be considered as prior art vis-a-vis the present invention. Discussion of such publications herein is given for more complete background and is not to be construed as an admission that such publications are prior art for patentability determination purposes.
Methods and devices for providing comfortable seats and/or seats that do not adversely affect a bicycle rider's health are known. Suspension bicycle seats and seats with cutouts intended to prevent damage to a rider's body, particularly in the groin area, have been designed and marketed. The common approaches to providing comfort and safety in bicycle seats is to soften the padding and/or remove rigid structures from the area where the rider comes into contact with the seat, or to remove the portion of a seat that most often comes into contact with the more delicate portions of a rider's body. Suspension systems such as springs are also employed.
For example, the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,626 (to Katz) discloses a ring-shaped, padded seat with no nose or suspension apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 6,113,184 (to Barnes) discloses a seat with a suspension system and no nose. U.S. Pat. No. 620,946 (to Meisselbach) discloses a seat with a resilient frame and a movable nose. U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,606 (to Granzotto) discloses a fairly conventional seat with a nose that is movable at a downward angle. U.S. Pat. No. 575,509 (to Newell) discloses a ring-like and spring-like seat frame with no nose.
The typical approaches to designing a comfortable, safe saddle are often suited for leisure bicycle riding but offer no advantage, and are often a hindrance, to high performance riding. Typical designs used for high performance riding, on the other hand, provide little comfort. There is a need for a suspension bicycle seat that is well suited for both leisure bicycle riding and high performance riding that can provide enhanced comfort without detracting from high performance efficiency.


Systems and methods are directed to proppant flowback control. A method includes coating resin onto proppant at a well site and pumping the coated proppant into a wellbore during a fracking operation. The method further includes pumping an activator for the resin into the wellbore to displace the coated proppant into at least one fracture during the fracking operation. The pumping of the coated proppant and the pumping of the activator are performed separately.

Hydrocarbon producing wells may be stimulated by hydraulic fracturing treatments. In hydraulic fracturing treatments, a fracturing fluid is pumped into a producing zone of a subterranean formation such that one or more fractures are formed in the zone. Proppant, such as sand, for propping the fractures is suspended in the fracturing fluid such that the proppant is deposited in the fractures.
The proppant in the fractures prevents the fractures from closing resulting in conductive channels to produce formation fluid. However, many hydraulically fractured wells, especially unconventional wells, are facing proppant flowback issues, impacting production and damaging equipment.

Methodology to consolidate sand or proppant with resin in two steps