Methods and systems may be used for performing computer-simulated evaluation of treatments. For example, the method may include: for each of a plurality of patients, receiving one or more patient-specific anatomical and/or physiological models; selecting, from the plurality of patients, a set of patients that have one or more common characteristics; for each patient in an experimental group, modifying at least one model of the respective one or more patient-specific models to obtain at least one modified patient-specific model that models an effect of an evaluation treatment on the respective patient, and calculating a value of an evaluation endpoint based on the respective at least one modified patient-specific model; and comparing the calculated values of the evaluation endpoint with one or more control values of the evaluation endpoint for patients that satisfy the one or more selection criterion.

Clinical trials may be used to assess the performance of new medical and healthcare treatments, such as new medications, devices, and procedures, in order to establish their safety and efficacy prior to potential commercialization and clinical adoption. However, clinical trials may be expensive and may pose business risks as well as risks to patients, due to the possibility of unexpected negative outcomes.
Given the expense and risks of clinical trials, there is a need for systems and methods to perform digitally simulated trials of treatments in a manner analogous to clinical trials. The results of the digital trials may then be used to assess whether it is worthwhile to pursue clinical trials on live patients or to further invest in the treatment technology. Various embodiments of the present disclosure address one or more of these above-referenced challenges.
The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art, or suggestions of the prior art, by inclusion in this section.

Systems and methods for performing computer-simulated evaluation of treatments on a target population


A positive resist composition comprising: (A) a compound capable of generating an acid on exposure to active light rays or a radiation; (B) a resin which is insoluble or sparingly soluble in an alkali and becomes alkali-soluble by an action of an acid; and (D) an acyclic compound having at least three groups selected from a hydroxyl group and a substituted hydroxyl group.

A chemically amplified positive-working resist composition is a patterning material which generates an acid on exposure to an radiation, such as far ultraviolet light, undergoes acid-catalyzed reaction to create a change in solubility in a developing solution between the exposed area and the non-exposed area thereby to form a pattern on a substrate.
A photosensitive system designed to be exposed to light from a KrF excimer laser mainly comprises a resin having a polyhydroxystyrene skeleton which exhibits a small absorption primarily at 248 nm. It is a better system than a conventional naphthoquinonediazide/novolak resin system, enjoying high sensitivity, high resolution, and satisfactory patterning performance.
When a light source of shorter wavelength, e.g., an ArF excimer laser (193 nm), is used as an exposure source, however, the above-described chemically amplified system is insufficient because the compound having an aromatic group essentially exhibits a large absorption at 193 nm.
Use of poly(meth)acrylate as a polymer having a small absorption at 193 nm is reported in J. Vac, Sci. Technol., B9, 1991, 3357. This polymer is disadvantageous in that it has lower resistance to dry etching generally involved in semiconductor device fabrication than conventional phenolic resins having an aromatic group.
To cope with the ever increasing demands for finer patterning and higher throughput, it has now come to be important to reduce exposure errors. Conventional resists have narrow exposure latitude and considerable line edge roughness (LER), which have been a bar to increase the throughput. Further, with the recent trend toward finer dimensions of resist patterns, collapse of a resist pattern has become problematic due to a high aspect ratio of height to width of resist lines. The pattern collapse problem is particularly conspicuous with resists designed for ArF, electron beam (EB), vacuum ultraviolet (UVU) or extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiations. The term "pattern collapse" as used herein is intended to include any pattern collapse phenomena irrespective of the causes, for example, insufficient adhesion and insufficient film strength.


The present invention may comprise a reflector for a luminaire comprising: a first reflector means; a second reflector means structured as a ballast reflector; a third reflector means; and a fourth reflector means located and structured to reflect light reflected from the first reflector segment; wherein the reflectors precisely direct light into a desired candela distribution for illuminating surfaces evenly at desired angles.

Light fixtures such as fluorescent light fixtures and their associated components may be termed "luminaires" in the art. For example a luminaire may be defined as a complete lighting unit comprising a lamp or lamps together with a housing designed to distribute the light, to position and to protect the lamps, and to connect the lamps to a power supply. Thus, it is common to use a reflector as a component of the luminaire to redistribute the light from the lamps in a desired direction. Parabolic reflectors for example, are widely in luminaires to direct light in a single direction. Elliptical reflectors are also used in luminaires to direct light to a single point. It follows that the chosen shape or contour of the reflector determines in large part the distribution and intensities of reflected light.
Additionally, the formalized study of ornamental lighting and professional lighting design, and the expectation of a typical user, has become more rigorous. For example, when a sign on an office building is illuminated, modern users expect the lighting to be of desired intensity and to be projected onto the target surface accurately and uniformly with minimal spill light and without streaking or intensity lines. Additionally, users do not want to see the lamp itself or the glare from the lamp. Thus, there is a need to rigorously study and further develop shaped reflectors used as luminaires in the art.
The present invention represents at least an improvement over the original Elliptipar™ reflector (U.S. Pat. No. 3,679,893) designed by one of the present applicants. The original reflector design used a single elliptical segment and two parabolic segments. The new design uses four segments including a ballast cover, with multiple sub-segments as described below.
The present invention discloses advantages as compared to the art as described in detail below.


An apparatus for hot-probing integrated semiconductor circuits on wafers is disclosed that includes a support device for accommodating the wafer, a measurement card with electronic circuitry for functional verification of the integrated semiconductor circuits on the wafers, and a test head with contact needles which establishes an electrical contact between the measurement card and the integrated semiconductor circuits, wherein a detachable and coolable shield plate is provided between the measurement card and wafer in order to protect the apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for hot-probing integrated semiconductor circuits on wafers.
2. Description of the Background Art
Integrated semiconductor circuits are used in engine and transmission sections of automobiles, for example, where they are exposed to continuously changing temperature ranges reaching temperatures of 300° C. The thermal stresses must be taken into account as early as the manufacture and testing of the integrated semiconductor circuits. Once integrated semiconductor circuits have been fabricated, they undergo functional verification in a test step while they are still integrated in the wafer, which is to say before singulation.
The goal of the test process is to test the electrical functionality of the circuits at temperatures of up to 300° C. Testing at these temperatures is referred to as hot-probing of the wafer.
An apparatus for hot-probing the wafers includes a movable support device for the wafers, known as a hot chuck, upon which the wafers are heated to the desired temperatures. In addition, the apparatus for hot-probing contains a measurement card with electronic circuits arranged thereupon, by which the functionality of the integrated semiconductor circuits on the wafer can be checked. Arranged on the underside of the measurement card and connected in a force-locking manner thereto by a retaining mechanism is a test head with contact needles, referred to as a spider. The contact needles establish the electrical contact between the measurement card and the semiconductor circuits to be tested on the wafer. Once the wafer has been positioned, by the movable support device, beneath the test head at the correct point (in the x and y positions), the support device is moved upward (z position) and the contact needles penetrate the contact layer, which preferably is designed as an aluminum layer. In this context, an insulating metal oxide layer on the surface must be overcome when contact is made, especially in the case of contact surfaces containing aluminum. After the function of one integrated semiconductor circuit has been tested, the wafer is advanced to the next component, and contact is made again, until the desired circuits have been measured. During contact, the electronic circuits on the measurement card transmit test signals and evaluate the response signals coming back from the individual integrated semiconductor circuits on the wafer.
As a result of the high test temperatures, the measurement card and the associated electronics are exposed to very high stresses, which can significantly reduce the service life of the testing apparatus and, in particular, can lead to distortion of the electrical measurement results. Moreover, the measurement card deforms under the influence of heat, so that bending can occur in the center of the measurement card and the contact needles move out of the contact areas. Consequently, the apparatus must be readjusted, resulting in time losses and added costs.
DE 100 60 437 A1 teaches a needle card arrangement for parallel testing of a plurality of integrated circuits on a wafer, comprising a printed circuit board and a measurement card with multiple electronic circuit systems known as BOST (Build Outside Self Test) modules for functional verification of the integrated semiconductor circuits on the wafers. With the aid of test pattern generators, the BOST modules provide test signals to contact needles, which establish an electrical contact between the measurement card and the integrated semiconductor circuits. Provided between the printed circuit board and measurement card are heat dissipating means, or intermediate layers between the printed circuit board and measurement card, or openings in the printed circuit board for delivery of a coolant fluid. However, the means employed serve only to dissipate the waste heat generated by the BOST modules in operation; they are not suitable for removing the great heat produced by the hot chucks during hot-probing of wafers and thereby protecting the measurement card from the effects of heat.
In addition, WO 00/19215, which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,110 discloses a test apparatus for probing integrated semiconductor circuits on wafers that has a support device (chuck) for wafers that contains a heater for heating the support device and the wafers. While the support device for the wafers is arranged to be horizontally movable, the performance board and the measurement card with the electronic circuit systems for functional verification of the integrated semiconductor circuits on the wafers is rigidly fixed in place in the test apparatus. In order to avoid deformation of the measurement card under the influence of heat, a heat shield plate is screw-mounted by an annular insert to the housing of the apparatus and also to the measurement card, which includes a test head with contact needles. Moreover, the annular insert is also rigidly connected by a mechanical connector to the part of the test apparatus that contains the units for supplying electricity to the measurement card and the analysis units. The heat shield plate consists of a composite material that contains primarily aluminum. In addition, the heat shield plate has two different surfaces, one of which has a low absorptivity and the other of which has a low emissivity. However, since aluminum has a high coefficient of thermal expansion, quite high thermal deformations can occur in the plate center, or else high stresses if the plate is very stiff. Another disadvantage of this arrangement is that replacement of the measurement card, which is necessary for each change in the arrangement of the semiconductor circuits on the wafer, is very time-consuming and thus very costly, since the screw connections between the heat shield plate and either the measurement card or the test apparatus must be detached.
US 2004/0119463 A1 discloses an arrangement for a measurement card with a test head and contact needles which has flow paths for a fluid. Attached to the underside of the measurement card is a cover that encloses the space between the measurement card and contact needles. On account of the pressure differences, the fluid flows in through an opening on the top of the measurement card arrangement, passes through the flow paths, flows into the space between the measurement card and contact needles, and exits this space through gaps present between the contact needles and the cover. As fluid, compressed air or dry nitrogen are used. In this context, heat is to be supplied to or removed from the measurement card arrangement as needed. However, this arrangement is only suitable for heating or cooling the region of the contact needles or the region of the measurement card that is directly traversed by the flow paths. Cooling of the entire measurement card, which typically has very sensitive electronic circuits, is not achieved.

Apparatus for hot-probing integrated semiconductor circuits on wafers


According to one embodiment of the invention, a method for integrating low Schottky barrier metal source/drain includes providing a substrate, forming an epitaxial SiGe layer outwardly from the substrate, forming an epitaxial Si layer outwardly from the SiGe layer, and forming a metal source and a metal drain.

Semiconductor manufacturers have recently been experimenting with metal source/drain MOSFETs. Metal source/drain offers lower sheet resistance than doped silicon, possesses infinite abruptness, and exhibits low contact resistance. In addition, there is no issue with random doping effect from source/drain to the channel. Lower cost due to the elimination of implanters and fancy annealing tools is also a driver.
However, for metal source/drain to work, the Schottky barrier height between the metal and conducting channel in the silicon should be close to zero for acceptable drive current. No such metals or metal silicides currently exist to achieve this. Currently, ErSi and PtSi have the lowest barrier height, but the barrier height is still greater than 0.15 eV, which is too high for metal source/drain.

System and method for integrating low schottky barrier metal source/drain


A (halomethyl arene)-modified elastomer is made by reacting a lithium terminated elastomer intermediate with the halogen atoms of a halomethyl vinyl arene compound. A road-contacting tread component for a pneumatic tire is fabricated from vulcanized elastomer made by vulcanizing an elastomer composition of a (halomethyl arene)-modified elastomer, a carbon black reinforcing agent, and a sulfur-based vulcanizing system. A process for making a (halomethyl arene)-modified elastomer includes polymerizing at least one diene monomer with a lithium-containing initiator, capping the lithium terminated elastomer by reaction with a halomethyl arene compound, and recovering the modified elastomer.

It is known that it is desirable to produce elastomeric polymers capable of exhibiting reduced hysteresis when properly compounded with other ingredients such as reinforcing agents and then vulcanized. Such elastomers, when fabricated into components for constructing articles such as tires, vibration isolators, power belts, and the like, will manifest properties of increased rebound, decreased rolling resistance and less heat-build up when subjected to mechanical stress during normal use.
The hysteresis of an elastomer refers to the difference between the energy applied to deform an article made from the elastomer and the energy released as the elastomer returns to its initial, undeformed state. In pneumatic tires, lowered hysteresis properties are associated with reduced rolling resistance and heat build-up during operation of the tire. These properties, in turn, result in lowered fuel consumption of vehicles using such tires and prolonged tire life. In such contexts, the property of lowered hysteresis of compounded, vulcanizable elastomer compositions is particularly significant. Examples of such compounded elastomer systems are known to the art and are comprised of at least one elastomer (that is, a natural or synthetic polymer exhibiting elastomeric properties, such as a rubber), a reinforcing filler agent (such as finely divided carbon black, thermal black, or mineral fillers such as clay and the like) and a vulcanizing system such as sulfur-containing vulcanizing (that is, curing) system.
Various synthetic strategies have been developed to provide elastomers with molecular structures exhibiting reduced hysteresis energy losses. One technique is to produce elastomers of very high molecular weight. In such high molecular weight systems, the number of free uncrosslinked molecular chain-ends per given weight in the vulcanizates made from them are reduced. Since the presence of free, unbound chain ends are believed to be a significant factor in hysteretic energy loss because they cannot participate in elastic recovery processes, their reduction leads to a desirable reduction in hysteretic energy loss.
Another technique is to prepare elastomer molecules with end groups capable of interacting with the reinforcing fillers such as carbon black present in compounded elastomer compositions. Again, such interaction reduces the number of free end groups believed to contribute to hysteretic losses. Such interactive end groups include those derived from various metal reagents as well as those derived from polar organic reagents such amines, amides, esters, imines, imidies, ketones and various combinations of such groups. Heretofore, it has not been known to produce modified elastomers with purely hydrocarbyl terminal functionality which is capable of conferring low hysteresis properties. For example, commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/636,961 describes elastomers with tin containing end-groups derived by initiating polymerization under anionic conditions with tin-lithium compounds such as trialkyl tin (IV) lithium, that is, (alkyl).sub.3 SnLi groups. This application does not disclose or suggest reaction of polymer with modifiers that produce non-polar (that is, non-hetro atom-containing) end groups. Thus the elastomer-modifying reactions occurring in the present invention are inherently different than those described in the above-noted reference.
Another approach to elastomers with reduced hysteresis properties of elastomer compounds involves "jumping" of elastomer intermediates having terminal functionality that is reactive under anionic polymerization conditions. Such jumping reactions join two elastomer molecules to produce a single molecule of much higher molecule weight. In the present invention the modified elastomers contain vinyl arene functionality which can readily participate in jumping reactions. This functionality can also participate in intermolecular network formation during the vulcanization process. Such participation again reduces the number of free, unbound chain ends in the vulcanizate which results in low hysteretic energy loss.
The present invention is directed to (halomethyl vinyl arene)-modified elastomers which, when compounded and vulcanized by known rubber processing techniques, provide vulcanized elastomers which exhibit desirable low hysteresis characteristics. These (halomethyl vinyl arene)-modified elastomers can be made by reacting lithium-terminated elastomer intermediates with more than about 0.8 equivalents of at least one (halomethyl vinyl) arene. The modified elastomers thereby produced contain vinyl arene functionality which can either interact with vulcanizate fillers such as carbon black, participate in covulcanization network formation or serve as sites for molecular weight-increasing reactions. Mixtures of (halomethyl vinyl arene)-modified elastomers with unmodified elastomers derived from the lithium-terminated elastomer intermediates are also useful as are jumped and covulcanizate compositions made from them.

(Halomethyl vinyl arene)-modified elastomers and compositions containing them having reduced hysteresis properties


An optical data storage disc comprising a disc-shaped substrate and a centrally-located magnetizable hub. The disc has a central bore configured to receive a drive pin from an optical disc drive. The substrate has a recessed annular portion adjacent its center bore. The hub is provided within the recessed portion of the substrate. The central bore of the disc may be defined by the central bore of the hub alone, so that the diameter of the hub's bore is less than that of the substrate. In the alternative, the central bore of the disc may be defined in part by the inner bores of both the substrate and the hub, in which case those inner bores are of equal diameter. In either case, the thickness of the disc when measured at its inner portion, i.e., in the area of the hub and recessed portion, is equal to the thickness of the substrate at the periphery thereof. By reducing the thickness of the hub area to that of the substrate itself, the number of discs that can be stored together in a fixed space can be increased, thereby increasing the potential storage capacity of an optical disc jukebox or magazine system.

Writable optical discs may be read or written on by lasers in optical disc drives. Writable optical discs include write-once media, known as WORM (write once, read many), and rewritable media, such as magneto-optical or phase-change media. Such media are usually provided in a cartridge housing (not shown) which protects the media. Alternatively, such discs may be provided without cartridges within a storage system which acts like a jukebox or magazine system by storing and retrieving individual discs within a library of discs.
A typical prior art writable optical disc 10 is shown in FIG. 1. Disc 10 is comprised of a disc-shaped writable medium substrate 12 and a central hub 14. Hub 14, usually comprising a magnetizable metal or metal-filled plastic, is provided at the center of the disc, and defines a central bore 16 through which a drive pin (not shown) of an optical disc drive (not shown) may be inserted. Disc 10 is shown in cross-section in FIG. 2.
As shown in FIG. 2, the outer annular portion of hub 14 is positioned on top of the inner annular portion of substrate 12 so that the combined thickness, t.sub.1, of the hub and the inner annular portion of the substrate is greater than the thickness, t, of the substrate, i.e., t.sub.1 >t.

Optical data storage disc having low-profile hub


A dialyzer in which a nearly cylindrical case is provided therein with a hollow fiber bundle made of a plurality of hollow fiber membranes, a blood flow path formed by lumens of the hollow fiber membranes, a dialyzate flow path formed by a space between the inner wall of the case and the hollow fiber membranes and a cylindrical heat-shrinkable tube provided on the outside of the hollow fiber bundle and at least a part of which can be shrunk by heating, and a method for manufacturing the dialyzer.

The present invention relates to a dialyzer used in dialysis. More specifically, it relates to an internal filtration accelerating-type dialyzer which can increase an internal filtration rate and an internal backfiltration rate within the dialyzer.
For therapy of patients whose renal function is impaired, for example, patients whose function of removing waste products or the like in blood is impaired because of renal insufficiency or the like, therapy by blood purification such as hemodialysis or hemodialytic filtration has so far been performed. In this blood purification therapy, urea, creatinine, uric acid, low-molecular proteins, water and the like accumulated in blood are removed by bringing the blood into contact with a dialyzate through semipermeable membranes in a dialyzer.
In recent years, a substance that causes amyloidosis, which is one of complications in dialysis, has been identified as β2 microglobulin having a molecular weight of 11,800 (F. Gejyo et al., Kidney International, vol.30, pp. 385–390, 1986). Since β2 microglobulin having a high molecular weight has a low diffusion rate, removal efficiency is higher by hemofiltration than by hemodialysis. Further, since a substance having a low molecular weight, such as urea, has a high diffusion rate, removal efficiency is higher by hemodialysis than by hemofiltration. Accordingly, a hemodialytic filtration therapy (HDF) being a combination of hemodialysis and hemofiltration has been conceived. In the HDF therapy, filtration of a large amount of fluid is conducted with a dialyzer and a replenisher is supplied in a blood circuit. Therefore, an exclusive device with a complicated structure is required.
Meanwhile, a dialyzer excellent in product permeability and water permeability, which can remove β2 microglobulin having a high molecular weight, has been developed. It has been found that such a dialyzer excellent in product permeability and water permeability allows filtration and backfiltration between a blood and a dialyzate via a semipermeable membrane (hereinafter referred to as internal filtration and internal backfiltration) even when forced filtration by dewatering is not performed (M. Schmidt et al., Blood Purification 2: 108–114,1984). Accordingly, a hemodialytic filtration method that performs filtration and replenishment by increasing an amount of internal filtration and an amount of internal backfiltration has been proposed. Additionally, an internal filtration accelerating-type dialyzer capable of increasing dialysis efficiency, which is used in the hemodialytic filtration method, is being developed.
Usually, the internal filtration and the internal backfiltration do not occur at a same position within a dialyzer. Since blood and a dialyzate are passed through a dialyzer in directions opposite to each other, a fluid having a higher pressure moves to a fluid having a lower pressure via a semipermeable membrane regarding the blood and the dialyzate. That is, there is a tendency that the internal filtration occurs on a blood inflow side within a dialyzer and the internal backfiltration occurs on a blood outflow side within a dialyzer.
For increasing an internal filtration rate and an internal backfiltration rate in a dialyzer, it is necessary to increase a pressure loss along a blood flow path or a dialyzate flow path. The pressure loss along the flow path is represented by the Hagen-Posuille formula which is a pressure loss inducing formula of laminar flow in a cylindrical tube.ΔP=8 μLQ/πR4                (ΔP: pressure loss of a flow path [Pa],        μ: viscosity of a fluid [Pa·s],        L: length of a flow path [m],        R: radius of a flow path [m],        Q: volume flow rate [m3/s])
It is found that to increase the pressure loss ΔP along the flow path, the volume flow rate Q may be increased, the sectional area of the flow path πR2 may be decreased or the length L of the flow path may be increased.
For increasing an internal filtration rate and an internal backfiltration rate of a dialyzer, a dialyzer, the length of the flow path of which is increased by increasing a total length, (Japanese Patent No. 2961481) and a dialyzer, a sectional area of a blood flow path of which is decreased by decreasing an inner diameter of a hollow fiber membrane, (F. Dellanna et al., Nephrol Dial Transplant 11, Suppl. 2: 83–86, 1996) have so far been known.
However, in the dialyzer with the total length increased, for obtaining effects of sufficient acceleration of internal filtration and internal backfiltration, the length of the flow path has to be increased to more than twice the length of the flow path in an ordinary dialyzer. Such a dialyzer is impractical. Further, in the dialyzer with the inner diameter of the hollow fiber membrane decreased, there is a likelihood that irregularity occurs in the inner diameter of the hollow fiber membrane during manufacture or blood remaining in lumens of the hollow fiber membranes after use of the dialyzer is increased.
Further, there has been proposed as a dialyzer, a cross-sectional area of a dialyzate flow path of which is decreased by increasing a packing ratio of hollow fiber membranes, a dialyzer, a hollow fiber bundle of which is shrunk with a net or the like (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 168525/1996 and Domestic Republication WO 98/22161). However, in the dialyzer with the hollow fiber bundle shrunk, the diameter of the hollow fiber bundle has to be decreased more than necessary for inserting the hollow fiber bundle into a case. Therefore, the hollow fiber membranes might be ruptured and the packing ratio of the hollow fiber membranes inserted into the case is not high enough.
Moreover, as a dialyzer with a decreased sectional area of a dialyzate flow path, a dialyzer in which a bonded mat having a property of being swelled with a dialyzate is introduced in a dialyzate, flow path (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 192031/1996 and 9684/1999, Domestic Republication WO 98/22161), a dialyzer in which a bag-shaped member is introduced into a dialyzate flow path and the bag-shaped member is swelled by introducing therein a physiological saline or the like at the time of using the dialyzer (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 394/1999 and 319080/1999, Domestic Republication WO 98/22161), a dialyzer in which a sectional area of a dialyzate flow path is capable of changing by changing the case of the dialyzer with pressure applied from outside the case (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 319079/1999) and the like have also been developed.
In a dialyzer in which a bonded mat having a property of being swelled with a dialyzate is introduced, the bonded mat has itself a thickness so that an amount of the product that can be introduced into the dialyzer is limited. When the amount of the bonded mat is large, it is difficult to insert the hollow fiber bundle into the case of the dialyzer. Meanwhile, when the amount of the bonded mat is small, the sectional area of the dialyzate flow path is not sufficiently lowered. Further, in a dialyzer with the bonded mat having the swelling property introduced being wound, the hollow fiber bundle is previously inserted into the lumen of the product having a far smaller inner diameter than the inner diameter of the case and then inserted into the case so that the hollow fiber membranes might be ruptured.
On the other hand, in a dialyzer in which a bag-shaped member is swelled, the structure is complicated and a force exerted in swelling the bag-shaped member is also exerted on the case of the dialyzer. Thus, improvement in the case material is required for the case to have a satisfactory rigidity. Further, in a dialyzer, the sectional area of the dialyzate flow path of which is capable of changing by changing the case thereof, a part of the case is changed by pressure applied from outside of the case. With such a dialyzer, pressure has to be continued to be applied during changing of the sectional area of the dialyzate flow path so that the structure of the dialyzer is more complicated.

Dialyzer and method for manufacturing the same


This invention relates generally to fishing tackle or equipment and more specifically to a device to conceal or camouflage a fishing leader during presentation of the bait and disburse that leader after the hookup. The housing for the payout leader system of this invention is composed of two half shells, one male and one female, fitting together, that contain a hollow space between them. A portion of leader is temporarily stored in this space. The first end of the leader exits the device's front aperture and is attached to the fishing line. The second end of the leader exits the device's rear aperture and is attached to a hook. The force from the fish striking the hook causes the leader material to exit the device. The first and preferred embodiment (for fishing with bait) is for the leader to payout exclusively through the front aperture. A second embodiment (for fishing with lures and feathers) would be for the leader to be paid out through the rear aperture. This device is designed to allow a third alternative one which would have the leader paid out simultaneously through both the front and rear apertures. While this device will work with all hooks it is particularly useful with the circle hook.

Improved fishing gear is the quest of most fishermen and is the subject of many patents. There are two basic components to fishing. The first element is to entice a fish to strike at a bait and be hooked. The second element is to be able to control that fish until he is ready for capture or release.
Many fishermen have learned, the hard way, that the portion of the line nearest the hook is subject to extra abrasion and wear and tear that occurs during the contest. Thus fishermen have added a short portion of strengthened material between the hook and the fishing line called a leader. Leaders are made from a material sufficiently robust to withstand the cutting or breaking by the jaws, teeth, or bill of the fish. In some cases the leader is made from a strengthened line such as monofilament and in other cases the leader is made from a wire product.
Wire products are more visible. Certain fish see this wire and avoid striking hooks attached to wire leaders. These fish are leader sensitive. For example tuna fish are highly suspicious of wire leaders and experience teaches that tuna fish avoid striking wire leaders altogether. For tuna fishermen the leader of choice will be made of a strengthened monofilament line. Even with the additional strength leaders the tuna fish's jaw can break or cut the monofilament leaders.
There are other fish such as king fish and sharks who's earned reputation is that their teeth can cut even the strongest lines. To catch these toothy fish a wire leader must be used. Thus the fisherman must make a decision between hooking more fish with an "invisible" monofilament leader and losing most, if not all, the toothy fish or hooking less fish with the more visible wire leaders.
The problem is that both the tuna and toothy fish may be in the same area, at the same time and each may strike the same bait. To "play-the-odds" the fisherman solves this problem by using monofilament leaders on a portion of their equipment and wire leaders on the balance of the gear. These fisherman hope that the right fish strikes the right leader.
Despite the longstanding problems encountered by using leaders, this operation is still carried out substantially in the same manner as was employed decades ago. The present invention solves a long-felt but unsolved need providing a simple but effective system for using a strengthened leader without the problems of the prior art.
Nothing in the prior art has disclosed a device to conceal or disguise a leader within a bait or lure. Moreover, nothing in the prior art has suggested an integrated system utilizing a mechanism for storage and concealment of fishing leaders within the bait or lure.

Concealed linear payout holder for fishing leader


To print on the front side, image data saved in an image memory is read pixel by pixel along a main scanning direction x. Correction data for each block of pixels then is referred to, and the image data is read while being shifted in a sub-scanning direction y by a value of the correction data and is inputted to an exposing device. To print on the rear side, upon reading image data along the main scanning direction x, the image data in the image memory is read along the main scanning direction from a side opposite the one read at the time of printing on the front side. Positive and negative signs of deviation amounts specified by the correction data are reversed and the positions of the pixels to be read are shifted successively in a sub-scanning direction opposite to the one used while printing on the front side.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exposed image input device, a printer apparatus and an image data input control program product and particularly to a technology of reading an image data saved in an image memory and inputting the read image data to an exposing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among electrophotographic printer apparatuses, there has been conventionally known the type in which an exposing device arranged to face a photoconductive drum includes a LED (light-emitting diode) array and the photoconductive drum is exposed with lines of light emitted from the LED array. Printer apparatuses of this type are called LED printers. The LED printer has a problem that lines of light emitted from the LED array, i.e. exposure lines are deviated from specified positions in some cases. The following three factors are known as causes of the deviated exposure lines.
The first factor is an angular error caused upon mounting the LED array on the printer apparatus. It is not easy to strictly conform a direction of a principal axis of the LED array to a main scanning direction and it is a usual practice to install the LED array in a transversely inclined state with respect to the main scanning direction.
The second factor is a deviation caused upon mounting LED chips forming the LED array on a substrate. It is ideal to linearly arrange the LED chips along the principal axis of the LED array. However, due to variations in a production process, there are cases where the LED chips are deviated from linearity to a certain degree.
The third factor is deviations of the respective LED chips from the main scanning direction caused by the distortion of the substrate, on which the LED chips forming the LED array are mounted, from linearity. It is not easy to ensure the strict linearity of the substrate while saving the production cost.
Conventional LED printers have ensured printing quality by compensating for mounting deviations by transferring image data to the LED array while displacing them in a sub-scanning direction according to the deviations of the respective LED chips. However, for duplex printing in the LED printer, it is necessary to temporarily save image data in the image memory alternately in forward order and reverse order page by page.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-82396 discloses an exposing device enabling duplex printing without alternately changing the order of transferring image data to an LED array in forward and reverse ones page by page. However, with a technology disclosed in this publication, it is not possible to realize duplex printing while correcting the deviations of LED chips.

Exposed image input device, printer apparatus, and image data input control program product


An end effector includes first and second jaws movable between open and closed positions, a guide track defined in the second jaw, and a cutting element extendable into the guide track and longitudinally movable within the guide track. A retention feature is positioned within the guide track and operatively couples the cutting element to a drive rod. The drive rod is actuatable to move the cutting element within the guide track, and the retention feature is larger than a width of an opening to the guide track such that the retention feature is retained within the guide track as the cutting element moves.

Minimally invasive surgical (MIS) instruments are often preferred over traditional open surgical devices due to reduced post-operative recovery time and minimal scarring. Laparoscopic surgery is one type of MIS procedure in which one or more small incisions are formed in the abdomen of a patient and a trocar is inserted through the incision to form a pathway that provides access to the abdominal cavity. Through the trocar, a variety of instruments and surgical tools can be introduced into the abdominal cavity. The instruments and tools introduced into the abdominal cavity via the trocar can be used to engage and/or treat tissue in a number of ways to achieve a diagnostic or therapeutic effect.
Various robotic systems have recently been developed to assist in MIS procedures. Robotic systems can allow for more instinctive hand movements by maintaining natural eye-hand axis. Robotic systems can also allow for more degrees of freedom in movement by including an articulable "wrist" joint that creates a more natural hand-like articulation. In such systems, an end effector positioned at the distal end of the instrument can be articulated (moved) using a cable driven motion system having one or more drive cables that extend through the wrist joint. A user (e.g., a surgeon) is able to remotely operate the end effector by grasping and manipulating in space one or more controllers that communicate with a tool driver coupled to the surgical instrument. User inputs are processed by a computer system incorporated into the robotic surgical system, and the tool driver responds by actuating the cable driven motion system. Moving the drive cables articulates the end effector to desired angular positions and configurations.
One type of end effector is a tissue grasper that has opposing jaws capable of closing down and "grasping" onto tissue, and some tissue graspers incorporate a knife that can be advanced distally to transect grasped tissue. The knife typically traverses a knife slot (alternately referred to as a "guide track") provided in one or both of the jaws as it moves distally, and the knife slot helps maintain the knife in a predetermined path (straight, curved, etc.). After cutting the tissue, the knife is retracted proximally to a home position so that it is not exposed when the jaws are open. One issue applicable to many tissue graspers with integral knives is that the thickness of the grasped tissue influences the degree to which the jaws can close. If the jaws are unable to close sufficiently, the knife may be able escape from the knife slot during movement and cutting. This can result in the knife jamming the mechanism upon retraction and/or inadvertently cutting tissue outside the target location.

Surgical instruments with a retention feature that retains a cutting element


A method is provided including the steps of monitoring at least one performance metric of at least one network component in an optical network system, determining whether the at least one network component is a rogue network component using the at least one performance metric, saving environment data to a non-volatile storage medium, and modifying the operation of the rogue network component to reduce interference of the rogue network component with the optical network system. In another embodiment, a method includes detecting a condition of a network component in an optical network system, and writing environment data of the network component to a non-volatile storage medium.

Optical networking transport systems typically use an optical line terminal (OLT) that provides a high bandwidth passive optical network (PON). The PON is split, using an optical splitter, to multiple optical network termination (ONT) points. The use of, for example, thirty two (32) ONTs allows multiple users to share the same high bandwidth OLT. However, the number of ONTs may be expanded to up to one hundred and twenty eight (128) in some implementations
In use, the OLT and ONTs communicate with the PON using a time division multiplexing (TDM) scheme to allow for each ONT to communicate in an orderly fashion. The use of the optical splitter allows each ONT to share the same OLT and share the costs for the PON system. The TDM scheme is a method for transmitting multiple channels over the single PON line. Each ONT is assigned a periodic timeslot to receive and transmit to the OLT. Thus, there are two slots available to an ONT that include a downstream slot and an upstream slot. Where a packet is too large for a single timeslot, the packet is subdivided and periodically transmitted over a number of the assigned timeslots.
Existing systems have drawbacks wherein ONTs may malfunction and interfere with the timeslots of ONTs on upstream communication. In these cases, the malfunctioning ONT is considered a rogue ONT. The rogue ONT may interfere with upstream communications in a number of ways. For example, a rogue ONT may have timing or synchronization problems wherein an upstream communication is transmitted in the assigned time of another ONT in the TDM scheme. Further, an ONT may overload the OLT with too much optical power. The overload may occur in its own TDM timeslot or in adjacent timeslots. The result of the overload, may include, for example, either an inability for the OLT to receive the desired signal or an interference with other ONTs. This is especially an issue where the rogue ONT is optically close to the OLT, while the ONT with the desired signal is at the edge of the supported distance or optical budget. Additionally, the rogue ONT may confuse the PON to such an extent that a majority of the processing power of the PON is consumed and regular communication with the ONTs is interrupted.
Accordingly, it is highly desirable to be able to detect and correct the operation of a rogue ONT. Further, it is desirable to determine the nature of the faults for a rogue ONT and either correct the problem or disable the offending rogue ONT. Additionally, it is highly desirable to perform these detection and correction functions remotely.


A sensor for detecting a target pathogen (e.g., a virus or a bacterium) in a specimen is disclosed, which includes at least two sensing units one of which is configured to detect at least one protein (such as a structural protein) associated with the target pathogen and another one is configured to detect at least one genetic component (e.g., an RNA or a DNA segment) associated with that pathogen (e.g., an RNA segment that is unique to that pathogen).

Conventional diagnostic tests for detecting pathogens in samples (e.g., RT-PCR tests applied to biological and environmental samples suffer from various shortcomings. For example, many conventional tests can be time consuming, can require expensive equipment to be used in clinical labs, can require trained personnel to carry out the test, can be costly, and/or can be affected by breakdown of supply-chain and lack of needed specialized reagents. Further, many conventional tests, such as conventional serology tests, can lack a desired sensitivity, which can result in producing a high number of false positives.

Systems, apparatus, and methods for detecting pathogens


A method of analyzing multi-market broadcasts of commercial advertisements, has unique identifiers are assigned to a plurality of expected commercial advertisements, information regarding the plurality of expected commercial advertisements and respective unique identifiers is recorded in a computer database, electronic detections of a plurality of actual market-broadcast instances of a commercial advertisement are received, which comprise a plurality of broadcast markets, information regarding the detections is recorded in a computer database, related ones of the plurality of actual market-broadcast instances of the commercial advertisement is recorded in a computer database, which comprising a plurality of broadcast markets, information regarding a plurality of multi-market broadcast orders of commercial advertisements is recorded in a computer database, and related ones of the actual market-broadcast instances of the commercial advertisement are associated with a related multi-market broadcast order for said commercial advertisement in a computer database, where the multi-market broadcast order comprises the plurality of broadcast markets.

Broadcasts on commercial broadcast mediums, such as commercial radio or television airwave frequencies, cable television systems, or satellite television or satellite radio systems typically include commercial advertising interspersed within and among featured programs, such as shows, sporting events and news programs. Broadcasts are transmitted on predefined channels of broadcast mediums, however a particular broadcast may be transmitted on more than one broadcast medium at the same time. In particular, broadcast television stations, which historically transmitted solely via commercial television airwaves, are now commonly re-transmitted via (i.e., are carried by) cable television systems and satellite broadcast systems as well. Further, the broadcast medium used to deliver the broadcast to a consumer may be operated by a carrier system that is independent of the originator of the broadcast—as is often the case with a broadcast from a broadcast television station delivered to consumers via a cable or a satellite television system.
The broadcasts of multi-market broadcasters, such as national television broadcast networks, national cable network channels, national radio broadcast networks, satellite channels, and the like, include multiple broadcast markets. Examples of national television broadcast networks include ABC, NBC and CBS; examples of nation cable network channels include ESPN, CNN, The Comedy Channel, HBO, etc. To compensate for time differences between distant markets, multi-market broadcasters may transmit (or may direct others to transmit on their behalf) multiple feeds of their broadcast. These feeds may be simply time-delayed or may also include changes in the programming. Some events, like speeches and certain championship sporting events may be covered live across all time zones.
The responsibility for the selection and arrangement of featured programs (i.e., the programming) varies by the type of broadcaster. In the case of television broadcasts, local television stations typically have an affiliation to (and may be owned by) a national television broadcast network (e.g., ABC, NBC, or CBS). The national television broadcast network typically determines and provides all of the programming during predefined "prime time" hours, which are generally the evening hours during which the viewing audience reaches a maximum. The programming during these time periods may be delivered to each affiliated local television station from the national television broadcast network in one or more so called "network feeds." Local radios stations may have a similar affiliation with a national radio broadcast network that determines certain programming of the local radio station broadcast.
The programming of local broadcasters and of multi-market broadcasters (e.g., a national cable network channel) may also be provided in part by a syndicator, which owns rights to distribute certain programs that are in "syndication." In the case of a local television broadcaster affiliated with a multi-market broadcast network, programming provided by a syndicator is broadcast in non-prime time hours. Typically syndicators provide programming in all or a large number of the markets in a nation or region.
For the purposes of this description, the organization that determines the programming of a broadcast is described as the broadcast originator or distributor of that programming. Thus, a national broadcast television network is the broadcast originator or distributor of programming which is (usually) aired during prime time hours, and other shows of national interest, which the network produces for its affiliates to carry. Examples of non-prime time hour shows which a network produces are news shows such as Meet The Press, some sporting events such as the Kentucky Derby, or even network-produced soap operas. Many times the network feed is carried live by the affiliate, sometimes the local affiliate may elect to shift the time of the program. Similarly, a syndicator distributes its programming to stations around the country. However these program offerings are not restricted to any one network, and could be on, for example, the ABC affiliate in one market, CBS in another, FOX in a third, etc. Further, the broadcast time may vary from market to market. Finally the local station is the originator of some of its programming. For example, a local television station is typically the broadcast originator (or distributor) of non-prime time programming not in syndication, such as a local news program.
Advertisers of commercial goods and services may purchase space for advertising from any of the three types of broadcast originators (or distributors) during the time for which the distributor is the broadcast originator for the programming of a broadcast. An advertising "buy" from a particular distributor may include detailed specifications as to the space(s) desired for the advertisement, such as the featured programs, dates, days of the week, time range, duration, markets and number of instances. The purchase may be for commercial air time on a market or outlet basis (spot or local cable), or it could be at the national network level where it is part of the national feed sent out across the country. Advertisers also include detailed specifications as to the particular content or advertisements to be placed in the desired spaces (i.e., "traffic" information) sometimes with the buy details and other time as a separate set of instructions. The combination of the buy and traffic specifications is referred to herein as "flight information."
To enhance the effect of broadcast advertising campaigns, an advertiser will often purchase advertising space from a number of different distributors with varied buy and traffic information. Further, typically such purchases may be arranged and managed by an advertising agency or media buyer that may have a large number of such clients. Therefore, it can be appreciated that the tasks of managing and confirming fulfillment of advertising orders can be complex and burdensome.
In an effort to confirm that orders for advertising have been properly fulfilled, entities responsible for broadcasting advertisements (i.e., the broadcast originators or distributors) typically produce sworn affidavits in which the affiant declares that the orders have been satisfied. However, these affidavits are not prepared by disinterested persons and, in addition, are subject to human error. Other efforts to confirm that orders for advertising have been properly fulfilled include the employment of independent human viewers to manually catalog broadcasts of advertisements. This method is also subject to human error, and this method is not feasible for the currently large and continually growing number of broadcasts. Further methods include electronic monitoring of broadcasts. However, none of the confirmation methods known heretofore provide significant advantages or improvements in matching multi-market broadcasts of advertisements to multi-market advertising orders or in providing dynamic reports regarding fulfilled and unfulfilled orders.
Therefore, what is desired is broadcast advertisement tracking, managing and reporting method and system that provide accurate, independent confirmations of the fulfillment of broadcast advertising orders, that provide significant advantages in matching multi-market broadcasts of advertisements to multi-market advertising orders, that provide significant advantages in reporting of fulfilled and unfulfilled orders and that provide such matching, confirmation and reporting for a large number of broadcasts over a large number of broadcast markets.
The present invention overcomes the limitations of prior methods of confirming fulfillment of orders for broadcast items, such as commercial advertising orders, and provides substantial improvements in the efficiency and accuracy of such confirmation and in the ability to produce dynamic reports or fulfilled and unfilled orders. A system established according to the present invention includes a plurality of electronic detection devices located in the various broadcast markets that are configured to receive and analyze broadcasts on a number of channels of a number of broadcast mediums.
The detection devices detect instances of actual broadcasts of encoded broadcast items, such as encoded advertisements, and record information regarding each detected actual broadcast in a log. Any suitable method for encoding or assigning unique codes to broadcast items may be employed with the present invention; however, preferably the method is able to detect the date, time, channel and duration of the broadcast item, in addition to the code.
In the method of the present invention, detection information is consolidated from the plurality of detection devices and processed. In the processing of detections, related multi-market detections of instances of actual broadcasts of encoded broadcast items are associated to one another, by one or more computing devices, using various reference data and published program schedules. The associated multi-market detections are then associated with a related multi-market order received from an advertiser or agency to indicate whether, and to what extent, the multi-market order has been fulfilled. Further, single-market detections of instances of actual broadcasts of encoded broadcast items are associated with related market focused advertising orders (i.e., "spot" buys) to indicate whether (and to what extent) the single-market advertising order has been fulfilled. In addition to recognizing accurately fulfilled advertising orders, the method also recognizes a number of predetermined commonly occurring errors in fulfilling orders, such as the broadcast of an incorrect advertisement in the correct space. The method also provides detailed reports of fulfilled, erroneous and unfulfilled advertising orders, with the ability to quickly and conveniently access or, "drill down" to, detailed information regarding the individual detections associated with multi- and single-market advertising orders.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Multi-market broadcast tracking, management and reporting method and system


For simply and reliably coupling first and second fluid devices, a fluid device connecting structure is arranged to couple first and second connection parts of the first and second fluid devices by use a coupling member by placing a resin seal member in seal grooves formed in the connection parts. The first connection part includes a first mounting groove for attachment jig and a first fitting groove provided between the first mounting groove and an end face of the first connection part to receive the coupling member. The second connection part includes a second mounting groove for the jig and a second fitting groove provided between the second mounting groove and an end face of the second connection part to receive the coupling member. The coupling member includes a plurality of split members each including a first projecting portion held in contact with an end-face-side inside surface of the first fitting groove and a second projecting portion held in contact with an end-face-side inside surface of the second fitting groove, the first and second projecting portions being arranged at a predetermined distance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fluid device connecting structure for coupling first and second fluid devices with a connection member, and a fluid device unit.
2. Description of Related Art
Heretofore, in a semiconductor manufacturing process, a liquid crystal manufacturing process, etc., various fluid devices have been used for control of chemical liquids. For example, the fluid devices may include valves such as a flow rate control valve and an opening/closing valve, filters, sensors such as a pressure sensor and a flow rate sensor, and piping blocks such as a joint block and a passage block. Recently, connection parts of those fluid devices are directly connected to each other with a coupling member to form an integral unit for a compact apparatus.
FIG. 45 is a sectional view of a conventional fluid device connecting structure 1100.
This conventional fluid device connecting structure 1100 is arranged such that first and second fluid devices 1101 and 1102 have connection parts 1103 and 1104 formed with seal grooves 1105 and 1106 respectively, between which a seal member 1107 is fitted, and a coupling member 1108 is mounted on the periphery of connecting portions of the connection parts 1103 and 1104.
The coupling member 1108 includes a cylindrical nut 1109 and a split ring 1110. The cylindrical nut 1109 has a cylindrical shape with one open end. The other closed end is formed with an insertion hole 1109a in which a protrusion 1104a of the connection part 1104 is inserted. The split ring 1110 has an annular shape including an inner surface that contacts an outer surface of the connection part 1104 and an outer surface that contacts an inner surface of the nut 1109. This ring 1110 is constituted of a plurality of split pieces so as to be mounted on the outer surface of the connection part 1104.
The coupling member 1108 is mounted in such a way that an end of the connection part 1104 of the second fluid device 1102 is inserted in the nut 1109 through the insertion hole 1109a, then the nut 1109 is displaced toward the second fluid device 1102 to expose the connection part 1104 as shown by a dashed line in FIG. 45, and then the split ring 1110 is fit on the outer surface of the connection part 1104. After that, as shown in a solid line in FIG. 45, the nut 1109 is slid toward the first fluid device 1101, internal threads 1109b formed on an inner surface of the nut 1109 are engaged with external threads 1103a formed on an outer surface of the connection part 1103 of the first fluid device 1101. The nut 1109 is screwed on the connection part 1103 until the split ring 1110 abuts on the protrusion 1104a of the connection part 1104. This screw feed allows the seal member 1107 to be fitted in the seal grooves 1105 and 1106, thus sealing the connecting portions of the connection parts 1103 and 1104 (for example, see JP2006-64080A).
However, to mount the split ring 1110, the conventional fluid device connecting structure 1100 needs a space for allowing movement of the nut 1109 and a space for screwing the nut 1109 on the connection part 1103. This would require troublesome works and working space for coupling the fluid devices. Accordingly, when the conventional fluid device connecting structure 1100 is applied to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in which a number of fluid devices are arranged in complicated pattern, a space for sliding or screwing the nut 1109 on the connection part 1103 could not be ensured. It would take much time to screw the nut 1109 on the connection part 1103 properly to provide predetermined sealing strength.


The invention described herein is related to antibodies directed to the antigen TIM-1 and uses of such antibodies. In particular, there are provided fully human monoclonal antibodies directed to the antigen TIM-1. Isolated polynucleotide sequences encoding, and amino acid sequences comprising, heavy and light chain immunoglobulin molecules, particularly sequences corresponding to contiguous heavy and light chain sequences spanning the framework regions (FR's) and/or complementarity determining regions (CDR's), specifically from FR1 through FR4 or CDR1 through CDR3, are provided. Hybridomas or other cell lines expressing such immunoglobulin molecules and monoclonal antibodies are also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention disclosed herein is related to antibodies directed to the antigen T cell, immunoglobulin domain and mucin domain 1 (TIM-1) proteins and uses of such antibodies. In particular, there are provided fully human monoclonal antibodies directed to the antigen TIM-1. Nucleotide sequences encoding, and amino acid sequences comprising, heavy and light chain immunoglobulin molecules, particularly sequences corresponding to contiguous heavy and light chain sequences spanning the framework regions and/or complementarity determining regions (CDRs), specifically from FR1 through FR4 or CDR1 through CDR3, are provided. Hybridomas or other cell lines expressing such immunoglobulin molecules and monoclonal antibodies are also provided.
2. Description of the Related Art
A new family of genes encoding T cell, immunoglobulin domain and mucin domain (TIM) proteins (three in humans and eight in mice) have been described recently with emerging roles in immunity. Kuchroo et al., Nat Rev Immunol 3:454-462 (2003); McIntire et al., Nat Immunol 2:1109-1116 (2001). The TIM gene family members reside in chromosomal regions, 5q33.2 in human and 11B1.1 in mouse, and have been linked to allergy and autoimmune diseases. Shevach, Nat Rev Immunol 2:389-400 (2002); Wills-Karp et al., Nat Immunol 4:1050-1052 (2003).
One TIM family member, TIM-1, is also known as Hepatitis A virus cellular receptor (HAVcr-1) and was originally discovered as a receptor for Hepatitis A virus (HAV) (Kaplan et al, EMBO J 15(16):4282-96 (1996)). This gene was later cloned as kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1) (Ichimura et al., J Biol Chem 273:4135-4142 (1998); Han et al., Kidney Int 62:237-244 (2002)).
Kaplan et al. isolated the cellular receptor for hepatitis A virus from a cDNA library from a primary African Green Monkey Kidney (AGMK) cell line expressing the receptor. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,861. The disclosed utility of the polypeptides and nucleic acids was to diagnose infection by hepatitis A virus, to separate hepatitis A virus from impurities in a sample, to treat infection as well as to prevent infection by hepatitis A virus. Furthermore, the polypeptides could be expressed in transformed cells and used to test efficacy of compounds in an anti-hepatitis A virus binding assay.
The human homolog, hHAVcr-1 (aka TIM-1), was described by Feigelstock et al., J Virology 72(8): 6621-6628 (1998). The same molecules were described in PCT Publication Nos: WO 97/44460 and WO 98/53071 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,664,385 as Kidney Injury-related Molecules (KIM) that were found to be upregulated in renal tissue after injury to the kidney. The molecules were described as being useful in a variety of therapeutic interventions, specifically, renal disease, disorder or injury. For example, PCT Publication No. WO 02/098920 describes antibodies to KIM and describes antibodies that inhibit the shedding of KIM-1 polypeptide from KIM-1 expressing cells e.g., renal cells, or renal cancer cells.
TIM-1 is a type 1 membrane protein that contains a novel six-cysteine immunoglobulin-like domain and a mucin threonine/serine.proline-rich (T/S/P) domain. TIM-1 was originally identified in rat. TIM-1 has been found in mouse, African green monkey, and humans (Feigelstock et al., J Virol 72(8):6621-8 (1998). The African green monkey ortholog is most closely related to human TIM-1 showing 77.6% amino acid identity over 358 aligned amino acids. Rat and mouse orthologs exhibit 50% (155/310) and 45.6% (126/276) amino acid identity respectively, although over shorter segments of aligned sequence than for African green monkey. Monoclonal antibodies to the Ig-like domain of TIM-1 have been shown to be protective against Hepatitis A Virus infection in vitro. Silberstein et al., J Virol 75(2):717-25 (2001). In addition, Kim-1 was shown to be expressed at low levels in normal kidney but its expression is increased dramatically in postischemic kidney. Ichimura et al., J Biol Chem 273(7):4135-42 (1998). HAVCR-1 is also expressed at elevated levels in clear cell carcinomas and cancer cell lines derived from the same.
TIM-1 shows homology to the P-type "trefoil" domain suggesting that it may have similar biological activity to other P-type trefoil family members. Some trefoil domain containing proteins have been shown to induce cellular scattering and invasion when used to treat kidney, colon and breast tumor cell lines. Prest et al., FASEB J 16(6):592-4 (2002). In addition, some trefoil containing proteins confer cellular resistance to anoikis, an anchorage-related apoptosis phenomenon in epithelium. Chen et al., Biochem Biophys Res Commun 274(3):576-82 (2000).
TIM-1 maps to a region of human chromosome 5 known as Tapr in the murine sytenic region that has been implicated in asthma. Tapr, a major T cell regulatory locus, controls the development of airway hyperreactivity. Wills-Karp, Nature Immunology 2:1095-1096 (2001); McIntire et al., Nature Immunology 2:1109-1116 (2001).

Antibodies against T cell immunoglobulin domain and mucin domain 1 (TIM-1) antigen and uses thereof


A zoom lens system having high zoom ratio capable of shifting an image for vibration reduction correction. The system includes, in order from an object, a first lens group having positive power, a second lens group having negative power, a third lens group having positive power, and a fourth lens group having positive power. Each of the first lens group through the fourth lens group moves such that when zooming from a wide-angle end state to a telephoto end state, a distance between the first and the second lens groups increases, a distance between the second and the third lens groups decreases, and a distance between the third and the fourth lens group decreases. The third lens group includes at least two sub-lens groups having positive refractive power. Image shifting carried out by moving either of the two sub-lens groups perpendicularly to the optical axis. Given conditions are satisfied.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a zoom lens system and in particular to a high zoom ratio zoom lens system capable of shifting an image.
2. Related Background Art
An optical system capable of moving (shifting) an image perpendicularly to the optical axis by moving (shifting) one or some of lens elements constructing the optical system substantially perpendicularly to the optical axis has been known. As for such optical systems, a zoom lens system capable of shifting an image by shifting one or some of lens elements provided in the zoom lens system has been proposed (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-140048 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-081020).
In the present specification, one or some of lens elements being shifted substantially perpendicularly to the optical axis is hereinafter called a shift lens group.
Recently, a zoom lens has widely used as a photographic lens. When a zoom lens is used as a photographic lens, it makes you possible to take a photograph closer to the subject, so it has a merit that you can take a photograph just as you intend. According to popularization of a zoom lens as a photographic lens, a high zoom ratio zoom lens capable of shooting closer to the subject has come onto the market.
As a high zoom ratio zoom lens capable of shooting closer to the subject, a positive-negative-positive-positive four-lens-group type zoom lens has been known (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-117005 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-142739).
A positive-negative-positive-positive type zoom lens is composed of, in order from the object, a first lens group having positive refractive power, a second lens group having negative refractive power, a third lens group having positive refractive power, and a fourth lens group having positive refractive power. When the state of lens group positions varies from a wide-angle end state (which gives the shortest focal length) to a telephoto end state (which gives the longest focal length), at least the first lens group and the fourth lens group move to the object side such that a distance between the first lens group and the second lens group increases, a distance between the second lens group and the third lens group decreases, and a distance between the third lens group and the fourth lens group decreases.
According to further popularization of a zoom lens as a photographic lens, in order to meet user's expectation to improve portability, compact and lightweight zoom lenses have been proposed.
On the other hand, in particular for a compact and lightweight zoom lens, an image tends to be blurred during exposure by minute vibration produced on a camera while shooting such as a camera shake caused by a photographer upon releasing a shutter button. When the amount of the camera vibration is assumed to be constant, the amount of image blurring increases in accordance with the increase in the focal length of the lens, so the minute camera vibration causes severe deterioration on the image.
Accordingly, a method for compensating the above-described image blur caused by the camera shake by combining a zoom lens capable of shifting an image with a driver, a detector and a controller has been known (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-282413). In such zoom lens, the detector detects a camera shake. The controller controls the shift lens group giving the driver a driving amount in order to correct the shake detected by the detector. The driver corrects the image blur caused by the camera shake by driving the shift lens group substantially perpendicularly to the optical axis.
Generally, in a zoom lens, it is necessary to correct various aberrations for each lens group to obtain given optical performance as a whole zoom lens. The state of aberration correction required to each lens group has a certain range, and the range generally becomes narrow when the zoom ratio becomes large.
On the other hand, in an optical system capable of shifting an image, in order to suppress variation in various aberrations produced upon shifting an image, there is a state of aberration correction required for the shift lens group only.
Accordingly, the state of aberration correction required for the shift lens group in order to obtain good optical performance when the zoom ratio becomes large is completely different from that required for the shift lens group in order to correct aberrations produced upon shifting an image to obtain good optical performance. Therefore, it is very difficult to combine to attain a high zoom ratio and to construct an optical system capable of shifting an image.
A conventional zoom lens having vibration reduction correction disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-140048, however, has a large number of lens elements, and a vibration reduction mechanism has to be put into the lens barrel. Accordingly, the total lens length and the diameter of the lens barrel become large, so the compactness tends to be spoiled. Moreover, when the zoom lens is made to be a high zoom ratio with having a vibration reduction correction, deterioration in optical performance is severe, so that it becomes difficult to maintain sufficient optical performance as a zoom lens.
A zoom lens disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-282413 has a large number of lens elements, so that when the state of lens group positions varies from the wide-angle end state to the telephoto end state, degree of freedom for selecting zoom trajectory of each lens group is large. Accordingly, high optical performance can be obtained. However, the driving mechanism for moving each lens group becomes complicated and the factors to produce mutual decentering of each lens group upon manufacturing increase, so that it becomes difficult to secure stable optical performance.


A communication system comprises a bridge device being configured to manage multi-channel communications, a host terminal coupled to the bridge device through a first network, a participant terminal coupled to the bridge device through a second network, and a broadcasting device coupled to at least one of the host terminal and the bridge device for broadcasting at least one of the participant signals from the participant terminal and the host signals from the host terminal. The host terminal is configured to receive host signals and to transmit the host signals to the bridge device. The participant terminal is configured to receive participant signals and to transmit the participant signals to the bridge device. The bridge device is configured to receive the participant signals from the participant terminal and the host signals from the host terminal and transmit the participant signals from the participant terminal and the host signals from the host terminal only to the host terminal but not another participant terminal.

This invention generally relates to communication systems and, more particularly, to a wireless communication system.
Generally, participants in a conference may ask questions and make contributions. In large conferences, it requires a microphone system with many microphones and loudspeakers for participants to use or share so that each participant attending the conference may hear the asked questions or contributions from other participants. For example, for meetings or conferences with hundreds or sometime thousands of attendees, it may not be cost effective to set up a system with hundreds or thousands of microphones and associated hardware and management systems. Additionally, sharing microphones among a group of attendees in certain applications or circumstances may cause inconvenience and/or poor audio quality.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,987,992 relates to a wireless microphone system illustrated in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, the system includes a number of wireless microphones at several remote stations and one signal processing unit at the central station. Each microphone includes an antenna for transmitting speech to a corresponding receiver in the signal processing unit. Thus, the number of receivers in the signal processing unit must be the same as the number of microphones used. As a result, when more microphones are desired, this system would require a large number of receivers at the central station, thereby increasing the size of the signal processing unit and the cost for the system. In addition, the system uses unassigned frequency band for signal transmission between the microphones and the signal processing unit. Because the frequency band is unassigned, it may get interference from other wireless communication devices, thereby increasing signal noise and modulation distortion.
Published patent application WO 99/03253 relates to a method and system illustrated in FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 2, the system allows conference participants to use a mobile telephone or any other telephone as a conference microphone via Public Services Telephone Network (PSTN) and Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). The telephone network may via private automatic branch exchange (PABX) connect to a control device which may couple to a loudspeaker device. The system of FIG. 2 uses GSM/VGCS half duplex transmission mode for signal transmission, and thus the signals may not be transmitted and received at the same time. In addition, the system of FIG. 2 may require each conference room to have a set of PABX and control device.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0187859 relates to a communication system with a number of user endpoints and a conference system, as illustrated in FIG. 3. The user endpoints of FIG. 3 may be an Internet Protocol (IP) phone 32, a computer 33, a cellular phone 34 or a corded telephone 35. The communication networks 40 may include wide area networks (WANs), PSTN, local area networks (LANs), intranets and Internet.

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A method for forming a semiconductor device includes providing a substrate having at least a gate positioned thereon, forming at least a recess in the substrate adjacent to the gate, performing a first selective epitaxial growth (SEG) process to form a first epitaxial layer in the recess, performing an etching process to remove a portion of the first epitaxial layer to expose the substrate, and performing a second SEG process to form a second epitaxial layer on the first epitaxial layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for forming a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a method for forming a semiconductor device with selective epitaxial growth (SEG) method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As semiconductor processes advance to 65-nm node and beyond, and with the progress of device miniaturization, enhancing carrier mobility and a driving current of a Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) transistor has become a critical issue. In order to improve a speed of the MOS transistor, a strained-silicon technique has been developed and is taken as a main solution to improve performance of the MOS transistor.
One approach of the strained-silicon technique is applied with selective epitaxial growth (SEG) method, which involves forming an epitaxial layer, such as a SiGe layer, on a single-crystalline silicon substrate while the crystalline orientation of the epitaxial layer is almost identical to that of the substrate. Because a lattice constant of the epitaxial SiGe layer is larger than that of silicon, such characteristic is employed to cause alteration to the band structure of the silicon in the channel region of the substrate. SEG method is widely applied in manufacturing numerous kinds of semiconductor devices, such as MOS transistors having raised source/drain regions which benefits from good short channel character and low parasitical resistance and MOS transistors having recessed source/drain which improves drain induced barrier lowering (DIBL) and punchthrough effect and reduces off-state current leakage and power consumption.
Please refer to FIGS. 1-2, which are schematic drawings illustrating a conventional method for manufacturing a MOS transistor utilizing SEG method. As shown in FIG. 1, a substrate 100 such as a silicon substrate is provided and a plurality of shallow trench isolation (STI) 102 is formed in the substrate 100. Then, a gate 110 is formed on the substrate 100 and followed by performing an ion implantation to form lightly doped drains (LDDs) 112 in the substrate 100 at two sides of the gate 110. Thus a channel region 114 is defined. Next, a spacer 116 is formed on sidewall of the gate 110 and recesses (not shown) are respectively formed in the substrate 100 at the two sides of the gate 110 by etching. Please still refer to FIG. 1. A SEG process is performed to form an epitaxial SiGe layer 120 along surfaces of the substrate 100 exposed in the bottom and sidewalls of the recess. And an ion implantation is performed before forming the recess or after the SEG process to form a recessed source/drain 118.
In principle, stress to the channel region 114 is increased as a Germanium (Ge) concentration in the epitaxial SiGe layer 120 is increased. Idealistically, the performance of the MOS transistor can be improved by increasing the Ge concentration. However, a thickness of the epitaxial SiGe layer 120 is limited by a critical thickness that is getting smaller when the Ge concentration is getting higher. If the thickness of the epitaxial SiGe layer 120 exceeds the critical thickness, it is relaxed and fails to cause stress to the channel region 114. Furthermore, when the Ge concentration in the epitaxial SiGe layer 120 is too high, a lattice mismatch between Si constituting the channel region 114 in the substrate 100 and SiGe becomes too high, thereby generating dislocation. As a result, stress provided by the epitaxial SiGe layer 120 is reduced, leakage current from the source/drain 188 is increased, and thus performance of the MOS transistor is deteriorated.
To avoid above-mentioned problem, the epitaxial SiGe layer 120 is formed with upward gradually-increasing Ge concentration by adjusting process factors during the SEG process. Or, as shown in FIG. 2, a multiple epitaxial SiGe layer 122, 124 is formed by performing different SEG processes with different process factors, while the epitaxial SiGe layer 124 possesses higher Ge concentration than the epitaxial SiGe layer 122. Those approaches are implied to improve stress to the channel region 114 under the critical thickness.
Please refer to FIG. 3, which is an enlarged schematic diagram of the epitaxial SiGe layer 120 in FIG. 2. It is well-known that the epitaxial layer 120 is formed along the surfaces of the substrate 100 at the bottom and sidewalls of the recess. The formation of the epitaxial SiGe layer 120 is proceeded as the upward growing epitaxial SiGe layer 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, 120e shown in FIG. 3. Therefore, an islanding structure tightly adjacent to the spacer 116 is obtained as shown in FIG. 3. The islanding structure causes difficulties in following steps such as ion implantation or removing spacers, and eventually exerts influences upon the performance of the MOS transistor. It is noteworthy that due to the special growing characteristic found in the formation of the epitaxial layer, no matter if the epitaxial layer is formed as single epitaxial SiGe layer 120 having gradually-increasing Ge concentration which is obtained by adjusting process factors during one SEG process, or if the epitaxial layer is formed as a multiple epitaxial SiGe layer 122, 124 having different Ge concentration which is formed in different SEG process, said problem that the islanding structure tightly adjacent to the spacers 116 is always unavoidably found.

Method for forming a semiconductor device


A solenoid valve has an elastomeric annular disc placed between the stationary and the moveable armatures. The elastomeric disc operates to absorb axially transmitted loads to quiet the operation of the solenoid valve. The solenoid valve also includes a pair of elastomeric rings surrounding the movable armature and being located between the lower armature and the coil assembly of the solenoid valve. The elastomeric rings operate to absorb laterally transmitted loads to quiet the operation of the solenoid valve. In another embodiment of the invention, the elastomeric rings are replaced with longitudinally extending elastomeric ridges located between the movable armature and the coil assembly. In this second embodiment, the elastomeric ridges may be integral with the elastomeric disc.

The automotive industry has been and continues to go through the evolution of their internal combustion engines in order to have the emissions from these engines lower in hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and NOx. One source of hydrocarbon emissions has been from the unused fuel within the fuel tank, the carburetor and throughout the fuel delivery system. In order to reduce these emissions, charcoal canisters have been incorporated which absorb the hydrocarbon emissions from the fuel system when the engine is not running. Once the engine is started, the charcoal canister is purged of the absorbed hydrocarbons by virtue of attachment of the charcoal canister to the intake vacuum of the engine which pulls air through the charcoal canister and into the combustion process.
The amount of air which is used to purge the charcoal canisters must be controlled to a specific volume in order for the engine to operate efficiently and be tuned to limit the other types of pollutants. Normally, the regulation of the volume of air flowing through the charcoal canister is controlled by a pulse width modulated solenoid valve and a regulator. The regulator is used to maintain the level of vacuum pressure which is connected to the charcoal canister. Normally the level of this vacuum pressure is maintained at approximately 5 inches of mercury. The solenoid valve is then operated in a pulse width modulated mode to control the amount of fluid allowed to flow through the system at the vacuum pressure level controlled by the regulator. Because the solenoid valve is being operated continuously in a pulse width modulated mode, the noise generated by the solenoid valve must be kept to a minimum in order to provide for the comfort and convenience of the occupants of the vehicle.
Prior art solenoid valves have proved to be excessively noisy for positioning them within the fuel system to meter the flow of air from the charcoal canister. The movable armature has a tendency for side slapping the coil assembly due to the inherent variation in the magnetic flux caused by the tolerances present in the internal components of the prior art solenoid valves. In addition, noise may be generated by the contact between the upper and lower armature if the magnetic flux is strong enough to overcome the amount of force exerted by the coil spring which separates the two armatures.
The present invention provides the art with a solenoid valve which incorporates an elastomeric bushing between the upper and lower armature to dampen any axial motion or contact between the two armatures. In addition, an elastomeric cushion is provided between the movable armature and the coil assembly to cushion any tendency for the moveable armature to slap against the coil assembly. The elastomeric cushion can be a plurality of elastomeric rings surrounding the movable armature or the elastomeric cushion can be a plurality of longitudinally disposed elastomeric strips running the length of the movable armature.
Other advantages and objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the subsequent detailed description, appended claims and drawings.


A multilayer capacitor includes a body having a plurality of dielectric layers and first and second internal electrodes alternately disposed with the dielectric layers interposed therebetween, and further including an active region in which the first and second internal electrodes overlap each other, and upper and lower covers disposed above and below the active region, respectively; and first and second external electrodes disposed on the body to be connected to the first and second internal electrodes, respectively, wherein the upper and lower covers include barium titanate (BT, BaTiO3) and Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ).

A multilayer capacitor has been used in various electronic devices due to the small size and high capacity thereof.
Recently, with the rapid rise of eco-friendly vehicles and electrical vehicles, power driving systems have increasingly been provided in vehicles, and accordingly, demand for a multilayer capacitor necessary for vehicles has also increased.
To be used as a component of a vehicle, high levels of thermal reliability, electrical reliability, and mechanical reliability may be necessary, and thus, the degree of performance necessary for a multilayer capacitor has also been gradually advanced.
One of the mechanical properties may be bending strength. When bending strength is weak, bending cracks may be formed through a multilayer capacitor by stress applied to the multilayer capacitor when the multilayer capacitor is mounted and pressed.
The bending cracks may cause disconnection of an internal electrode, which may cause product defects lowering capacity of the product.

Multilayer capacitor and board having the same mounted thereon


A toolbox includes a receiving seat having two sidewalls. Each sidewall includes a first guiding groove and a pivot. A pivotal seat receiving tools is received in the receiving seat and includes two sides. Each side of the pivotal seat includes an axle received in one of the first guiding grooves and a pivot coupling portion coupled with one of the pivots. A pressing seat includes two vertical portions respectively mounted to the sidewalls of the receiving seat. Each vertical portion includes a second guiding groove. Each axle is received in one of the second guiding grooves. An elastic element is provided for returning the pressing seat. When the pressing seat is pressed, the second guiding grooves of the pressing seat press against and move the axles along the first guiding grooves, the pivot coupling portions couple with the pivots, and the pivotal seat pivots to an exposed position.

The present invention relates to a toolbox and, more particularly, to a toolbox permitting easy access to tools received in the toolbox and occupying a smaller space.
A type of toolbox generally includes a box body for receiving tools and a top cover directly covering an upper opening of the box body. An end of the top cover is pivotably connected to the box body. A cover body of the top cover prevents the tools from falling out of the box body. When a user is intended to use the tools, the user opens the top cover, takes the tools out, and closes the top cover, which is inconvenient. Furthermore, the toolbox of this type cannot be used in a limited space, because a larger space is occupied when the top cover is opened. The operational inconvenience of occupying a larger space due to opening of the top cover is worse when the toolbox is of a portable type.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,016,108 discloses a tool box including a top cover for covering a housing. The top cover is pivotably connected to the housing by a rotation shaft having a drive gear. A torsion spring is received in the rotation shaft. The housing includes a receiving seat for receiving tool tips. The housing includes a driven gear meshed with the drive gear of the top cover. Thus, when the top cover is opened, the receiving seat is automatically exposed to permit access to the tool tips. Although the receiving seat can be exposed while the top cover is opened, the user still has to open the top cover that will occupy a larger space. As a result, the tool box is still not suitable for a limited space.


The present invention relates to large scale manufacture of nanoscale microsheets for use in applications such as wound healing or modification of a biological or medical surface.

Molecularly thin polymeric sheets containing a bioactive agent have been shown to be useful in promoting wound healing and preventing bacterial infection at the site of a wound. See, e.g., co-pending U.S. Pat. Publ. 2015/0283287, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. However, the large scale manufacture of such thin polymeric sheets has not been previously described. The previously described methods rely primarily on batch productions which are small scale production techniques that are slow and inefficient in use of reagents as well as being limited to production of microsheets with relatively small surface areas.
What is needed in the art are large-scale methods for producing nano- to microscale polymeric sheets in an efficient manner.

Methods and compositions for wound healing


A flexible display panel includes a bending area and a surrounding area adjacent to the bending area. The barrier layer includes first silicon nitride layers and first silicon oxide layers which are overlapped with the bending area. The first silicon nitride layers and the first silicon oxide layers are stacked alternately. Each of the first silicon nitride layers may have a thickness less than or equal to about 400 Å, and each of the first silicon oxide layers may have a thickness less than or equal to about 650 Å.

The present disclosure herein relates to a flexible display panel.
Recently, bendable or foldable display panels (hereinafter referred to as flexible display panels) are being further developed. Such a flexible display panel includes a flexible display panel and various functional members.
Typically, the flexible display panel includes a base member, various functional layers located on the base member, and pixels located on the base member.

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology


Switching device for hearing aid, whereby a hearing aid casing part is adapted for placement above and behind the ear lobe and encloses a battery and a signal processing and amplifier device operable to provide an amplified audio signal to the user perceivable as sound wherein further the switching device comprises a base section and a manually operable rigid pivot element which has a two spaced apart pressure receiving parts and a pivotal axis placed between the two pressure receiving parts, whereby a cantilever and indexing ladder is provided between the base section and the rigid pivot element operable to allow the rigid pivot element to assume 2, 3 or more stable positions.

In modern hearing aid design it has become customary for BTE hearing aids to provide a printed circuit board (PCB) running horizontally along the length axis and at the back end of the hearing aid this PCB extends on top of and along a battery and a receiver housing. It is further desired to arrange a switching device which is manually operable by finger touch in this area. Preferably such a switching device will have to control the position of electrical switches mounted onto the PCB in this area, where very little space is available and at the same time the switching device should not cause any increase in the size of the hearing aid casing. The invention provides a switching device, which can be built into the casing of a hearing aid and provide fail-safe multiposition switching which both allows tactile feedback to the user, who may feel the position of the switch and at the same time also a visible feedback is provided, such that caregivers may ascertain the position of the switch by visual inspection.