There is provided a disc drive adopting a slot-in loading by which an optical disc (2) is loaded into or ejected out of the device body through a disc slot. The disc drive can have loaded therein a large-diameter optical disc (2A) and small-diameter optical disc (2B), different in outside diameter from each other. With the small-diameter optical disc being set on a turn-table (23a), an objective lens (25a) is retreated in a direction away from the signal recording surface of the small-diameter optical disc when a pickup moving mechanism (26) moves an optical pickup (25) between the outer and inner radii of the small-diameter optical disc.

Currently, there are available disc drives compatible with information signal recording media such as optical discs including a CD (Compact Disc), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) and the like, magneto-optical disc called "MO" and magneto-optical disc called "MD (Mini Disc)", and which can use each disc of such a type as it is or as housed in a cartridge called "disc cartridge".
The disc drives using an optical disc as a recording medium include a type in which a disc is set directly on a turn-table exposed to outside with a lid or door provided on a housing being opened, a type in which a disc is mounted on a disc tray that is horizontally introduced into or ejected from a housing and the disc tray is carried into the housing and automatically set on a turn-table provided inside the housing, and a type in which a disc is set directly on a turn-table provided on a disc tray. In all of these types of disc drives, it is necessary to open and close the lid or door, introduce and eject the disc tray and set the disc on the turn-table.
Besides the above disc drives, there is available a type using a slot-in type loading mechanism by which a disc just inserted through a disc slot provided at the front side of a housing can automatically be set on a turn-table. This type of disc drive includes a pair of guide rollers to catch a disc inserted through the disc slot and carry the disc into the housing. More specifically, the disc inserted through the disc slot is taken into the housing by the pair of guide rollers rotated in directions opposite to each other (which is called "disc loading"). When an eject operation is made by the user, the rollers in pair are rotated in directions opposite to those for the disc loading to carry the disc to outside the housing (which is called "disc ejection").
Note here that the mobile device, for example, a portable personal computer in which a disc drive is to be installed, is required to be more compact and lightweight and slimmer and hence the disc drive to be installed in such as mobile device is also required to be correspondingly more compact and lightweight and slimmer. Also, it should be noted that a disc drive using the slot-in type loading mechanism easier to use is in higher demand in lieu of the disc drive of the tray type currently used in many portable personal computers.
To load a disc, the disc drive using the slot-in type loading mechanism needs a pair of guide rollers for catching and carrying a disc as mentioned above. However, the guide rollers are longer in the direction of the width of the entire disc drive because their length is larger than the diameter of a disc to carry because their structure. Also, since the pair of guide rollers catches the disc between them, their thickness is considerably large, which makes it difficult to design the conventional slot-in type disc drive more compact and slimmer.
The slim disc drive to be installed in a small mobile device such as a notebook computer having such a size as to be portable is normalized to have a thickness of 12.7 mm, and slimed to a thickness of 9.5 mm which is also the thickness of the hard disc drive (HDD). Therefore, adoption of a slot-in type loading mechanism including a pair of guide rollers in a disc drive slimmed to such a thickness is extremely difficult because of its structure.
To meet the requirements for a more compact and slimmer structure, there have been proposed disc drives each adopting the slot-in type loading mechanism, in which a plurality of pivoting arms is disposed between a disc inserted through a disc slot and a base having installed thereon a turn-table on which the disc is to be set, the pivoting arms are rotated in a plane parallel to the inserted disc to carry the disc from the disc slot into a housing and eject the disc from the disc slot to outside the housing. A typical one of these types of disc drives is disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2002-117604.
In the disc drive proposed in the above patent document to overcome the drawbacks of the disc drive adopting the slot-in loading, there is provided a mechanism to forcibly eject an optical disc having a smaller diameter other than 12 cm (which is the diameter of the widely used standard-size optical disc), such as a CD of 8 cm in diameter, a recording-only DVD used in a camcorder or the like, introduced through a disc slot because the disc drive itself is compatible with only the standard-size optical disc. Therefore, this type of disc drive cannot make any slot-in loading of such discs different in outside diameter from each other.
On this account, there has been demanded a disc drive adopting the slot-in loading, capable of selective loading of discs different in outside diameter from each other, and designed for a slimmer structure.

Disc drive operative with both large-diameter and small-diameter optical discs, and method of controlling same


A multifunctional polypeptide capable of hydrolyzing cellulosic materials, xylan, and mannan is disclosed. The polypeptide includes the catalytic core (cc) of Clostridium thermocellum Cthe_0797 (CelE), the cellulose-specific carbohydrate-binding module CBM3 of the cellulosome anchoring protein cohesion region (CipA) of Clostridium thermocellum (CBM3a), and a linker region interposed between the catalytic core and the cellulose-specific carbohydrate binding module. Methods of using the multifunctional polypeptide are also disclosed.

Conversion of the insoluble cellulose and hemicellulose polymers found in plant biomass into soluble sugars represents a major bottleneck for the biofuel industry. In order to accomplish this conversion, chemical pretreatment and enzyme hydrolysis are usually required.
Among chemical pretreatments, ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX) alkaline pretreatment has many advantages, such as (1) being a dry to dry process that does not produce a wash or liquid stream, (2) producing a chemically similar biomass composition after pretreatment, and (3) resulting in cleaved lignin-carbohydrate complexes without physically extracting hemicelluloses or lignin into separate process streams. Because alkaline pretreatments retain all constituent fractions of biomass, these pretreatments must be paired with the use of a complex mixture of cellulases and hemicellulases to achieve effective hydrolysis. It would be desirable to decrease the number of enzymes required to provide high yield conversion of polysaccharides present in AFEX-pretreated biomass.
Furthermore, a new variant chemical pretreatment called extractive AFEX (E-AFEX) leads to the production of cellulose III, an unnatural form of cellulose (Chundawat, et al., 2011). The extractive AFEX process not only generates cellulose III as a potentially more easily hydrolyzed allomorph, but also partially removes lignin. Both of these beneficial effects should promote enzymatic processing. Enzyme cocktails which hydrolyze cellulose III may have unique complementarity and thus corresponding utility when combined with the E-AFEX process.
In nature, the complex ultra-structure of the plant cell wall requires the participation of a mixture of many different enzymes to efficiently carry out the conversion of biopolymers into soluble sugars. This mixture is called an enzyme cocktail. An enzyme cocktail simultaneously provides cellulase, xylanase, mannanase, and enzymes having other catalytic activities. Cocktails of enzymes that have high hydrolyzing efficiency for either AFEX treated or extractive AFEX (E-AFEX) treated biomass will have great potential in the biofuel industry.
Chemical pretreatments and enzymes must be used together in order to achieve a high-yield deconstruction of biomass into fermentable sugars. As many as 18 different purified enzymes may be required to give a high yield conversion of AFEX pretreated biomass into soluble sugars, because AFEX pretreatment does not destroy the many types of bonds found in hemicellulose. Approaches that result in a reduced number of enzymes required for an efficient biomass hydrolysis would be beneficial to the biofuel industry, because it would be easier to manufacture a smaller number of enzymes, and the total weight of enzyme required may also be decreased.
One way to simplify the composition of enzyme cocktails is to use multifunctional enzymes, whereby a single multifunctional enzyme can replace two or more monofunctional enzymes in the cocktail. As a result of such substitutions, a less complex enzyme cocktail containing fewer enzymes may be used.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a multifunctional enzyme which can hydrolyze the three major materials of plant cell walls: cellulose, xylan, and mannan. Such a multifunctional enzyme could replace two or more enzymes in a conventional enzyme cocktail, while providing advantages in specific activity and stability of the cocktail.

Multifunctional cellulase and hemicellulase


A method and product for treating and preventing diarrhea and scours is provided. The method involves treating a subject who has diarrhea, or scours, or is at risk of getting diarrhea or scours with an aromatic compound of the invention. The products of the invention are a veterinary preparation of the aromatic compound of the invention and an anti-scours agent, and a pharmaceutical preparation of the aromatic compound of the invention and an anti-diarrheal agent.

The present invention relates to methods and products for reducing chloride secretion using aromatic organic compounds. In particular the invention relates to methods of treating diarrhea and scours by administering triaryl methane compounds.
Acute and chronic diarrheas represent a major medical problem in many areas of the world. Diarrhea is both a significant factor in malnutrition and the leading cause of death (5,000,000 deaths/year) in children less than five years old. Secretory diarrheas are also a dangerous condition in patients of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). 16 million travelers to developing countries from industrialized nations every year develop diarrhea, with the severity and number of cases of diarrhea varying depending on the country and area of travel. The major medical consequences of diarrheal diseases include dehydration, acidosis, death and impaired growth.
Diarrhea in barn animals and pets such as cows, pigs and horses, sheep, goats, cats and dogs, also known as scours, is a major cause of death in these animals. Diarrhea can result from any major transition, such as weaning or physical movement. One form of diarrhea is characterized by diarrhea in response to a bacterial or viral infection and generally occurs within the first few hours of the animal""s life.
Although the major consequences of diarrheal diseases are very similar, there are numerous causes of diarrhea. Secretory and exudative diarrhea are primarily caused by bacterial or viral infections. The most common diarrheal causing bacteria is enterotoxogenic E-coli (ETEC) having the K99 pilus antigen. Common viral causes of diarrhea include rotavirus and coronavirus. Other infectious agents include cryptosporidium, giardia lamblia, and salmonella, among others.
The treatment for diarrhea depends on the patient and the infection source. Diarrhea which is found in travelers to industrialized nations (travelers diarrhea) frequently is caused by bacterial pathogens which are acquired through ingestion of fecally contaminated food and/or water. Approximately 50-75% of these cases are attributed to ETEC. Although traveler""s diarrhea is painful, it is generally not life-threatening and often the symptoms last only 3-5 days. The symptoms include urgent diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea and fever. The most effective course of treatment for traveler""s diarrhea is the administration of antibiotics in conjunction with oral rehydration. It has been shown that prophylactic administration of antibiotics drastically reduces the number of travelers experiencing symptoms of diarrhea. However, routine administration of antibiotics is not suggested as it may cause resistant strains of a bacteria to develop. Other treatment methods include administration of bismuth subsalicylate, often taken in the form of Pepto-Bismal, diphenoxylate and loperamide.
Diarrhea in AIDS patients is a very serious condition which causes wasting and may be an important factor in the decline of these patients. AIDS patients often develop diarrhea due to enteric infections which their immune system is not capable of fighting off, but AIDS patients may also develop diarrhea by AIDS enteropathy. AIDS enteropathy is a disorder characterized by diarrhea without the involvement of secondary infections. It is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection of the small bowel mucosal cells and colonic mucosal cells. The most common infective agent causing diarrhea due to enteric infection in AIDS patients in cryptosporidium. The methods for treating diarrhea in AIDS patients include administration of antibiotics and administration of immunoglobulins or an immunoglobulin enriched fraction of bovine colostrum. Colostrum, which is the first milk produced by mammals after birthing is enriched with antibodies.
Acute diarrhea or scours, is a main cause of death in many newborn barn animals such as calves and pigs. Scours is often caused by ETEC with a K99 pilus antigen. Infection with the ETEC causes hypersecretion of fluid and electrolytes. Hypersecretion in turn causes dehydration and pH imbalance which may result in death of the newborn calf or pig.
Newborn barn animals are also susceptible to viral infectious agents causing scours. Infections with rotavirus and coronavirus are common in newborn calves and pigs. Rotavirus infection often occurs within 12 hours of birth. Symptoms of rotaviral infection include excretion of watery feces, dehydration and weakness. Coronavirus which causes a more severe illness in the newborn animals, has a higher mortality rate than rotaviral infection. Often, however, a young animal may be infected with more than one virus or with a combination of viral and bacterial microorganisms at one time. This dramatically increases the severity of the disease.
Generally the best protection for a newborn barn animal from viral or bacterial infection is the consumption of colostrum. If the mother animal has been exposed to these infectious agents then the colostrum will contain antibodies, which are often sufficient to protect the newborn from contracting the diseases. Sometimes, however, this is not sufficient and the animals need further protection. A common method of treatment includes administration of a concentrated colostrum solution or an immunoglobulin fraction isolated from a colostrum solution. This oral treatment may be combined with rehydration salts. Although these methods have improved the morbidity and mortality rate of newborn animals having scours, there still exists a need for more effective treatments.
Certain imidazoles such as clotrimazole are agents which have been used both topically and systemically as antifungals. More recently, studies have identified other uses for such imidazoles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,992 revealed that these imidazoles regulate Ca++ activated K+ channels in erythrocytes, and are thus useful in treating sickle cell anemia, which involves the inhibition of potassium transport. These imidazoles have also been found to be effective in inhibiting endothelial and/or vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. The results of this finding are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,959 and U.S. Ser. No. 08/018,840, which discloses using clotrimazole for treating atherosclerotic and angiogenic conditions, respectively. Nonimidazole metabolites and analogs of the foregoing compounds also have been described as useful in treating the foregoing conditions (see U.S. Ser. Nos. 08/307,874 and 08/307,887).
The present invention provides methods and products for treating diarrhea and scours. It has been discovered that aromatic compounds are effective in treating patients with diarrhea and animals with scours. These compounds are potent inhibitors of secretagogue-stimulated transepithelial electrogenic chloride secretion in intestinal cells.
According to one aspect of the invention, a method for treating diarrhea of diverse etiology is provided. The method involves administering to a subject who is in need of such treatment, an aromatic compound of the invention in an amount effective to inhibit the diarrhea. Preferably the compound is administered orally in conjunction with oral rehydration fluids. The aromatic compounds useful in the invention have the following formula:
or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or hydrate thereof, wherein: n is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4; p is 0 or 1; X is absent, (C1-C3)alkyl, (C1-C3)alkenyl, (C1-C3)alkynyl, SCH2, OCH2, or NOCH2, Y is C, N, P, Si or Ge; Rxe2x80x2 is absent, -halo, xe2x80x94R, xe2x80x94OR, xe2x80x94SR, xe2x80x94NR2, xe2x80x94ONR2, xe2x80x94NO2, xe2x80x94CN, xe2x80x94C(O)R, xe2x80x94C(S)R, xe2x80x94C(O)OR, xe2x80x94C(S)OR, xe2x80x94C(O)SR, xe2x80x94C(S)SR, xe2x80x94C(O)NR2, xe2x80x94C(S)NR2, xe2x80x94C(O)NR(OR), xe2x80x94C(S)NR(OR), xe2x80x94C(O)NR(SR), C(S)NR(SR), xe2x80x94CH(CN)2, xe2x80x94CH[C(O)R]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(S)R]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(O)OR]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(S)OR]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(O)SR]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(S)SR]2, aryl, or heteroaryl; Ar1 is aryl, substituted aryl, heteroaryl, (C5-C8)cycloalkyl or (C5-C8)heterocycloalkyl; Ar2 is aryl or substituted aryl; Ar3 is aryl, substituted aryl, biaryl, biphenyl, bibenzyl, or heteroaryl other than imidazole, nitroimidazole and triazole; each R is independently selected from the group consisting of xe2x80x94H, (C1-C6)alkyl, substituted (C1-C6)alkyl, (C1-C6)alkenyl, substituted (C1-C6)alkenyl(C1-C6)alkynyl, substituted (C1-C6)alkynyl, and (C1-C6)alkoxy; the aryl substituents are each independently selected from the group consisting of -halo, trihalomethyl, xe2x80x94R, xe2x80x94R1, xe2x80x94OR1, xe2x80x94SR1, NR12, xe2x80x94NO2, xe2x80x94CN, xe2x80x94C(O)R1, xe2x80x94C(S)R1, xe2x80x94C(O)OR1, xe2x80x94C(S)OR1, xe2x80x94C(O)SR1 and xe2x80x94C(S)SR1; the alkyl, alkenyl and alkynyl substituents are each independently selected from the group consisting of -halo, xe2x80x94R1, xe2x80x94OR1, xe2x80x94SR1, N(R1)2, xe2x80x94NO2, xe2x80x94CN, xe2x80x94C(O)R1, xe2x80x94C(S)R1, xe2x80x94C(O)OR1, xe2x80x94C(S)OR1, xe2x80x94C(O)SR1, xe2x80x94C(S)SR1, aryl, xcex3-butyrolactonyl, pyrrolidinyl and succinic anhydridyl; and each R1 is independently selected from the group consisting of xe2x80x94H, (C1-C6)alkyl, (C1-C6)alkenyl and (C1-C6)alkynyl.
In a preferred embodiment p=0, X is absent, (C1-C3)alkyl, (C1-C3)alkenyl, (C1-C3) or alkynyl; Rxe2x80x2 is absent, xe2x80x94halo, xe2x80x94R, xe2x80x94OR, xe2x80x94SR, xe2x80x94NR2, xe2x80x94ONR2, xe2x80x94NO2, xe2x80x94CN, xe2x80x94C(O)R, xe2x80x94C(S)R, xe2x80x94C(O)OR, xe2x80x94C(S)OR, xe2x80x94C(O)SR, xe2x80x94C(S)SR, xe2x80x94C(O)NR2, xe2x80x94C(S)NR2, xe2x80x94C(O)NR(OR), xe2x80x94C(S)NR(OR), xe2x80x94C(O)NR(SR), C(S)NR(SR), xe2x80x94CH(CN)2, xe2x80x94CH[C(O)R]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(S)R]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(O)OR]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(S)OR]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(O)SR]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(S)SR]2, or aryl; Ar1 is aryl, substituted aryl, heteroaryl other than imidazole, nitroimidazole and triazole, heteroarylium other than imidazolium, nitroimidazolium and triazolium, (C5-C8) cycloalkyl or (C5-C8)heterocycloalkyl; Ar2 is aryl or substituted aryl; and Ar3 is aryl, substituted aryl, biaryl, or heteroaryl other than imidazole, nitroimidazole and triazole.
In a preferred embodiment the aromatic compounds are those of formula (I), except that the compounds are not any compound encompassed by formula (II):
wherein n=0-3; wherein p=0 or 1; wherein X is selected from the group consisting of (CH2)m(m=0,1,2, or 3), CHxe2x95x90CH, Cxe2x89xa1C, SCH2, OCH2, and NOCH2; wherein Rxe2x80x2 is selected from the group consisting of H, OH, SH, NO2, CN, CHO, ONH2, CCH, CORxe2x80x3, CO2H, CO2Rxe2x80x3, ORxe2x80x3, SRxe2x80x3, NRxe2x80x3Rxe2x80x3, CONRxe2x80x3Rxe2x80x3, heteroaryl, and CONRxe2x80x3(OCH3); wherein Ar1 is selected from the group consisting of phenyl, substituted phenyl, and heteroaryl; wherein Ar2 is selected from the group consisting of phenyl and substituted phenyl; wherein Ar3 is selected from the group consisting of phenyl, substituted phenyl, biphenyl, bibenzyl, and naphthyl; wherein the phenyl substituent is selected from the group consisting of Cl, F, Br, I, R, ORxe2x80x3, SRxe2x80x3, NO2, CN, CF3, NRxe2x80x3Rxe2x80x3, and CO2R; wherein R is selected from the group consisting of straight chain alkyl of Cz(z=1-5), substituted straight chain alkyl of Cz(z=1-5) branched alkyl of Cz(z=1-5), and substituted branched alkyl of Cz(z=1-5); wherein the alkyl substituent is selected from the group consisting of Cl, Br, F, I, OH, OCH3, SH, SCH3, NH2, NHCH3, and N(CH3)2; and wherein Rxe2x80x3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and R.
In one embodiment of the invention the foregoing aromatic compounds may be administered in combination with other non-formula (I) anti-diarrheal agents. In another embodiment the aromatic compounds may be administered in combination with other non-formula (I) anti-scours agents.
According to one embodiment of the invention the subject in need of such treatment is a subject who has symptoms of diarrhea or scours. In another embodiment of the invention, the subject in need of such treatment is a subject at risk of developing diarrhea or scours.
In general diarrhea is a secretory disorder, which is caused by at least one of several mechanisms. In one embodiment the diarrhea is an exudative form of diarrhea; In one embodiment the diarrhea is a nonexudative form of diarrhea; In another embodiment the diarrhea is a decreased absorption form of diarrhea; In another embodiment the diarrhea is a non-decreased absorption form of diarrhea; In yet another embodiment the diarrhea is a secretory form of diarrhea. In yet another embodiment the diarrhea is a nonsecretory form of diarrhea. In still another embodiment the diarrhea is a noninflammatory form of diarrhea.
According to another aspect of the invention, pharmaceutical preparations are provided. These pharmaceutical preparations include the aromatic compounds of the invention together with an anti-diarrheal agent. In one embodiment, the aromatic compounds useful according to the invention have the general formula (I) provided above. In another embodiment, the aromatic compounds useful according to the invention have the general formula (I) provided above but do not include the compounds of formula (II). In yet another embodiment, the aromatic compounds useful according to the invention have the above-disclosed general formula (I), but wherein Rxe2x80x2 and Ar1 do not include imidazoles. Preferably the pharmaceutical composition of the invention may be administered orally.
According to another aspect of the invention, veterinary preparations are provided. These veterinary preparations include the aromatic compounds useful according to the invention together with an anti-scours preparation. In one embodiment, the aromatic compounds useful according to the invention have the general formula (I) provided above. In another embodiment, the aromatic compounds useful according to the invention have the general formula (I) provided above but do not include the compounds of formula (II). In yet another embodiment, the aromatic compounds useful according to the invention have the above-disclosed general formula (I), but wherein Rxe2x80x2 and Ar1 do not include imidazoles.
The invention also provides the aromatic compounds of the invention in the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of diarrhea. In one embodiment, the aromatic compounds of the invention have the above-disclosed general formula, but do not include clotrimazole. In another embodiment, the aromatic compounds useful in the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of diarrhea have the above-disclosed general formula, but wherein Rxe2x80x2 and Ar1 do not include imidazoles.
The invention also provides the aromatic compounds of the invention in the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of scours. In one embodiment, the aromatic compounds of the invention have the general formula (I). In another embodiment, the aromatic compounds useful in the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of scours have the general formula (I) provided above but do not include the compounds of formula (II).
In embodiments of each of the methods or products of the invention the aromatic compounds have the following the structural formula (III):
wherein:
n is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4;
R1 is xe2x80x94H, xe2x80x94OR, xe2x80x94SR, xe2x80x94CN, xe2x80x94C(O)R, xe2x80x94C(O)OR, xe2x80x94C(O)NR2, xe2x80x94CH[C(O)R]2 or xe2x80x94CH[C(O)OR]2;
R2 is xe2x80x94F, xe2x80x94Cl, xe2x80x94Br, xe2x80x94I, xe2x80x94OR, xe2x80x94SR, xe2x80x94C(O)R or xe2x80x94C(O)NR2;
R2xe2x80x2 is xe2x80x94H or xe2x80x94NO2;
R3 is xe2x80x94H, (C1-C6)alkyl, (C1-C6)alkenyl, (C1-C6)alkynyl, xe2x80x94OR or xe2x80x94SR;
R4 is xe2x80x94H or xe2x80x94NR2;
R4xe2x80x2 is xe2x80x94H, xe2x80x94F, xe2x80x94Cl, xe2x80x94Br or xe2x80x94I; and
each R is independently selected from the group consisting of xe2x80x94H, (C1-C6) alkyl, (C1-C6)alkenyl, (C1-C6)alkynyl or (C1-C6)alkoxy.
In another preferred embodiment, the aromatic compounds of the invention are compounds having the structural formula (IV):
wherein:
X is absent or xe2x80x94Cxe2x89xa1Cxe2x80x94;
Y is C, P, Si or Ge;
n is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4;
Ar1 is phenyl, substituted phenyl, cycloalkyl or heteroarylium other than imidazolium, nitroimidazolium or triazolium;
Ar3 is phenyl, naphthyl, piperidyl or cyclohexyl;
R1 is xe2x80x94R, xe2x80x94OR, xe2x80x94SR, xe2x80x94CN, xe2x80x94NR2, xe2x80x94ONR2, xe2x80x94C(O)R, xe2x80x94C(O)OR, xe2x80x94C(O)NR2, xe2x80x94CH[C(O)R]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(O)OR]2, (C1-C6)alkyl, (C1-C6)alkenyl, (C1xe2x80x94C6)alkynyl, cyclopenta-2,4-diene-1-ylidene or phenyl;
each of R2, R3 and R4 is independently selected from the group consisting of xe2x80x94H, xe2x80x94F, xe2x80x94Cl, xe2x80x94Br, xe2x80x94I, xe2x80x94OR, xe2x80x94SR, xe2x80x94NR2, xe2x80x94NO2, xe2x80x94C(O)R, xe2x80x94C(O)OR, xe2x80x94C(O)NR2, trihalomethyl, (C1-C6)alkyl, (C1-C6)alkenyl, (C1-C6)alkynyl and phenyl;
each R is independently selected from the group consisting of xe2x80x94H, halo, (C1-C6)alkyl, substituted (C1-C6)alkyl, (C1-C6)alkenyl, substituted (C1-C6)alkenyl, (C1-C6)alkynyl, substituted (C1-C6)alkynyl and (C1-C6)alkoxy;
the alkyl, alkenyl or alkynyl substituents are each independently selected from the group consisting of aryl, xe2x80x94C(O)OR, pyrrolidinyl, butyrolactonyl, xe2x80x94F, xe2x80x94Cl, xe2x80x94Br, xe2x80x94I and xe2x80x94CN; and
the phenyl substituents are each independently xe2x80x94R.
In another preferred embodiment, the aromatic compounds of the invention are compounds having the formula (V):
or pharmaceutically acceptable salts or hydrates thereof, wherein:
n is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4;
R is xe2x80x94H, xe2x80x94OR, xe2x80x94SR, xe2x80x94CN, xe2x80x94C(O)R, xe2x80x94C(S)R, xe2x80x94C(O)OR, xe2x80x94C(S)OR, xe2x80x94C(O)SR, xe2x80x94C(S)SR, xe2x80x94C(O)NR2, xe2x80x94C(S)NR2, xe2x80x94CH[C(O)R]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(S)R]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(O)OR]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(S)OR]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(O)SR]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(S)SR]2;
R2 is xe2x80x94F, xe2x80x94Cl, xe2x80x94Br or xe2x80x94I;
R3 is xe2x80x94R, xe2x80x94OR or xe2x80x94SR;
R4 is xe2x80x94H or xe2x80x94NR2;
R4xe2x80x2 is xe2x80x94H, xe2x80x94F, xe2x80x94Cl, xe2x80x94Br or xe2x80x94I; and
each R is independently selected from the group consisting of xe2x80x94H, (C1-C6)alkyl, (C1-C6)alkenyl, (C1-C6)alkynyl and (C1-C6)alkoxy.
In another preferred embodiment, the compounds of the invention are those of formula (V), with the provisos that (i) when n is 0 and R1 is xe2x80x94H or xe2x80x94OH, R3 is other than xe2x80x94H; and (ii) when n is 0 and R1 is xe2x80x94H, R3 is other than xe2x80x94OH.
In another preferred embodiment, the compounds of the invention are those of formula (V), with the proviso that when n is 0 and R1 is xe2x80x94C(O)NH2, R2 is other than xe2x80x94F.
In another preferred embodiment, the aromatic compounds of the invention are compounds having the formula (VI):
or pharmaceutically acceptable salts or hydrates thereof, wherein:
n is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4;
R1 is xe2x80x94NR2, xe2x80x94C(O)R, xe2x80x94C(S)R, xe2x80x94C(O)NRxe2x80x22 or xe2x80x94C(S)NRxe2x80x22;
R2 is xe2x80x94F, xe2x80x94Cl, xe2x80x94Br or xe2x80x94I;
R3 is xe2x80x94F, xe2x80x94Cl, xe2x80x94Br or xe2x80x94I;
R4 is xe2x80x94F, xe2x80x94Cl, xe2x80x94Br or xe2x80x94I;
each R is independently selected from the group consisting of xe2x80x94H, (C1-C6)alkyl, (C1-C6)alkenyl, (C1-C6)alkynyl and (C1-C6)alkoxy; and
each Rxe2x80x2 is independently selected from the group consisting of xe2x80x94H, (C1-C6)alkyl, (C1-C6)alkenyl, (C1-C6)alkynyl and (C1-C6)alkoxy.
In another preferred embodiment, the compounds of the invention are compounds having the formula (VII):
or pharmaceutically acceptable salts or hydrates thereof, wherein:
n is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4;
Ar1 is phenyl or cyclohexyl;
R, is xe2x80x94NR2, xe2x80x94CH[C(O)OR]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(S)OR]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(O)SR]2, xe2x80x94CH[C(S)SR]2, xe2x80x94C(O)NR2 or xe2x80x94C(S)NR2; and
each R is independently selected from the group consisting of xe2x80x94H, (C1-C6)alkyl, (C1-C6)alkenyl, (C1-C6)alkynyl and (C1-C6)alkoxy.
Each of the limitations of the invention can encompass various embodiments of the invention. It is, therefore, anticipated that each of the limitations of the invention involving any one element or combinations of elements can be included in each aspect of the invention.

Triaryl methane compounds and their use in the treatment of diarrhea and scours


A monolithic quartz resonator accelerometer including a monolithic quartz sensing structure with a frame, a proof mass support structure within the frame, and a resonator structure interconnecting the frame and the support structure. Further included are a proof mass fixed to the support structure, and electrodes on the resonator structure for driving the resonator at a vibration frequency which varies as a function of the acceleration of the proof mass.

Inertial guidance systems require accelerometers capable of accurately measuring the magnitude and direction of acceleration. Typically, the accelerometers must have a dynamic range of 10.sup.5 gravities or more, be rugged enough to withstand the hostile environment, and be small and lightweight.
In attempts to meet the needs for accuracy and dynamic range, accelerometers having quartz resonator elements have been developed. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,479,536 and 3,238,789, incorporated herein by reference. In those devices, the quartz resonator is rigidly attached to a separate supporting structure at one end and a separate proof mass at the other. Typically, only the resonator is quartz.
Although the accelerometers with quartz resonators-may have the desired dynamic range and stability, they are typically extremely difficult to manufacture and very costly. These problems are primarily directly attributable to the manner in which the quartz resonator is configured. The resonator must be physically coupled to the other elements of the accelerometer, which may be constructed of materials having a different coefficient of thermal expansion than the quartz resonator material. Without intricately machined components, as the accelerometer undergoes temperature changes, the resonator may experience additional loading not attributable to acceleration, leading to erroneous readings. That loading would exist even if the accelerometer included separate temperature sensors for compensating the acceleration reading.
In order to meet the accuracy requirements, the separate accelerometer components must be fabricated with high dimensional precision and assembled with the same degree of precision, all at great expense. The number and type of components also increases the size and weight of the accelerometer, which is undesirable in a missile guidance system. The very fact that a large number of separate parts is employed also affects the ruggedness of the accelerometer.

Monolithic quartz resonator accelerometer


A device and method for a flexible stabilization system for a vertebral column is disclosed. The device includes a strong, non-metallic stabilization element or elements for providing flexibility. The stabilization elements are secured to the vertebrae and wherein, when secured, the stabilization element or elements stabilize the vertical column while still allowing for flexibility. In a preferred embodiment the stabilization elements are anchored to the vertebrae by a bone screw having an upper shank portion and a lower threaded portion having segmented area. Still further, the bone screw and stabilization elements may be porous and produced from material made by the replamineform process.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a non-metallic device and method for the stabilization of at least a portion of a vertebral column and more particularly to a device and method for spinal stabilization and also which incorporates a microporous material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Fusion of vertebral columns by instrumentation devices and/or bone material is common and a long practiced surgical technique. Fusion is the permanent internal fixation of part or all of the intervertebral joints, an intervertebral joint being composed of two adjacent vertebrae and their posterior bony elements connected by an intervertebral disc, ligaments, and two facet joint capsules. However, the concept of fusion carries significant and previously unappreciated patient disability. By fusing vertebrae the remaining segments are subject to inordinately high stress and degeneration. In the typical L4-S1 fusion the L3-4 level typically undergoes dramatic degeneration of the disc and zygoapophyseal joints leading to the production of a clinical entity called the "transitional syndrome" often leading to "mechanical-type" pain or actual spinal nerve compression. The stress patterns produced by fusion often produce clinical problems relating to the sacro-iliac and hip joints.
When spine fusions involve mechanical instrumentation, significant forces are directly aimed at the supportive sites whether they be bone screws, hooks, etc. This phenomenon usually produces loosening of the points of attachment for the implanted hardware and a resulting loss of support by this instrumentation. Because of this, fusions involving instrumentation are often carried out in conjunction with bone fusions so as the instrumentation loosens and fails, support can be maintained by growth of the bony counterpart. These combined procedures involve extensive surgery, substantial blood loss and high cost. Following such a procedure, patients are usually disabled for long periods of time.
Therefore, the treating of spinal instability by fusion is not optimal. It immobilizes adjacent segments, eliminating their previous natural ability to move relative to each other. Further, when fusion has taken place with the addition of internal fixation, often the internal fixation parts are of a metallic nature. In modern medical practice the presence of dense metallic devices is a significant liability due to the scattering artifacts generated if imaging is attempted. Since the spinal diagnostic procedure of choice is now imaging, the presence of significant metallic objects represents a serious diagnostic limitation.
In 1973 scientists at the Materials Research Laboratory at Penn State University observed that is some reef building corals their microstructure was characterized by 1) a high degree of uniformity in pore diameter, 2) a pore interconnection diameter similar in size to that of the pore itself, 3) a solid-to-volume ratio or approximately one, and 4) exceptionally high permeability in which each and every pore was interconnected to all other pores. It was recognized that it would be virtually impossible to achieve these structural characteristics by artificial means. Early experiments designed to impregnate the coral with various substances, dissolve the calcium carbonate coral skeleton and then make positive casts with other materials including metal alloys were successful and the term "the replamineform process" was coined.
In addition to replamineform casting it became evident that the structural characteristics of coral itself could possibly serve as the means for bone ingrowth after cleansing of organic materials and chemical conversion from biogenic carbonate to hydroxyapetite.
Subsequent medical studies using coral with a microdiameter (200-250 microns) similar to that of the normal human bone Haversian canals (200-400 microns) were conducted by a number of physicians in the United States. Drs. Vert Mooney and David Selby in Dallas, Tex. performed 40 cases of bilateral spinal bone fusion in which one side was coral provided by Interpore International of Irvine, Calif., and the other side autogenous bone. These studies did not demonstrate significant ingrowth of osteoblasts into the coral and these observations led to the conclusion that coral showed little value in this regard. Since this work most clinicians have almost exclusively used autogenous or donor derived homologous bone.
The present invention addresses the problems associated with the prior art devices and method for treating spinal instability and provides for stabilization, rather than fusion, that is, support with the allowance of some natural movement or flex, and accomplishes this with a minimal amount of metallic components and may allow for ingrowth by fibroblasts to occur.

Flexible stabilization system for a vertebral column


To visually display on a monitor screen the direction and volume of a sound source to be inserted in an image, a sound editing apparatus comprises a sound source direction setting unit for setting the sounding direction of a sound source; a sound source signal dividing unit for dividing a monaural sound source signal into left- and right-channel stereo signals according to the sounding direction of the sound source; a display unit for reproducing images from the video medium and displaying the images in which the sounds are to be inserted; and a sound source direction superimposing unit for superimposing a predetermined mark, which indicates the sounding direction, in the video images displayed on the display unit.

1. Filed of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sound editing apparatus employed for making videos, television broadcasting programs, movies, computer animations, multimedia software, game software, etc., to insert sounds in video media by after-recording.
Portable videos and 8-mm video cameras are popular these days, enabling anyone to easily record images and make animated presentations. To record images more correctly and impressively, it is preferable to record sounds together with the images. The after-recording technique is one of the popular techniques used for recording sounds. The after-recording technique inserts proper sounds and music in scenes of a recorded video medium afterwards.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional sound editing work employs a sound editing apparatus called a mixer and manually edits sounds from the beginning to the end.
The conventional sound editing technique adjusts the position and volume of a sound source according to the hearing sense of a mixing engineer, so that the mixing engineer must be skilled in hearing sound. The sound editing work, therefore, is not easy work that can be done by anyone.
While monitoring images, the engineer must edit sounds in real time and on-line and precisely consider the kinds and timing of sounds to be inserted in the images. During the sound insertion, the engineer must correctly operate many control knobs and switches and that requires skill.
In addition, to guarantee the highest sound quality on a completed work, the monitoring equipment and devices must be of top quality. This increases costs.


A patient positioning table has a transfer plate that is reversibly transferable from the patient positioning table to a table associated with an imaging modality, and a headrest-forming extension component having a fastening section and a supporting section is provided, which can be detachably fastened to fastening devices provided on the transfer plate in exchange for a framework-like head immobilizing fixture, which can be detachably fastened to the same fastening devices.

Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a movable or fixed patient positioning table having a transfer plate that can be reversibly transferred from the patient positioning table to a table associated with an imaging modality.
Description of the Prior Art
As part of surgical treatment of a sedated or anesthetized patient, it is often necessary before, during and after the procedure during which the patient lies on a special treatment table, to transfer the patient to an imaging modality, in particular a magnetic resonance scanner, in order to acquire images that are used for preparing or monitoring the treatment. This transfer takes place by means of a movable or fixed patient positioning table having a transfer plate that can be reversibly transferred from the patient positioning table to the table where the surgical procedure takes place, and from which it can also be transferred to the table associated with the imaging modality. A plate changeover therefore takes place. Once the mechanical securing device has been released, the transfer plate is moved horizontally from a secure position on the respective table or patient positioning table, with the transfer positions or interfaces being designed such that the transfer plate can be moved and therefore transferred horizontally as smoothly as possible.
An example of a treatment requiring image monitoring is a neurosurgical procedure. During the procedure, the patient lies on the transfer plate that is disposed on the neurosurgical operating table. The patient's head is fixed in a head immobilizing fixture that is provided on the transfer plate. For surgery monitoring, the transfer plate is transferred from the operating table to the patient positioning table, which is then moved to the table of the magnetic resonance system where the transfer plate is transferred again. After image acquisition, the transfer plate is transferred back onto the patient positioning table and, if necessary, returned to the operating table. Another treatment example is catheter ablation, which is frequently performed under X-ray control. During the ablation process the transfer plate is disposed on the table of a C-arm X-ray machine. The guiding of the catheter can be tracked as part of the X-ray monitoring. To check the ablation success, the transfer plate is transferred again to the patient positioning table and from there to the table of the imaging modality, i.e. the MR scanner, for example, where the relevant images are then acquired.
Different transfer plates are required for the respective procedure. Whereas a neurosurgical procedure requires a transfer plate having a head immobilizing fixture in which the patient's head can be immobilized, other surgical procedures require a transfer plate having a headrest on which the patient's head is merely supported. This means in practice that, depending on a given treatment objective or depending on a given treatment modality and imaging modality between which a transfer plate changeover is to take place via the patient positioning table, a specific transfer plate has to be used or held available.

Patient positioning table having a transfer plate


When a pull-in to a target track due to a turn-on of a tracking servo unit fails and a seek error is detected, a seek error processing unit turns on, for example, a low speed lens lock control unit and controls a VCM so as to set an optical axial deviation of an objective lens to zero, thereby subsequently allowing a retry seek to be executed. The turn-on of the low speed lens lock control unit by the seek error processing unit is performed for a specified time after the detection of the seek error.

The present invention relates to an optical storage apparatus for optically recording and reproducing information to/from an exchangeable medium such as an MO cartridge or the like. More particularly, the invention relates to an optical storage apparatus for electrically substituting a lens position sensor which is eliminated to make the apparatus thin.
Attention is paid to an optical disk as a storage medium as a center of multimedia which has rapidly been developing in recent years. For example, as for an MO cartridge of 3.5 inches, MO cartridges of 128 MB, 230 MB, and the like are provided. An optical disk drive using such an MO cartridge is provided as an external storage apparatus of a desk-top type personal computer. Further, it is also strongly desired to use the optical disk drive in a notebook-sized personal computer having an excellent portability which has rapidly been spread in recent years. In order to equip the optical disk drive as an external storage apparatus as standard equipment, it is necessary to miniaturize and thin the optical disk drive. For example, a thickness of an HDD or FDD which is presently installed in a desk-top type personal computer is equal to about 17 mm. It is also necessary to make an optical disk drive thin to a similar extent.
The optical disk drive has a pickup mechanism of a linear driving type in the direction which traverses tracks on a medium. The pickup mechanism is constructed of a fixed optical unit and a movable optical unit mounted on a carriage which is linearly driven by a VCM. The movable optical unit is equipped with a lens actuator and has a relatively complicated mechanism in which a two-dimensional degree of freedom for moving an objective lens in the direction traversing the tracks by a current supply to a tracking coil and for moving the objective lens in the vertical direction by a current supply to a focusing coil is required. Further, a lens position sensor is usually mounted on the lens actuator. The lens position sensor can move the objective lens to the inner side or the outer side by only a micro distance around a position where the center of the objective lens is made coincide with the optical axis of a light beam from the fixed optical unit as a center by the current supply to the tracking coil. The lens position sensor detects a deviation amount of the optical axis of the lens from a neutral position of the lens. Consequently, in order to make the optical disk drive thin, it is necessary to simplify a structure of a pickup and to reduce a space in the height direction. If the lens position sensor provided for the lens actuator can be omitted, the optical disk drive can be made thinner.

Optical storage apparatus which detects a lens position signal without a lens position sensor


Process for the preparation of stable suspensions and dispersions of carbon nanotubes, and dispersions prepared by the process.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are known for their extraordinary properties. For example, their strength is approximately 100 times that of steel, their thermal conductivity is approximately as great as that of diamond, their thermal stability reaches as high as 2800° C. in vacuo, and their electrical conductivity can be a multiple of the conductivity of copper. However, these structure-related characteristics are frequently only obtainable on a molecular level when carbon nanotubes can be distributed homogeneously and the greatest possible contact between the tubes and the medium can be produced, that is to say when the tubes can be rendered compatible with the medium and accordingly stably dispersible. With regard to electrical conductivity it is further necessary to form a network of tubes in which the tubes are ideally in contact or sufficiently close only at the ends. The carbon nanotubes are thereby to be present in as isolated a form as possible, that is to say without agglomerates, in a non-aligned manner and in a concentration at which such a network is able to form, which is reflected in the sudden increase in the electrical conductivity in dependence on the concentration of carbon nanotubes (percolation limit). An example of the direct use of conductive dispersions is conductive inks (see e.g. EP-A 1514280). Excellent dispersion and isolation of the carbon nanotubes is also required to achieve improved mechanical properties of composites such as, for example, in reactive resins such as epoxides, because larger agglomerates lead to fracture sites (Zhou, eXPRESS Polym. Lett. 2008, 2, 1, 40-48), and an impairment of the mechanical properties of such composites then tends to be observed.
For commercial applications, therefore, the incorporation of CNTs into liquid vehicles is of interest but is also a requirement. After their preparation, CNTs are present in the form of primary agglomerates. These primary agglomerates, which can have an order of magnitude of up to several millimeters, are initially not suitable for commercial use. In fact, they must be broken up so that the CNTs are present in isolated form and are able to form a stable dispersion and can be applied to the surface to be treated, for example in the form of thin layers. Isolated CNTs are also required to achieve desirable properties such as, for example, electrical conductivity.
For the successful preparation of stable dispersions of carbon nanotubes, therefore, the complete breaking up and unbundling of carbon nanotube agglomerates and—frequently—suppression of the high tendency of carbon nanotubes to re-aggregation is crucial if it is desired, by their use, to make a material electrically conductive, for example, and/or better in mechanical terms. Such dispersions must have different properties depending on the field of use. For example, for the use of inks in the inkjet printing process it is desirable for the residual agglomerate size to be sufficiently small that the nozzles do not become blocked. The same is true for a screen printing process, because agglomerates that are too large can lead to the formation of bridges on the screen and accordingly to blockages.
At the same time, however, a high concentration of CNTs in the dispersion is also desirable, in the case of conductive inks, for example, in order to make the printing operation as efficient as possible. There are two reasons for this: The wet layer thickness that can be achieved in a single step is limited with typical printing processes. The amount of CNTs which can be applied in a single printing step, and accordingly also the achievable conductivity per unit area, is therefore proportional to the CNT concentration in the dispersion. If a particular surface conductivity is required, it can require several printing operations, depending on the requirement and the printing process, which increases the outlay and may lead to problems with the accuracy of the printed structures. In CNT-containing starting products, a high concentration is desirable so that an adequate concentration can also be achieved in the end product.
It is additionally important for industrial use that a CNT dispersion is stable to the sedimentation of particles over a period of at least six months. For industrial applications, it is necessary to produce large amounts of dispersion, reaching the tonne scale. The production of such large amounts is not described in the literature.
CNT-containing dispersions can be prepared by various known techniques. Techniques known to the person skilled in the art are described, for example, in "Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes in Liquids", Journal of Dispersion Science and Technology, Volume 24, Issue 1 Jan. 2003, pages 1-41.
The techniques presented there are:                Dispersion with ultrasound: This process is very popular for laboratory processes but has the disadvantage that the required energy inputs are very high and the performance of the available ultrasound devices is technically limited, so that industrial production is scarcely possible. In addition, the energy input is concentrated very locally, and broad particle size distributions result. With higher degrees of filling with CNTs, the increase in viscosity has the result that the mechanism of ultrasonic dispersion, which is based substantially on cavitation, is greatly diminished.        Ball milling: As stated in the article, this process has the disadvantage that the CNTs are greatly damaged, which has an adverse effect especially on properties such as conductivity.        Trituration: This method destroys the structure and hence the properties of the CNTs even more than ball milling.        High-pressure mixing: Dispersion in a valve for diesel engines (ASTM D5275) led to considerable destruction of the CNT structures.
WO-A 2009/100865 discloses a process for the preparation of conductive aqueous formulations containing carbon nanotubes and at least one polymeric dispersing aid, comprising at least the steps:                a) optional oxidative pre-treatment of the carbon nanotubes,        b) preparation of an aqueous pre-dispersion by dissolving the polymeric dispersing aid in an aqueous solvent, introduction and distribution of carbon nanotubes in the resulting solution,        c) introduction of a volume-related energy density, preferably in the form of shear energy, of at least 104 J/m3, preferably of at least 105 J/m3, particularly preferably from 107 to 109 J/m3, into the pre-dispersion until the agglomerate diameter of the carbon nanotube agglomerates is substantially ≦5 μm, preferably ≦3 μm, particularly preferably ≦2 μm.
For step c), the preferred use of a high-pressure homogeniser is disclosed, the pre-dispersion preferably passing through the high-pressure homogeniser several times. A disadvantage of this process is that the maximum concentration to be obtained in the formulation corresponds to the maximum concentration which can be established in the pre-dispersion. Accordingly, in Example 3 of the application, by three separate passes through a high-pressure homogeniser, a dispersion of 0.5 gram of CNTs purified with H2O2 in 95 grams of polyvinylpyrrolidone solution is disclosed. The viscosity at a concentration of just below 0.53 wt. % is already 1.68 Pa*s at room temperature and a shear rate of 1/s. This low concentration of CNTs has the result that large amounts of water must be evaporated off in order to obtain a conductive coating. Because the viscosity of dispersions of CNTs increases greatly as the concentration of dispersed CNTs increases, a markedly higher viscosity is to be expected for higher CNT concentrations, which considerably limits the possibilities for commercial use. The conductivity achieved after drying was 3000 S/m.
US 2005/0224764 A1 describes CNT dispersions which, after application to a surface and drying, are electrically conductive and, owing to their shear thinning properties, are suitable, for example, for screen printing. The dispersions contain a carrier material (water or an organic solvent), a polymeric binder, typically a dispersing aid. The conductivities described in this application correspond, after conversion, approximately to those of WO 2009/100865. It is disclosed that the CNT dispersions can contain from 0.1 to 5% CNTs. However, it is also described in US 2005/0224764 A1 that the viscosity increases as the content of CNTs increases. This is also the reason why the dispersions are prepared first by pre-dispersion, by means of ultrasound, of a dilute solution containing not more than 0.5% CNTs, and only then by subsequent concentration and further dispersion by means of a milling process, in which the CNTs are shortened. In the examples given in the application, the CNT content is a maximum of 3.5 wt. %, in most cases 2.5 wt. % or less, and higher concentrations cannot be established in satisfactory quality by the mentioned process, even if it were desirable in some cases for the reasons mentioned above.

Production of dispersions containing carbon nanotubes


A fuel treatment system for an engine includes at least two centrifugal separators for cleaning fuel oil for an engine, at least two variable feed pumps for supplying fuel oil to be cleaned to the centrifugal separators, respectively, and at least two separator control units configured to control the operation of the centrifugal separators and the speed of the variable feed pumps, thereby controlling the flow rate of fuel oil to be cleaned to the separators. The system further includes a system control unit, other than the separator control units, configured for receiving information from a unit in the fuel treatment system that is arranged downstream of the centrifugal separators or from an engine arranged to use the fuel that is treated by the system, and for sending operational requests to the separator control units based on the received information.

Marine diesel engines usually accept several types of commercially available fuel oils as long as they are adequately treated on board the ship. Such a fuel treatment system usually comprises one or several centrifugal separators together with one or several settling tanks. Centrifugal separators are generally used for separation of liquids and/or solids from a liquid mixture, such as fuel oil. During operation, fuel oil that is to be treated is introduced into a rotating bowl and due to the centrifugal forces, heavy particles or denser liquid, such as water, accumulates at the periphery of the rotating bowl whereas a clean oil phase accumulates closer to the central axis of rotation. This allows for collection of the separated fractions, e.g. by means of different outlets arranged at the periphery and close to the rotational axis, respectively.
The requirements for handling fuel on board a ship today involve several operations and the treatment on board a ship is associated with several difficulties. For example, fuel oil for diesel engines on board ships and in power stations contains particles of silicon and aluminium compounds (e.g. microporous aluminium silicates or aluminosilicates known as zeolites), called catalyst fines. Catalyst fines are residues from the refining process of crude oil known as catalytic cracking, wherein long hydrocarbon molecules are cracked into shorter molecules. These particles are undesired in the fuel oil since they are abrasive and may cause wear in the engine and auxiliary equipment. Further, most ships run on residual fuel oil, or heavy fuel oil (HFO), which is essentially a refinery by-product that is blended to satisfy market demand for a relatively cheap source of energy. However, stricter regulations have been implemented to govern sulphur emissions from such residual oils with e.g. the introduction of Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECAs) or Emission Control Areas (ECAs) sea areas. It is assumed that ships run on HFO outside ECAs and then switch to distillates as the ships enter ECAs. Differences in fuel properties and switching between different fuels thus make the preparation or treatment of the fuel oil on board a ship more complex.
A fuel treatment system on board a ship especially focuses on energy efficiency, fuel quality, environmental compliance and engine protection. There is a need in the art for a solution that optimizes the performance and control of the fuel treatment system on board a ship.

Fuel treatment system for an engine and a method using the system


A spin-injection magnetic random access memory according to an embodiment of the invention includes a magnetoresistive element having a magnetic fixed layer whose magnetization direction is fixed, a magnetic recording layer whose magnetization direction can be changed by injecting spin-polarized electrons, and a tunnel barrier layer provided between the magnetic fixed layer and the magnetic recording layer, a bit line which passes spin-injection current through the magnetoresistive element, the spin-injection current being used for generation of the spin-polarized electrons, a writing word line through which assist current is passed, the assist current being used for the generation of an assist magnetic field in a magnetization easy-axis direction of the magnetoresistive element, and a driver/sinker which determines a direction of the spin-injection current and a direction of the assist current.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spin-injection magnetic random access memory in which magnetization reversal is performed with spin-polarized electrons.
2. Description of the Related Art
In addition to magnetic heads and detection elements such as a magnetic sensor, a magnetoresistive element in which a magnetic film is used has been studied for the use of a storage element in a magnetic random access memory (MRAM), which is of a solid-state magnetic memory.
The magnetoresistive element has a sandwich structure, which includes, e.g., two magnetic metal layers and a dielectric layer arranged there between. In the magnetoresistive element having the sandwich structure, because magnetization states of the two magnetic metal layers differ depending on the data, the data can be read by utilizing tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) effect.
Recently, for an MR ratio (magnetoresistive ratio), which indicates a magnetoresistive fluctuation rate, the magnetoresistive element having the MR ratios more than 20% at room temperature is obtained, and research and development of the magnetic random access memory is actively conducted.
The magnetoresistive element in which the TMR effect is utilized can be realized as follows: After an Al (aluminum) layer having thicknesses ranging from 0.6 nm to 2.0 nm is formed on a ferromagnetic body which is of the magnetic metal layer, a surface of the Al layer is exposed to oxygen glow discharge or oxygen gas to form a tunnel barrier layer made of Al2O3, and the ferromagnetic body which is of the magnetic metal layer is further formed.
Instead of Al2O3, MgO (magnesium oxide) can also be used as the tunnel barrier layer.
A ferromagnetic single-tunnel junction element is proposed as another structure of the magnetoresistive element in which the TMR effect is utilized. In the ferromagnetic single-tunnel junction element, for example, one of two ferromagnetic layers is formed in a magnetic fixed layer whose magnetization state is fixed by an anti-ferromagnetic layer. Further, a magnetoresistive element, which has a ferromagnetic tunnel junction through magnetic particles dispersed in a dielectric body and a ferromagnetic double-tunnel junction element in which the ferromagnetic body is formed in a continuous film are also proposed.
These magnetoresistive elements have been considered to have a high potential for application, because the MR ratios range from 20% to 230% and a decrease in MR ratio is suppressed even if voltage applied to the magnetoresistive element is increased.
In the magnetic random access memory in which the magnetoresistive element is used, a readout time is as fast as not more than 10 nano seconds and rewritable endurance is as large as at least 1015 times.
However, the data writing (magnetization reversal) in the magnetic recording layer is performed with a magnetic field generated by pulse current. Therefore, current density of the pulse current supplied to a word line or a bit line is increased, which results in new problems that electric power consumption is increased, large memory capacity is difficult to be realized, and a driver for generating the pulse current is increased in an area.
Therefore, there is proposed a yoke wiring technology in which a magnetic material (yoke material) having high magnetic permeability is provided around a writing line to impart efficiently the magnetic field to the magnetoresistive element. According to this technology, the current density of the pulse current generated during the data writing can be decreased.
However, the pulse current cannot still be decreased to a value required for the practical use of the magnetic random access memory, i.e., the values not more than 1 mA.
The writing method by the spin injection is proposed as the technology, which solves these problems at a stroke.
The spin-injection writing method has a feature in that the magnetization reversal of the magnetic recording layer is performed by injecting the spin-polarized electrons into the magnetic recording layer of the magnetoresistive element.
When the magnetization reversal is performed by the spin-polarized electrons, because the current density of the pulse current can be decreased compared with the case in which the magnetization reversal is performed by the magnetic field, the spin-injection writing method can contribute to the electric power consumption reduction, the enlargement of memory capacity, the driver area reduction, and the like. In this case, in order not to generate the ring magnetic field by the pulse current, because it is necessary to decrease dimensions of the magnetoresistive element, it is convenient to integrate the magnetoresistive element.
In order to realize the spin-injection writing method, firstly, it is necessary that thermal stability (thermal fluctuation resistance) is ensured when the dimensions of the magnetoresistive element is equal to or smaller than 0.1×0.1 μm2. Second it is necessary that a fluctuation in dimension of the magnetoresistive element is decreased. Third it is necessary that the current density of the pulse current required for the spin-injection magnetization reversal is decreased.
Currently the current density of the pulse current required for the spin-injection magnetization reversal is about 107 A/cm2, however, the further reduction of the current density is desired in order to prevent a tunnel barrier breakage problem and the like.
In the magnetoresistive element in which giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect is utilized, the current density of the pulse current can be decreased to a degree of 106 A/cm2 by adopting the so-called dual-pin structure. For example, in the case where Cu/Co90Fe10, Ru/Co90Fe10 is used as a spin reflection film, the current densities of the pulse current required for the spin-injection magnetization reversal become about 8×106 A/cm2 and about 2×106 A/cm2 respectively.
However, these values are not still enough to realize the magnetic random access memory. In order to solve the problems such as the tunnel barrier breakage and the thermal disturbance caused by the temperature rise of the magnetoresistive element, it is necessary to conduct the research and development of a new architecture and writing method, which can realize the further reduction of the current density.

Spin-injection magnetic random access memory


A resin composition for golf balls is made of (A) polyurethane or polyurea and (B) a styrene resin material, component (B) being included in an amount of 0.5 to 50 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of component (A). In a golf ball having a core and a cover of one or more layer encasing the core, at least one cover layer is formed of this resin composition. The resin composition is especially useful as a golf ball cover material because the ball does not fly too far and is easier to control on approach shots, yet does not sacrifice distance on shots with a driver.

The chief characteristic demanded of golf balls is an increased distance, although other desired properties include the ability of the ball to stop well on approach shots, and scuff resistance. Many golf balls endowed with a good flight on shots with a driver and a good receptivity to backspin on approach shots have hitherto been developed. In addition, golf ball cover materials possessing a high resilience and a good scuff resistance have been developed.
Today, urethane resin materials are often used in place of ionomer resin materials as the cover material, especially for professional golfers and skilled amateur golfers. However, professional golfers and skilled amateur golfers desire golf balls having even better controllability on approach shots, and so further improvement is sought even among cover materials in which a urethane resin material serves as the base resin. JP-A 2017-113220 discloses a golf ball resin material which includes, as a cover material that endows the ball with excellent controllability around the green when played with a short iron such as a sand wedge and can also extend the distance traveled by the ball on shots with a driver, a specific styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer and a thermoplastic resin having on the molecule either styrene monomer units or diene monomer units. Also, JP-A 2016-119946 discloses a resin material for golf balls that provides the ball with excellent controllability when hit around the green with a short iron such as a sand wedge (SW).
However, these golf ball resin materials are entirely different resin materials that are intended for use in place of ionomer resins and urethane resins, and are sometimes unable to fully achieve the scuff resistance of urethane resins.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Resin composition for golf balls, and golf ball


Wireless device audible alert control signal generating systems and methods are presented. The control signal may be used to either enable or disable the audible alert of a wireless device. The signal may be generated as a function of the motion of an object entering or exiting a quiet zone. An embodiment for a system in accordance with the invention includes a transmitter to transmit a control signal to either disable or enable an audible alert of a wireless device. An antenna may be operatively coupled to the transmitter. A motion sensor to detect objects passing through a field of detection may be used to trigger the emission of the control signal. A controller operatively coupled to both the motion sensor and transmitter may command the transmitter to transmit the control signal as a function of a direction of motion detected by the motion sensor. An embodiment for a method in accordance with the invention includes detecting an object in an object detection area. A direction of motion of the object with respect to a reference point may be determined. A wireless device audible alert control signal may then be generated as a function of the direction of motion of the object.

Wireless devices, such as cellular telephones, pagers, and handheld computing devices, have become affordable to millions of persons. Their benefit to society is untold and yet readily apparent. Cellular telephones have allowed persons to be in communication with one another around the clock and at almost any location. Pagers, once used only for receipt and display of a telephone number, now support voice and electronic messaging. Many pagers allow both reception and transmission of messages. Handheld computing devices, such as personal digital assistants ("PDAs"), are able to run a multitude of software programs, with applications that feature games, word and data processing, and more. Furthermore, handheld computing devices, via wireless communication links, are able to access the Internet and other communication networks.
The distinction between various types of wireless devices is becoming blurred. The increasing homogeneity results as the functionality of one type of wireless device is brought within the functionality of another type. For example, cellular telephones that double as pagers, and cellular telephones that include the functionality of a PDA are now available.
Wireless devices typically are easy to use. Because of their ease of use, affordability, and availability, wireless devices have been purchased, or are used, by persons in virtually every strata of society. Because of their size and ease of portability, these devices can be found in almost every location.
Many wireless devices appear to have a common feature. In order to alert a user of some event, for example, the reception of a cellular telephone call or of a page, most wireless devices emit a notification alert, such as a sound. Some sounds are reminiscent of a standard telephone ringer; other sounds may include the themes to popular television shows, portions of popular music, animal sounds, or customized sounds. Many wireless devices that include keyboards, or pointing/data-entry devices, may emit key-click, data entry acknowledgment, warning, error alert, or other sounds.
Emission of the sounds from a wireless device may be from a sound control unit implemented, for example, in both hardware and software. The sound control system may control both the audible alerts broadcast to a wireless device user, as well as allow the user to listen to sounds played through the wireless device, such as, for example, the sound of the voice of a calling party on a cellular telephone, or music or other audible content of an Internet web page on a handheld computing device. On one hand, the audible alert sounds serve a valuable and useful purpose to the user of the wireless device; on the other hand however, the audible alert sounds may be quite an annoyance to persons within earshot of the wireless device.
Many wireless devices provide the user with an option to turn off the audible alert of the device. Some devices allow a user to select between an audible alert and a vibrating alert. Many times, where common courtesy may dictate that a user should disable the audible alert of the user's wireless device, the user simply fails to do so. This failure may be due to the user's inability to determine how to shut off the audible alert, or it may be due to the user simply forgetting that the wireless device may suddenly sound an alert in a location where persons customarily maintain a quiet environment. A location that has been designated as a place where audible alerts are discouraged or prohibited may be referred to herein as a "quiet zone." Such locations may include libraries, restaurants, theatres, public transportation vehicles, classrooms, and courtrooms.

System and method for controlling a wireless device notification alert


An abnormality in a manufacturing system is detected without extensive modification to the existing manufacturing systems. The data analysis device includes: a receiver configured to receive a packet transmitted between a manufacture control device and a manufacturing device; an analyzer configured to obtain the type of data included in a payload of the received packet from an IP address and a port number included in a header of the packet; a selector configured to select, based on the type of the data obtained by the analyzer, a syntax or rule corresponding to the type of the data; and a determiner configured to determine that the manufacturing system has an abnormality if the data included in the payload does not follow the syntax or rule corresponding to the type of the data.

The present disclosure relates to a technology of analyzing data on a computer network, and more particularly to a technology of analyzing data in a manufacturing system.
In recent years, efforts have been made actively toward improving the productivity, creating unprecedented values, and developing new business models by cooperating with things and services inside and outside of factories via communication networks such as the Internet.
In the Internet space, on the other hand, cyberattacks by hacking, malware, etc., have become active. Cases such as unauthorized invasion and information leakage by cyberattacks are increasing year by year. In manufacturing systems in factories, also, cases of halt in production and destruction of facilities have been reported. It is therefore required to detect abnormalities occurring in manufacturing systems having computer networks thereby improving the security level of the manufacturing systems.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-168755 (Patent Document 1) describes an example of a mechanism for improving the security level for a control system. The system in Patent Document 1 counts abnormality notices sent from monitoring sections corresponding to a plurality of control systems and evaluates reputation of a control system suspected of abnormality. If an abnormality is recognized in the light of the standard from the evaluation results, outbound traffic from at least the protection region in which the abnormality-suspected control system is operating is restricted.
Also, in a manufacturing system in a factory, manufacturing devices are connected via a network to perform manufacturing while communicating with each other. If a manufacturing device connected to such a network is taken over by unauthorized manipulation, etc. or data traveling over the network is tampered, problems such as manufacture of defective products and destruction of the manufacturing device may occur. To address these problems, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-19028 (Patent Document 2), for example, describes an attack detection device that detects an unauthorized conduct from data on a network.

Data analysis device, method, and storage medium

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A hydrogen-purification membrane comprises a Pd alloy film joined to one surface of a porous support substrate. Each pore in the porous support substrate is such that between the thickness T of the porous support substrate, the opening diameter D1 of the pore on the side joined to the Pd alloy film and the opening diameter D2 of the pore on the opposite side, there are relations represented by 1.0≦D1/T≦5.0 and 1.0≦D2/T≦5.0, and between the opening diameter D1 of the pore on the side joined to the Pd alloy film, the opening diameter D2 of the pore on the opposite side and the opening diameter D3 of the narrowest portion of the pore there are relations represented by D3/D1<0.8, D3/D2<0.9 and D3<250 μm. Furthermore, the total opening area of the pores on the side joined to the Pd alloy film accounts for 20 to 80% of the area of the porous support substrate.

Recently with global environments as well as energies and resources, problems have come to the surface, and fuel cells now attract attention as one of energy supply systems for putting them in harmony with the industry. A fuel cell is a power generator wherein hydrogen-rich gas obtained by reformation of previously supplied hydrogen gas, or hydrocarbonaceous fuels such as natural gas, gasoline, butane gas and methanol is allowed to react electrochemically with atmospheric oxygen for giving direct access to electricity. A typical fuel cell using the hydrogen-rich gas comprises a reformer for steam reformation of hydrocarbonaceous fuel to generate hydrogen-rich gas, a fuel cell unit for generation of electricity, a converter for conversion of the resulting DC current into an AC current, etc.
Depending on the electrolyte used with the fuel cell unit, the reaction forms involved, etc., such a fuel cell is generally broken down into five types: a phosphoric acid type fuel cell (PAFC), a molten carbonate type fuel cell (MCFC), a solid electrolyte type fuel cell (SOFC), an alkali type fuel cell (AFC) and a solid polymer type fuel cell (PEFC). Of these, the solid polymer type fuel cell (PEFC), because of using a solid electrolyte, is conditionally more favorable than other fuel cells such as the phosphoric acid type fuel cell (PAFC), and the alkali type fuel cell (AFC).
Problems with the solid polymer type fuel cell (PEFC) are, however, that its electrode catalyst is poisoned by a slight amount of CO and its performance becomes much worse especially in high current density regions, because platinum is used as the catalyst and because of low operation temperature. This requires for the concentration of CO contained in the reformed gas (hydrogen-enriched gas) generated in the reformer to go down to about 10 ppm.
A hydrogen-purification membrane comprising a Pd alloy film has been developed as one of means for removing CO from the reformed gas to refine hydrogen. In principal, the Pd alloy film would be permeable to hydrogen alone, if it gets rid of pinholes, cracks or the like. Specifically, if the reformed gas side is placed at high temperature and pressure (for instance, 300° C. and 3 to 10 kg/cm2 (0.29 to 0.98 MPa)), hydrogen would pass to a low partial pressure-of-hydrogen side.
For a hydrogen-purification process using such a Pd alloy film as described above, the film must be thin because the rate of permeation of hydrogen is inversely proportional to film thickness. In view of mechanical strength, however, the Pd alloy film is only allowed to have a thickness of about 30 μm at most when used alone; when a Pd alloy film having a thickness of about a dozen or so μm is used, a support of porous structure has so far been placed on the low partial pressure-of-hydrogen side of the Pd alloy film. However, the Pd alloy film and the support must be separately attached to the reformer, giving rise to a problem in connection to the workability for obtaining good sealing, and a problem that friction occurs between the Pd alloy film and the support, rendering the durability of the Pd alloy film less than satisfactory.
To obviate the above problems, there has been developed a hydrogen-purification membrane wherein a Pd alloy film is formed directly on a support into an integrated Pd alloy film/support combination. For instance, there is available a hydrogen-purification membrane of the structure wherein a Pd alloy film is formed on one surface of a flat metal sheet, through-holes are then formed by etching through the flat metal sheet from its opposite surface, and a porous support substrate is finally applied onto the Pd alloy film to hold the Pd alloy film between them (JP(A)7-124453). There is also available a hydrogen-purification membrane fabricated by forming a Pd alloy film on a temporary support, then forming a resist pattern on the Pd alloy film, then forming a metal base film having micro-openings by electrolytic plating in such a way as to cover 30 to 95% of the Pd alloy film, and finally removing the temporary support (JP(A)2002-292259). Further, there is a hydrogen-purification membrane fabricated by placing a metal sheet on one surface of an electrically conductive substrate having through-holes, then copper plating another surface of the conductive substrate to form a copper plating layer in such a way as to fill in the through-holes, then removing the metal layer to form a Pd alloy film on the resulting surface, and finally removing the copper plating layer by selective etching (JP(A)2004-57866).
With the hydrogen-purification membrane set forth in JP(A)2004-57866, however, yields are low with difficulty in cutting down on fabrication costs, because upon the resist formation and the etching at the step of providing through-holes by etching of the flat metal sheet with the Pd alloy film formed on one surface from its back surface side, the Pd alloy film is susceptible to break down. Further, etching from one side of the flat metal sheet causes the opening diameter of each through-hole to become inevitably larger than the thickness of the flat metal sheet and the through-hole pitch to become wide, imposing limitations on the number of through-holes formed per unit area. To add to this, one-side etching of the flat metal sheet from its back surface side causes the opening diameter of each through-hole to become small on the Pd alloy film side and, hence, the area of the Pd alloy film contributing to the permeation of hydrogen to become small, eventuating in a drop of the hydrogen permeation efficiency of the membrane.
A problem with the hydrogen-purification membrane set forth in JP(A)2002-292259, on the other hand, is that much time is taken to form the metal base film on the Pd alloy film by electrolytic plating, and it is difficult to form a metal base film having sufficient strength and large thickness. There is another problem that the resist is likely to remain on micro-openings in the formed metal base film.
With the hydrogen-purification membrane disclosed in JP(A)2004-57866, voids not plated with copper often occur at the copper plating layer, especially at a deep site of each through-hole (the site to be later formed with the Pd alloy film) at the step of filling in the through-holes by copper plating. Such voids would otherwise be responsible for pinhole defects of the Pd alloy film. This causes a complex process control and offers obstacles to cutting down on fabrication costs.

Filter for purifying hydrogen and method for manufacture thereof


The present invention relates to a metal oxide dispersion, which can form a metal thin film onto a substrate by heat treatment at a low temperature, wherein a metal oxide having a particle diameter of less than 200 nm is dispersed in the dispersion medium. By heat treating the dispersion after applying it onto a substrate, a metal thin film is formed.

Conventionally, methods such as vacuum evaporation, sputtering, CVD, plating and metal paste method have been known as a method for forming a metal thin film onto a substrate. Among these methods, vacuum evaporation, sputtering and CVD all suffer from the problem that they require an expensive vacuum chamber, and that their film deposition rates are slow.
Plating methods can relatively easily form a metal thin film on substrates that are conductive. However, when forming a thin film on an insulating substrate, plating requires first forming a conductive layer, which makes the process cumbersome. Plating methods suffer from another problem in that because they rely on a reaction in solution, a large amount of waste liquid is generated, which takes a lot of effort and cost to clean up.
A metal paste method is a method which involves applying a solution in which metal particles are dispersed onto a substrate, followed by heat treatment to give a metal thin film. This method has the advantages that it does not require special equipment such as that of vacuum evaporation and the like, and the process is simple. However, to fuse the metal particles, the process usually requires a high temperature of 1000° C. or more. Thus, the substrates are restricted to those having heat resistance such as ceramic substrates, and there still remains the problem that the substrate will be susceptible to damage from heat or residual stress caused by the heating.
On the other hand, there is a known technique for lowering the baking temperature of a metal paste by decreasing the particle diameter of the metal particles. For example, JP-B-2561537 discloses a method for forming a metal thin film using a dispersion into which metal fine particles having a particle diameter of 100 nm or less are dispersed. However, because the method for producing the necessary metal particles having a particle diameter of 100 nm or less is a method which involves rapid cooling of metal vapor vaporized under low pressure, this method suffers from the problems that mass production is difficult and that the cost of the metal particles is very high. A method which involves forming a metal thin film using a metal oxide paste which has metal oxide particles dispersed therein is also known. A method is disclosed in JP-A-05-98195 which involves heating a crystalline polymer-containing metal oxide paste into which a metal oxide having a particle diameter of 300 nm or less is dispersed, whereby the crystalline polymer is decomposed to obtain a metal thin film. However, this method requires previously dispersing the 300 nm or less metal oxide into the crystalline polymer, which in addition to requiring a lot of effort, also requires a temperature of 400 to 900° C. to decompose the crystalline polymer. Thus, this method has the problem that usable substrates require heat resistance above that temperature, which places a restriction on the substrates that can be used.
From the above, it can be seen that a method for obtaining a metal thin film by applying onto a substrate a dispersion into which metal particles or metal oxide particles are dispersed, then subjecting to heat treatment, has low process costs. However, methods that use metal particles have the drawback that the particle costs are very expensive. In addition, methods that use metal oxide particles require that the particles have been dispersed in the crystalline polymer beforehand, which has the problem that the heating temperature is high in order to burn off the crystalline polymer. Therefore, at present such methods are not used in practice. In particular, at present it is difficult to apply the methods for forming metal thin film onto the resin substrates used in the commercial sector. Meanwhile, it is difficult to obtain a porous metal thin film by heat treatment at a relatively low temperature.
Plating and the slurry method are also known as methods for producing metal oxide porous films. Plating is a method for obtaining a metallic porous body by adhering a carbon powder or the like to the skeleton structure surface of a foam resin such as urethane foam to provide conductivity thereto, depositing a metal layer thereon by plating, then burning off the foam resin and carbon powder to obtain the metallic porous body. However, this method has the drawback that its production step is cumbersome. On the other hand, the slurry method is to obtain a metallic porous body by impregnating or applying a metal powder or metal fiber to the skeleton structure surface of a foam resin such as urethane foam, and thereafter burning off the resin component by heating to sinter the metal powder and obtain the metallic porous body. This method requires that the metal powder or metal fiber, which are its raw materials, are small particles in order to impregnate the porous resin. Generally, particles having a diameter of several tens of μm to several hundreds of μm are used. However, producing a metal powder having a small particle diameter requires a cumbersome production step such as that used in a method of spraying a molten metal or a pulverizing method. Therefore, this method has the drawback that its raw materials are expensive. There is also the danger of fire or explosion due to the small particle diameter-metal powder having a large surface area, which may cause problems with cost overruns for the production equipment. Moreover, since the resultant porous body's pore diameter is reflective of the impregnated foam resin's aperture diameter, the pore diameter is several tens of μm or more.
A method is also known (JP-A-05-195110) for obtaining a metallic porous body by mixing a metal oxide powder, rather than a metal powder, with a resin binder, forming this mixture using a mold into a predetermined shape, then heating the product in an oxidizing atmosphere to burn off the resin binder and obtain a porous metal oxide-sintered body, which is then baked in a reducing atmosphere to obtain the metallic porous body. However, while this method has the advantage of allowing production of a metallic porous body having a small pore diameter of approximately 1 μm from low cost raw materials of metal oxide, the method has the drawback that the production process is cumbersome because it requires a pressure application step. In addition, the resins which can be used as the resin binder are hydrophilic resins such as polyvinyl alcohol resin, butyral resin and acryl resin. A high temperature of 1000° or more is required to completely burn off these binders which are in a pressurized state. Accordingly, this method suffers from a problem in terms of its production equipment, wherein a baking apparatus which can accommodate high temperatures is required.
Mixing a metal oxide powder with an organic binder then baking in a reducing environment without pressure molding, does allow the binder to be removed at a lower temperature, for example 700° C. when polyvinyl alcohol is used as the binder, since the organic binder is not in a compressed environment (see JP-A-2000-500826). However, because the metal oxide particles are not compressed, fusion of the metal particles obtained by reduction does not proceed, whereby only a granulized metal powder is obtained, and a metallic porous body cannot be achieved.
Thus, at present no methods are known which use a metal oxide as the raw material for obtaining a porous metal thin film at low temperature and having a small pore diameter of 1 μm or less without going through a cumbersome step such as pressurizing.
Therefore, a problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a metal oxide dispersion that can form a thin film having high adherence to a substrate, and a process for producing a metal thin film onto a substrate which uses this metal oxide dispersion, at low cost and using a low temperature heat treatment. Another problem is also to provide a production process for obtaining a porous metal thin film.

Method of producing a thin conductive metal film


A system for reducing Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) produced by motors which are powered by Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). It is believed that the PWM induces radiation at the PWM frequency and harmonics. The invention shields power cables which carry the PWM pulsed current, and provides capacitive shunting of one of the cables to ground.

The invention concerns suppression of radio frequency interference produced by a DC motor in which speed is controlled by Pulse Width Modulation (PWM).
FIG. 1 illustrates a motor M used in the prior art, such as to power a blower in an automotive air conditioner. A vehicle battery BAT powers the motor. The motor is contained within a conductive housing H. The motor contains brushes and a commutator (not separately shown) which cause electrical arcing and sparking, and produce high-frequency Radio Frequency Interference (RFI).
The RFI can interfere with communication devices, such as radios, tape players, televisions, ham radios, and cellular telephones. Measures taken to reduce the RFI include connecting the housing H to the negative terminal, B-, of the motor, as indicated by wire W, and installation of a filter which includes inductors L1, L2, and capacitor C1.
The motor shown uses a simple type of speed control, illustrated by the adjustable resistor R. Adjusting the resistor modifies the voltage presented to motor terminals B+ and B-, by the voltage divider principle However, such speed controls, although simple, are inefficient, because power is dissipated in the resistor. Not only does this dissipation represent wasted power, but the wasted power is dissipated as heat, which poses a heat elimination problem.
To avoid these problems, the inventors have investigated Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) for controlling motor speed.

Noise suppression in PWM-driven DC motor


Embodiments of the disclosure provide an integrated circuit (IC) structure, including a device layer including a device on a substrate. A local interconnect layer is over the device layer, and includes a first dielectric material over the substrate. The first dielectric material has a first effective dielectric constant. A second dielectric material is over the device and adjacent the first dielectric material. The second dielectric material has a second effective dielectric constant less than the first effective dielectric constant.

In the microelectronics industry as well as in other industries involving construction of microscopic structures, there is a continued desire to reduce the size of structural features and microelectronic devices and/or to provide a greater amount of circuitry for a given chip size. Miniaturization in general allows for increased performance (more processing per clock cycle and less heat generated) at lower power levels and lower cost. Present technology is at atomic level scaling of certain micro-devices such as logic gates, field effect transistors (FETs), bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) and capacitors. Circuit chips with millions of such devices are common.
In the case of devices that include several transistors, such as FETs, developments in device scaling have accompanied technical setbacks arising from the close proximity of device components. One variable in particular is parasitic capacitance, which arises when a transistor exhibits electrical capacitance across its two terminals when the device is powered off. Parasitic capacitance may decrease the gain of a circuit, and more generally may reduce electrical isolation between nearby transistors within a device layer. Conventional approaches to reduce parasitic capacitance in a transistor, such as guard rings, may not be feasible when such elements do not provide a hermetic seal over the device layer. Known dielectric materials for hermetically sealing a device may not be thermally conductive enough to suit some technical applications, e.g., amplifiers or switching circuits.

Local interconnect layer with device within second dielectric material, and related methods